Dems distracted by wrong war BY ANDREW GREELEY

[jbfam4]

Dems distracted by wrong war
November 18, 2005
BY ANDREW GREELEY
http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel18.html


Even today when he has been backed into a corner by public dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq, the president still links that war with the ''war on terror.'' Democrats must provide a strategy and policy for fighting terrorists that leaves behind the ''war'' metaphor and disconnects the necessary struggle against terrorists with the foolish Iraq invasion. The bill the GOP pushed through the Senate this week on Iraq had no teeth in it. The Democratic version was much stronger. The Democrats can afford to be stronger still.

More seriously, the Democrats must return to their traditional themes of economic and social justice. They must rediscover the truth that their constituencies are not just the liberal activists (though their causes are important) but the hard-pressed working and middle-class people. The Republican administration and the Republican Congress are presiding over a major shift in wealth from the poor and the middle class to the rich. Thus, they are trying to take $70 billion from food stamps, Medicare, education (loans and scholarships for college students) and veterans and give the money to the rich in increased tax deductions. Pension money and health care money is being taken away from workers and retired workers to provide profits for badly run organizations (like United Airlines and General Motors) and their exorbitantly compensated executives.

Those who prognosticate about Christmas buying predict that "high end" (which means rich) patrons will buy more than ever, while "low end" (which means working-class and middle-class) patrons will buy less. This prediction will surprise no one who has watched the reverse Robin Hood style of the Bush administration. Yet Democratic leaders do not seem to be able to articulate a case against the administration's economic injustice -- at least not one that gets across to voters through the national media.

Perhaps they can win 2006 and 2008 merely because Bush and his party have become unpopular. They have a much better chance if they run against a war that cannot be won and in support of the working people and the middle class who are being robbed by the party of the wealthy.

[BobBoudelangFan69]

1. Like What You Say And How You Say It!

[indepat]

2. The body of work by 'Pukes in Congress in words of one syllable: obscene

obscenity.

[Catrina]

3. Good points

Democrats need to attack the Bush admistration by saying clearly that 'This administration has abandoned the War on Terror'.

'They went to the wrong country and are now bogged down there without an exit strategy. Because of this historic blunder, they can no longer 'keep America safe' from those who would harm us'. (emphasize the lie about the Iraq/9/11 connection)

'Where is Osama Bin Laden? It's been FOUR Long years and hundreds of billions of dollars and we are no further ahead in dealing with the terror threat than we were in August, 2001! (Why did Bush ignore all warnings in the Summer of 2001?)'

'Terror threats across the globe have INCREASED since the Bush administration lied its way into Iraq!! (give statistics)'

'Tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians have only increased the ability of terror groups to sign up new recruits, as we saw in the Amman bombings! ( Iraqis now involved in terror attacks)'

'Why is Bush ignoring the real threat to this country? The truth is he has failed to deal with the threat of terror and if anything, has inflamed the Arab world as it never was before ~ we demand to know what the Bush administration strategy is for fighting the threat of terrorism. To date, he has never outlined a clear plan for this important fight.'

'Claiming 'we are fighting them over there etc. etc. is empty rhetoric. Clearly, Hurricane Katrina demonstrated how unprepared this country is under the current administration to deal with another attack on this country. He has used up all our resources on a war that never needed to be fought.'

[Rich Hunt]

4. well-said

Especially this part:

More seriously, the Democrats must return to their traditional themes of economic and social justice. They must rediscover the truth that their constituencies are not just the liberal activists (though their causes are important) but the hard-pressed working and middle-class people. The Republican administration and the Republican Congress are presiding over a major shift in wealth from the poor and the middle class to the rich. Thus, they are trying to take $70 billion from food stamps, Medicare, education (loans and scholarships for college students) and veterans and give the money to the rich in increased tax deductions. Pension money and health care money is being taken away from workers and retired workers to provide profits for badly run organizations (like United Airlines and General Motors) and their exorbitantly compensated executives.

[yurbud]

5. it would be nice to see Dems take steps in this direction

[yurbud]

6. a lot of disgruntled Republicans would be with us if we attacked NAFTA

and outsourcing

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Thank you, Father Greeley

It's great to see a public figure saying what I've been saying all along, that war is the wrong metaphor for terrorism.

Terrorism is a TACTIC, not an ideology.