Columnist Joshua Frank rips into Sen. Hillary Clinton for her hypocritical position on Iraq. A position which amounts to "It's all the Republicans fault and the Republicans don't have a clue. Re-elect me and I'll do more or less the same thing!" Which is about the best she can do since she voted to approve the aggression in the first place and doesn't have the spine to admit that the war is now (was always) unwinnable like Rep. John Murtha. Sen. Clinton, who harbors 2008 presidential ambitions (shiver), is under the delusion that this ambiguity will somehow make her immune to charges of being a 'raging liberal.' While Clinton's record as senator is far more conservative than the far right would have you believe, that's not going to stop the Swift Boat smear brigade from tarring her as the second coming of Marx.
Frank notes that, contrary to what you might infer from almost all of the mainstream media here in New York state, Clinton will actually have a primary opponent. Jonathan Tasini's position on Iraq is much more clear: bring the troops home now, because they have become an impedient to the development of democracy in the country. Tasini has said he won't endorse Clinton if he loses the primary.
Whether you agree or disagree, it's a lot more clear than Sen. Clinton's position.
Since Tasini is a long shot, especially given the media blackout, Frank also features several smaller party candidates who also oppose the Iraq aggression. Green candidate Sander Hicks' position on Iraq is similiar to Tasini's and he opposes military intervention against Iran.
In another piece, Frank bemoans the surrender of the screechy MoveOn.org. Frank notes that MoveOn's reformist credentials have been discredited as it's sold out to the liberal establishment.
Frank writes:
Activism should never be partisan, but MoveOn.org isn't about to hold the Democrats' accountable for supporting Bush's war agenda.
I'm not even all that sure MoveOn opposes the Iraq war. Sure, they rallied opposition during the lead-up to the invasion a few years back, but since then they've done little if anything that should garner the respect of the antiwar movement. Despite Kerry's grotesque position on the Iraq war in 2004, MoveOn implored their members to donate cash to his campaign, but said nary a word about his pro-war posturing. You can't support a candidate without putting demands on their candidacy, and MoveOn's breakdown has made them all but irrelevant as an antiwar club.
He doesn't spare Sen. Clinton either.
Case in point. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has continued to support Bush's war in Iraq as well as his greater war on terror, yet MoveOn refuses to voice frustration. Instead, they support the war-hungry senator and admit they won't stand up to her during an election year.
"The case I would make is that 2006 needs to be a year of reckoning for Republicans on Iraq," Tom Matzzie, the Washington director for MoveOn recently told the New York Times. "If the antiwar candidate is creamed by Hillary Clinton, it's a distraction."
A distraction from what? If I remember correctly, it wasn't just the Republican Party that got us into this dreadful mess. The Democrats voted for it, helped sell the damn thing, and even bombed the hell out of Iraq during the 1990s, all the while supporting deadly UN sanctions. And as Americans begin to turn on this war, including prominent elected officials from both parties, Hillary still won't retract her defense of the war, let alone meet with genuine antiwar activists here in New York.
Frank is spot on here. But I take a slight issue with his general thesis. MoveOn did not surrender to the Democratic establishment. It has always been a vehicle for the Democratic establishment. It was a vehicle to help the moderately liberal wing take the party back from the centrists. Neither wing wants fundamental reforms.
You only need to look at most of MoveOn's 'positions' (if you can call them that). The motto
The main disappointment is from those who hoped MoveOn would become some sort of progressive think tank. It's instead become a partisan lobby group. A money machine, not an ideas machine.
MoveOn's motto is "The Republicans are evil and wrong about everything. Vote Democrat."
What do the Democrats believe?
"The Republicans are evil and wrong about everything. The Democrats would do a better job."
How would they do a better job?
"By being less evil and wrong than Republicans."
What would they do?
"One thing's for sure: they wouldn't give big tax breaks to the rich [the part after 'they wouldn't' is customized to pander to whatever audience is targeted]."
The Democrats are devoid of ideas and nothing better demonstrates this than MoveOn. MoveOn's energies are devoted to raising money and demonizing Republicans for the purpose of raising money. They are professional whiners just like Pat Robertson and his ilk. If they spent a quarter of that energy on developing innovative new ideas, they might actually start winning elections too.
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