California Conservative

If you read this article, you’ll come away with the unmistakable impression that Democrats are deeply divided on Iraq policy. I don’t think that it’s a stretch to say that the Surge has left them between Iraq and a hard place.

“Right now, we could write the story of this Congress as ‘Profiles in Cowardice,’” Lerner said. “There’s a great deal of frustration with the Democrats in the Congress, a sense almost of betrayal. The Democrats don’t have, and even the people in the antiwar movement don’t have a coherent alternative worldview from which to base a strategy. That’s why they end up debating everything on the same terms that the Republicans do.”

Michael Lerner isn’t just any lefty. He’s a true believer in the anti-war movement. According to Wikipedia, he was a member of the executive committee of the Free Speech Movement at U Cal-Berkeley. That quote should scare Democrats because activists won’t push themselves to get a bunch of cowards elected. As bad as that quote is, it isn’t the only bad news in the article. Here’s another blast of bad news:

The transcript quotes Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), who is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, as saying: “The people that need to hear are the moderate Democrats who are holding up the whole thing. They’re the ones who have to know that their people care, that they [want to] bring our troops home. They swear they don’t. They swear that they’ll lose their elections if they do the right thing.”

When one peace organizer talks about “peeling away Republican support for the war,” Woolsey interjects: “Maybe you folks should go after the Democrats.”

I’d love knowing why Rep. Woolsey thinks that needlessly losing a war is “doing the right thing.” That’s some of the most warped thinking I’ve ever heard. It’s also some of the most predictable rhetoric I’ve ever heard. What’s also predictable is their attempt to frame the issue differently:

During the call, Woolsey advises the activists: “Help people change the conversation from ‘abandoning the troops’ to funding orderly redeployment. I’m telling you, that’s going to take six months to a year…Progressives know that whether we spend money on this or not is going to make the difference. That’s all the House can really do, the budget part of it.”

Woolsey can talk all she wants about changing the conversation but it won’t work. The American people know what’s at stake. Tinkering with the terminology won’t change the conversation. People still know that Democrats aren’t willing to consider the option of winning in Iraq. All the tinkering in the world won’t get the American people to turn defeatist.

One of the things that Democrats have misread is who the American people are and what they stand for. Democrats are right in believing that Americans are impatient people. Where they go wrong is in believing that they’re defeatists. Studying American history should tell Democrats that Americans aren’t defeatists. Any country that’s accomplished as much as we have has a positive, can do attitude. That certainly isn’t the attitude that Democrats have.

At one point, Woolsey, who represents Marin and Sonoma counties, is quoted as saying: “I believe that Nancy is with us, and she’s counting on you guys,…and me to push from the Left in the Congress.”

Lerner, in the interview with Politico, was not sympathetic. “We’re not that concerned about what’s going on in her heart,” he said. “We’re trying to end the war and in that, she does not seem to be very much with us…is not willing to take any serious political risk.”

Lerner sounds surprised that a longterm incumbent doesn’t like taking political risks. Where’s he been? I don’t know of many career politicians that are willing to take political risks. This quote from Jim Moran explains why Democrats can’t win by being defeatist:

The other lawmaker on the call, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), defends Pelosi. “The speaker doesn’t have the votes,” he said. “If you see what has happened in the Democratic Caucus, I don’t think you’d be quite as critical of the speaker. She really is trying…We cobbled together a majority by winning in a lot of seats that tend to be conservative: in the South, in the rural Midwest, and so on. These members are very much afraid that if they get to far out front, they’re going to lose their seat, and they’re being advised to not take risks so we can sustain this majority.”

This is a perfect example of why Democrats can’t satisfy their defeatist puppeteers. That’s why I didn’t think they could cobble together a majority last year. The Nutroots demand unswerving loyalty to their defeatist agenda. That’s something that simply won’t play well in the South and rural Midwest.

The conflict depicted in this conference call should alarm Democratic presidential hopefuls. Trying to appease the Nutroots while still sounding sane is practically impossible. They’re welcome to try but I don’t see how it’s possible.

Check back later for more updates on this subject. I’m planning at least one more post on the Democrats’ divisions.

Technorati Tags: Anti-War Activists, Lynn Woolsey, Jim Moran, Michael Lerner, Nancy Pelosi, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Activism, Author: Gary Gross, Election 2008, Foreign Policy, Iraq, Liberals, Military, Pelosi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.