We can probably take for granted that no Republican who takes a principled stance against aggressive wars is likely to seek the GOP presidential nomination. After all, the only (quasi-)Republican officeholder that I know of who meets that standard is Ron Paul, the libertarian/Republican congressman from the 14th district in Texas, and he's not seeking the presidency. So that leaves the Other Major Brand. The Democratic Party "swept" its way into razor-thin working majorities in both houses of Congress a couple of months ago, propelled by some form of national disgust over the blood-soaked fiasco that is Iraq. Which Democrats seeking the presidency are actually anti-war?
Well, there's Sen. Hillary Clinton. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. Driven by a need (unfortunately, a realistic one, I don't doubt) to seem even more manly than the men, her public statements have rivalled Bush for bellicosity.
What about everyone's cuddly-clean non-racial / post-racial diversity celebrity, Sen. Barack Obama? He's condemned the war as "dumb." However, he's sure he can do it lots better. Nope -- no change there.
Really, I think Dennis Kucinich is about as good as it gets on the Democratic Party side; and that's not very good. His campaign web site suggests that his primary critique of the war is that it isn't being prosecuted by the United Nations. I'd need something a good bit more explicitly-principled from him before developing any enthusiasm.
Conclusion: we're screwed, again. As are a lot of foreigners who deserve being screwed again much less than we deserve it.
2 comments:
Well you're a tad tough on Kucinich - he did release the following
"On November 7, the voters delivered to Congress a powerful mandate for a new direction for Iraq. That direction is out. Congress must now act to cut off the funds, end the war, bring our troops home and begin the process of rebuilding the country."
"Accountability is not enough. Oversight is not enough. Regular budget order is not enough. The only way to end this war is to cut off the funds. And only Congress has the power to end this war. Congress should end the occupation now and bring the troops home."
At this point Kucinich is about as anti-war as anyone else in the country and THE most anti-war Congressman for sure...
Well, I think you're right, Jeff -- I have been unfair to Mr. Kucinich. The best excuse I can offer is that he doesn't sound nearly so strong on his campaign web site. But I'll be happy to take him at his word as you've quoted (and linked) him.
But, since his chances of being elected are regrettably remote, I will glumly stand by my bottom-line assessment: we're screwed.
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