A diary has popped up the rec list that for the most part is a fan letter to Hillary to bolster her candidacy. That’s fine, of course.
But it helps neither her candidacy nor the Democratic party to resort to the old tomfoolery that Hillary’s Iraq AUMF vote was actually somehow a magical one, “forgainst” the war.
No. Hillary Clinton voted for war in Iraq.
She knew it. All of us alive then knew it. We lived it. We witnessed it. Many of us protested it. We lost.
Pushing this meme hurts our chances in November and beyond. We need to remain reality-based. We need to be honest about our history if we wish to fashion a better future. It was not a good decision by Hillary Clinton, and it is one she has apologized for and called “a mistake”. So please, take the former Secretary of State at her word. It was not her finest moment. We can only hope she has learned from it, and we all must be diligent and press her not to make similar mistakes in times to come. That is how we do our duty as Democrats — not by airbrushing all errors from her record.
And do NOT follow the diarist and double down by asserting Hillary’s hands were tied because she was just representing a New York that was out for blood. NYC was at the heart of anti-war protests in 2002-3, and New York overall is one of the bluest states in the nation. In the run-up to the vote, many, many of Hillary’s own constituents begged her to vote against Bush’s war. Better leadership would have been to take the courageous public stand that New Yorkers would attain neither revenge nor safety by waging a massive war on Iraq, a nation that had not a thing to do with the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks. Hillary Clinton was not an unknown back-bencher, but a national icon and celebrity who could have easily borne the brief storm of criticism, confident in the knowledge she was doing what was right.
Further, do not follow this diarist and assert that Wall Street and big corporate interests are not powerful and not to be feared.
Tell that to the vanished industries outsourced to the countries with the lowest labor standards.
Tell that to the working families straining to get by working multiple low-paying service jobs.
Tell that to the vast majority of Americans whose wages have stagnated for the last forty years.
Tell that to the same Americans who have watched the economy boom over that period...with almost all the profits going directly to the very top of the income bracket only.
Tell that to the working families in other nations forced by the same corporations into underpaid, undignified and dangerous jobs in order to feed their families.
Tell that to the runaway global warming produced by the Wall Street “infinite growth burning fossil fuels ‘til they’re all gone” model.
On second thought, no.
Let’s not tell them that.
As with the Iraq War, let’s be honest about both Hillary’s record and the very cruel, very dangerous power of international moneyed interests who are the real forces that control our world.
Let’s learn from the past so we may not be doomed to repeat it.
As we gear up to support our Democratic nominee against Trump — which we must do — let us never lose track of the greater goal.
We must fight much harder to avoid Iraqs to come the next few years, no matter whom we elect.
We must fight much harder to loosen the iron grip of moneyed interests over our Earth, our politics, our country, our communities, our cities, our land, our water, and our air. They have no moral but profit. They bow to no one unless we force them to, with stricter laws and regulations.
The President will not always undertake those battles on their own. It is up to us.
Winning the general election is important, but it is only the start.
Do not surrender before we start.