Brent Budowsky: What Gore, Clinton and Democrats Can Learn from Benazir Bhutto

[Caro]

From The Hill’s Pundits Blog:

What Gore, Clinton and Democrats Can Learn from Benazir Bhutto

Brent Budowsky

Benazir Bhutto was no angel, but she was a believer in democracy who gave her life for her country, retuning to Pakistan knowing she would probably give her life for her country.

By contrast, Democrats in Washington have a life crisis, consult an army of pollsters, and have trouble taking clear leadership stands on war and peace because members of a Congress with record unpopularity might lose another point or two in the polls.

Our discredited politics in America has become a sad Kabuki dance of insiders congratulating and protecting each other, of pollsters and pundits uttering sweet nothings into the ears of politicians too fearful and self-indulgent to take even minimal risks for the higher values of our country.

Benazir Bhutto gives her life. Democrats in Washington cannot risk a point in the polls. Republicans in Washington cannot summon the courage to speak out against a president and war that many of them privately, silently, believe is a disaster for our country.

Meanwhile young heroes give their lives in this unwise war our insiders sent them to fight from the safety of their focus groups and polls and their smugness while they dispense their wisdom caked in makeup from the safety of their television studios.

Give Al Gore credit for elevating the debate about climate change, but at a moment that our country, under George Bush, sabotaged the Bali summit, why isn’t Al Gore running for president?

Never have the man and the moment come together so perfectly as Al Gore for President in 2008. Never has any potential candidate been so clearly the heir to Roosevelt and Kennedy, never has any potential candidate so clearly embodied change when change is needed, and experience when experience is needed, as Al Gore for President in 2008.

Having supported Gore through campaigns and governance over a generation, words cannot express my disappointment, my sadness and to some degree my outrage that Al Gore had better things to do than be leader of the free world…

Budowsky serves on the Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit and is a contributing editor to Fighting Dems News Service. He handled intelligence issues for Sen. Lloyd Bentsen when the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was originally passed, and was legislative director to Bill Alexander, then the chief deputy whip of the House. He can be read on The Hill’s Pundits Blog and reached at [e-mail].

Click the title, above, to read more and to post a comment that may be read by your congressman and senators!

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

The excerpt above is posted with the full knowledge and permission, even encouragement, of the author, who wants his essays to be read by as many people as possible.

[OHdem10]

1. Simple: Bhutto actually believed in something. Only belief

can create passion.

[skiddlybop]

2. Um, so the idea is

Bhutto got Swiftboated.

Let's not confuse who pulled the strings here. Republicans have no courage? No, they pulled the trigger on Bhutto.

[WillyT]

3. K & R !!!

:kick:

[Sensitivity]

4. Bhuto had the support of her party and the masses. Gore does not

A real pro-GORE movement with people in the streets would have Gore at its head.
The reality is that the American Party system does not operate in this fashion. There is no
deep loyalty to past leaders -- no tradition of a leadership cardre. Rise to prominence is based
mainly of personality, individualistic calculations and "media moments" not ideas and depths of character.

[tinrobot]

12. There was a movement to draft Gore... he stopped it.

If he had stepped in front of the movement as a leader, there would have been people in the streets.

But he didn't, so they stayed home.

[RestoreGore]

5. And what is Brent Budowsky doing for his country except writing BS articles?

So EASY to pass judgement on others when it is not you. So by his logic here unless you are willing to take a bullet in the brain for this ungrateful country, you aren't doing anything worthwhile? What utter BS. Perhaps he should run for president in this BS system then if he is so damned incensed. Al Gore DID rise to that occassion and served this counry well for thirty years there, but let's not remember that in our zeal to find a scapegoat for our own lack of courage. And what the hell did he get for it? I'm outraged that at a crucial time in history when the PEOPLE of this country need to rise up, all they do is BS on forums about it but never do anything. Mr. Budowsky also falls into that category as well. But sure, use Al Gore as your punching bag now while you sit and continue to write about it...

[Caro]

6. You have no idea ...

... what sacrifices Brent has made for his country. What sacrifices are YOU making, other than demeaning the work of others?

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[RestoreGore]

7. Well since you imply you do have an idea, enlighten me

Seems to me in this article he is using the death of Benizir Bhutto to chastise Al Gore, hence my question. FYI I can express that in this "free" country.

[Desperadoe]

8. He has been on a mission

to get Raygun's image on Mt. Rushmore for the last 20 years. What else do you need to know about this loser?

[Caro]

16. Nonsense.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[Caro]

15. That's up to Brent.

Ask him - [e-mail]

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[Marrah_G]

14. You mean the advisor to this group?

Taken from Wikipedia

_______________________________________________

The Intelligence Summit

The Intelligence Summit is an annual conference run principally by John Loftus and funded an organization he controls, the Intelligence and Homeland Security Educational Center (IHEC).<1>. The stated purpose of these regular meetings is "to provide an opportunity for the international intelligence community to listen to and learn from each other, and to share ideas in the common war against terrorism."

According to the Intelligence Summit's website, the meetings are run by organizers (Robert Katz and John Loftus) and an Advisory Council, which includes or included in the past "two former heads of CIA, the head of British Joint Intelligence, senior officials of the Mossad, the former Director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism, the former director of the Indian Counter Intelligence Service, generals of the US Army and Air Force intelligence services, and academic experts". Among the Advisory Council members are the author and consultant Yossef Bodansky, special operations expert Richard Marcinko, and retired general and Fox News military analyst Paul E. Vallely.

The Intelligence Summit's emphasis is upon terrorism- and jihad-related issues<1>; former Jamaa Islamia terrorist and author Tawfik Hamid is on the Summit's Advisory Council. Ahmed Bedier of the Council on American-Islamic Relations noted of Hamid's participation in the Summit, "The Intelligence Summit is a group of neoconservatives and private intelligence agencies that are benefiting from the war on terrorism. And opportunists like Hamid and others at this event are bashing and cashing and making money from it."<2> Legal analyst Victoria Toensing said, "This is not a mainstream conference with recognized names in the field. I've been in the intelligence and terrorism world a long time, and I would not suggest going to this conference for intelligence or terrorism information."<3>

[Caro]

17. Somebody needs to keep an eye ...

... on those guys.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[malaise]

9. Yep looting the treasury is so very

democratic. Bushco is therefore the quintessential democratic government.
Sheeeeeesh people write such bullshit. Bhutto was a corrupt populist who played all sides.

[RestoreGore]

10. yes, news is she made a deal with Rice who was behind her return to Pakistan

Playing both sides would then be exactly right. So in essence Al Gore could teach many much more than vice versa. So for this author to suggest that somehow he is no longer worthwhile to support or is not to be considered someone who believes in Democracy or has made worthwhile contributions to this world because he won't "take one for the team" is ludicrous. Especially when he already did and still is.

[malaise]

11. Ludicrous is kind n/t

[magellan]

13. I had similar thoughts as news of Bhutto's murder sank in

She wasn't perfect, but she risked her life for what she believed in. Neither of our political parties can claim to possess a fraction of her courage and determination.

[Perry Logan]

18. Another lesson: you can't do anything to help if you're dead.