On 3/16/07, Julio Huato <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Are people in the DP (members or plain knee-jerk voters) opposed to the war in the sense of being willing to take action to stop it? Yes, there are. Many. In fact, arguably the largest contingent in the anti-war crowd coming from a single political formation is the Dems or people who consistently align themselves with the DP.
Many people who wanted to end the Iraq War voted for Democrats, and now they have a nominal Democratic majority in Congress, and the wars will go on. Why? "The Democratic Party's presidential field is dividing over the question of funding American soldiers in Iraq, with senators Obama of Illinois and Clinton of New York voting with an 82-to-16 majority for a Republican resolution against cutting any money for troops in the field. Senators Biden of Delaware and Dodd of Connecticut were in the minority" (Eli Lake, "Senate Says No to Retreat: A United GOP Rebuffs Bid by Democrats," 16 March 2007, <http://www.nysun.com/article/50566>). We don't have an anti-war majority in Congress that can end the Iraq War before the 2008 elections, despite an anti-war majority among the US public. Only a minority of DP politicians are committed to cutting funding, ending the war, and bringing all the troops from Iraq. Now what? Identify the Democrats who are actually committed to cutting funding, ending the war, and bringing all the troops from Iraq. The offices of the other Democrats, as well as Republicans, must be occupied, which is beginning to happen here and there. Other actions in the streets have to be organized, beyond ritual demonstrations. How? We need to think about that. In elections, in countries like the USA, the party label doesn't express candidates' positions when it comes to the Democratic Party (and a very small number of Republicans). Disregard the party labels, focus on one or two or three main issues (the Iraq War above all now), and make it or them the litmus test. That will be a minority position even among leftists, for the rest will vote for the DP candidates no matter what their positions are. Organizing such a minority current will be difficult. America is a very individualistic country, and, unfortunately, more to the Left you go, more individualistic people are, paradoxical as it may seem. How to overcome that? This as yet unorganized minority need to think about that, too. -- Yoshie
