Don't believe me? How do you explain their disappearance since last November?
Remember the anti-war movement? Not too long ago, the Democratic party's most loyal voters passionately opposed the war in Iraq. Democratic presidential candidates argued over who would withdraw American troops the quickest. Netroots activists regularly denounced President George W. Bush, and sometimes the U.S. military ("General Betray Us"). Cindy Sheehan, the woman whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, became a heroine when she led protests at Bush's Texas ranch.
That was then. Now, even though the United States still has roughly 130,000 troops in Iraq, and is quickly escalating the war in Afghanistan -- 68,000 troops there by the end of this year, and possibly more in 2010 -- anti-war voices on the Left have fallen silent.
They're not against war. They're against Republicans. As Ross Perot used to say, "It's just that simple."
Update, 8/21/09: ABC anchor turns on Cindy Sheehan:
Enough already.
7 comments:
Other things that have mysteriously gone poof:
* Troops still in Afghanistan
* US holding war prisoners indefinitely ('member all those orange jumpsuited protesters?)
* Gov't wiretapping
* Anything to do with
Israel/Palestine
Hard to believe, but I was truly, honestly hoping that those who pontificated so fervently about these items would hold on to their ideals as Obama inevitably broke his campaign promises regarding them. I am very disappointed, and I'm not writing that in sarcasm.
One of the commenters on the linked article helped me clear up what I am feeling:
I am sorely disappointed in the left because this compessless shifting demonstrates that they truly do not have any core beliefs. Their movements are fashion trends.
As a conservative, and with most conservatives I know and read, the issues are the same, regardless of president. We support people who support our ideals, regardless of the letter in front of their name.
Again, I am disappointed that I have proof positive here that I will not be able to take seriously the fiery position of the leftist across the table.
Cindy Sheehan is supposed to go protest Obama for not getting the troops out. I'm curious to see if the media will mention this at all.
I wouldn't go that far. There were few vociferous voices on the left that opposed taking down the Taliban and AlQaeda after 9/11. It was the radical shift of focus to Iraq for dubious reasons (a suspicion that proved valid) that drew the ire of protesters - and still does.
However, they have accepted the continued presence of troops on hopes of an end to the occupation - and there are still strong critical voices on the left calling Obama out for less than immediate withdrawl.
And the "they hate what this country stands for" line is tired and wrong. Opposing an offensive war - which Thomas Paine and Washington clearly said they did - is different than a defensive or necessary war. Simply because critics challenged the necessity of a pre-emptory war against Iraq, there is no reason to accuse them of hating the country.
That's disingenuous and not historically accurate.
Yet another opinion of yours, mazenko, that I do not share.
Oh Mike, the way you bend over backwards to try to justify the ridiculous ideas of the extreme left I've got to think you're anticipating Obamacare will pay your chiropractor.
The reason the anti-war left's disappeared is that Obama's gotten his value out of them and now they're a liability. Politically they're the equivalent of a smokescreen behind which any number of unrelated machinations can occur but there's not much substance to them now, as there wasn't during the Vietnam War.
Yes, yes, I know. There are lefty geezers who venerate the Vietnam War protests but in fact they had little to no impact policy all the red-faced objections to the contrary. The protests dragged on year after year and set the stage for a crushing presidential victory by.....Richard Nixon!
So the Democratic party's learned to use the extreme left and cast them aside when their usefulness has evaporated.
Another datapoint in case you're feeling argumentative: Million Moms March.
Heard much from the anti-Second Amendment crowd? No? That's because they've practically disappeared. After the '04 election, with Kerry's gun control stance causing Second Amendment rights supporters to come out against him big time and being pivotal in his loss the message was clear: vote against the Second Amendment and return to private life. The response from the incumbents, as can now be seen clearly in retrospect was "don't call us, we'll call you". The absence of the welcome matt continues, quite clearly, to this day.
As far as the war in Iraq, we've covered that and the war was entirely legal.
So where's the honor, or patriotism, is creating a cause out of a whole cloth merely to enjoy the feeling of moral superiority? There is no honor or patriotism in that sort of self-indulgence which is why it is quite accurate to state "they hate what this country stands for". There's an inherent dismissal of "we hold these truths to be self-evident" on the left and that, at heart, is what this country stands for.
I think this goes back to the disdain of the Clinton White House where it was said by the administration "Now these are OUR soldiers." The insinuation being that they were not theirs before. I read this particular column yesterday. It is puzzling how suddenly there are no war protests. Has the war gone away? If anything it is on an escalation in Afghanistan and yet nobody on the left seems concerned as they were during the Bush years. I would suggest that having little to complain about really, they grabbed onto the anti-war issue as a convenient traditional liberal mainstay that would look good in the media. Fashion trends indeed.
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