A Hard Day to be a Progressive Democrat

I was planning to write a blog today on how congressional Democrats need to stop playing checkers while Congressional Republicans play chess -- how they can refuse to allow an up and down vote on Bush's new attorney general nominee until the Republicans allow an up and down vote on restoring the constitutional right habeas corpus; how they can refuse to pass any further Iraq funding bill without a timeline for redeployment and an up and down vote on Sen. Webb's legislation requiring troops to have home leave equal to their overseas deployment; how they can allow the six month interim FISA revision to expire unless phone companies are held responsible for their illegal actions and the FISA court is required to issue warrants approving phone taps on people on American;

I may have the heart to write that blog tomorrow. But after watching the appalling behavior of congressional Democrats yesterday, it's getting hard to believe that they have any desire to seriously challenge the Republican agenda.

**By a vote of 76-22 (including 27 Democrats, a majority of the Democrats in the Senate) the Senate approved the Joe Lieberman/John Kyl Amendment declaring Iran's Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization, without so much as a hearing on the facts and the implications of such a resolution. (Note: It's the legal job of the State Department to list terrorist organizations. Congress has never before voted to do so.) While Bush, Cheney and Giuliani bang the drums to extend the Iraq war to Iran, congressional Democrats handed Bush a loaded pistol which he can use to claim congressional support for military action against Iran. Democrats voting for the amendment included Majority Leader Harry Reid, Jack Reed, Carl Levin, Debby Stabenow, and worst of all, Hillary Clinton, the odds-on favorite to be the Democratic presidential nominee. In what's starting to seem like a pattern of evasion, Barack Obama did not vote.

As Democratic Sen. Jim Webb (a former Secretary of the Navy under Pres. Reagan) pointed out on the Senate floor, there are 180,000 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which is part of the Iranian state's organized military. If they are attacking the United States, that would make them an attacking army, not a terrorist organization The response to an attacking army is to attack them back. But Sen. Webb questioned the evidence on the extend of Iranian military involvement in Iraq. Sen.Webb noted that American ally Saudi Arabia supplies the plurality of foreign insurgents and the majority of suicide bombers in Iraq today. Moreover, he pointed out that in the Vietnam War, in which he personally fought, China was a nuclear power bordering Vietnam that spouted a lot of anti-American rhetoric and supplied arms to the North Vietnamese who were fighting American troops. "We engaged China aggressively, through diplomatic and other means. And we have arguably succeeded, along with the rest of the world community, in bringing China into a proper place in the world community." When cool heads and clever diplomacy is called for in dealing with Iran, a majority of Senate Democrats supported an inflammatory resolution that handed Bush and Cheney Congressional cover for military action against Iran.

**By a vote of 341-79 (with 146 Democrats voting for and only 79 Democrats voting against) the House passed a resolution that condemned "in the strongest possible terms" MoveOn.org's ad criticizing the reliability of Gen. Petraeus' congressional testimony.

I have already noted in these pages that despite MoveOn's impressive work opposing the war and helping to bring about a Democratic majority in the '06 elections, the "Betray Us" headline was a tactical error -- but even the best of us make mistakes. For over 2/3 of House Democrats to use congressional power to try to intimidate MoveOn from exercising it's first amendment rights to criticize government officials, and to condemn an organization that helped put Democrats in the majority, is an act of abject cowardice, far worse than any tactical mistake MoveOn may have made.

**When Democrats were stampeded in April into supporting a six month amendment to the FISA Act temporarily allowing warrantless wiretaps of people on American soil communicating with people overseas, and providing immunity to telecom companies that may have violated privacy laws, the Democratic leadership promised to fix it when they came back from summer recess. Yesterday, reports coming out of the Senate Intelligence Committee indicated that it may not insist that the Bush administration provide information on the use and extent of it's past illegal wiretaps and may make permanent legislation that bypasses the need for a warrant from the FISA court and gives permanent immunity to telecoms who broke the law.

**In yesterday's Democratic presidential debate, all three leading Democratic contenders -- Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton -- refused to rule out keeping American troops in Iraq until 2013. At least Edwards ruled out continued combat troops, but odds-on favorite Hillary Clinton indicated that there might still be a role of American combat troops until 2013. This after Democrats won the '06 election on the voter's hopes to bring an end to American military involvement in the Iraq civil war. If the Democratic presidential candidate can't even rule out continued American military involvement in Iraq by the end of their first term (if elected) in 2013, how does s/he plan to run against a Republican candidate who will almost certainly be campaigning for the illusion of American military victory?

It was a truly depressing day for a progressive Democrat. It's almost enough to make one give up on the Democrats and call for a third party. Unfortunately, the winner-take-all American political system makes the creation of a viable third party all but impossible. Bringing real progressive change to the country is a long hard fight and for better or worse, it will need to be fought within the Democratic Party.

Tomorrow I'll be back with proposals for a fighting Democratic Party instead of a party of cowards who cave in to the Republican framing of issues. For today, however, I can only weep.

Comments

[Iownpeterbilt]

I too would like a change from the insestous mess we have in D.C. Writing these notes to each other on H P is going to change nothing. What needs to be done is recruit fresh faces to go to foggy bottom. I am sure there are a few honest politicians in each state, if we could find them and encourage them to run, (with the understanding they were there for only one term) things could be turned around.....(just a thought)

[commonsenselives]

This post makes me wish I was one of the many Americans who are ignorant of our government and what they do.

Ignorance truly is bliss. I miss my country...

[wayoutleft]

there are no progressive democrats. the so-called "progressive democrats" (who cant stand to be called "liberal" because they don't want people to think of them as left of center) are the old moderate republicans.

[wagymfan]

There are progressive democrats; you just don't ever hear about any non-corporate democrats, since the content of the media is completely controlled by the corporations that own it. Kucinich is the only answer!

Remember, if you vote for the lesser of two evils, you still vote for evil...

[ElkoJohn]

with only 19-Dems voting against the Liebermann War Amendment, we're in deep do-do.

[scottymac11]

I have said it before, and I say it again. Both sets of porkers eat from the same trough. Basicly both parties exist to funnel our tax monies into the coffers of a relative few ultra rich power elites. I'm not saying that the republican / democrat perspective dosen't matter. I'm saying it's like being in prison and one gaurd is decent and another is cruel. Unfortunatly for an inmate both work for the same warden. Their primary function is to keep you shackled.

[ammitusen]

well, the Democrat's vote for Lieberman's (IE Cheney's) declaration of war on Iran was the final nail in coffin as far as I'm concerned. Democrats will not get my vote or a single penny in donations.

[Qbear]

I wouldn't vote for Hillary after she supported Kyl/Lieberman, if she was running against Cheney HIMSELF.

why bother?

Hillary = Lieberman with a fake laugh

[literate]

Please - Obama is establishing a "pattern of evasion"? He was in NH when the vote was called and unable to return on time. His campaign states he would have voted against the bill. The last vote he did not make was a deliberate statement because he believes that the Senate should be doing more important things than debating whether or not to condemn magazine ads. I agree completely. There's plenty of evasion among democrats - look to HRC's debate performance for a sample. Obama may be busy campaigning, but he is far from evasive.

[scooperss]

His campaign states?
I'm sorry but that was a very important vote and an explanation is worthless.

[OldKnute]

Guys!

You think building some new cultural center is winning the hearts and minds of American Democrats, or loyalty bought by supporting some new Artist or mourning Pavarotti*s death?

Yes, I loved Pavarotti too. I saved three months just to go hear him sing. Gosh! That man was a Genius!

LOOK, America is in trouble and felt MOST in the heartland. They know we made a mistake. Their boys are the ones dieing, and don’t take kindly to being lied to, to fill the pockets of some *Reconstruction*,, Carper Bragger ,, Corporate Take-Over of the Constitution.

You may not Civil War, but these people do. The Republicans screwed them then, and they’re screwing them now.

Equality?

Even the most prejudice RED-STATER you can find, will give a hard working man his due, of ANY color. What these Good-Ole-Boys know, from centuries of war and defending America, is we all BLEED RED.

They even tip their hats to Black ladies when they walk in town, they still honor ALL womanhood. Well,,,, MOST of them do, and those are the ones you want.

These folks built America, from Hover Dam to crawling on their bellies deep in the earth, even with Pinkerton men shooting at them. They feed this nation, build your cars, grow your cotton and spin your wool. There is not one invention or Patent you have, that they can*t show you a version of from Grandpas attic.

They can start a car with a chewing gum wrapper, fix a Tank with bailing wire, and refit a sunken ship in Pearl Harbor and float it into dry-dock in 12 hours.

Democrats are all sophisticated these days? Yes, maybe, BUT no TREE grows without ROOTS.

Brains are not one damn good without muscle, backbone, courage, integrity and sweat. And yes,,, yes,, YES,,,you can sweat,,,, SOOOOO hard,,, that it goes pink with blood,

These people have DONE IT!

You want to SAVE America?
You want to SAVE the Constitution?
Insure all Americans Civil Rights?

Find your ROOTS!

All the best

Knute (Neo-LIB)

[nippersdad]

I agree wholeheartedly, but am forced to wonder if this is not a direct consequence of welcoming disenfranchised moderate Republicans with open arms. There is something to be said for having a big tent party, but what does it gain us if we lose our soul and principles?

Now that the Democratic leadership has overtly abandoned its' progressives in order to placate it's perceived moderate Republican base and the Conservative Republican Party is imploding, I see no alternative but to start a new progressive Democratic Party.

This may be the time to do it. As you say, we have a winner take all system. With the Conservative Republican party dishonored the conservative Dems need to be balanced or we essentially will have a one party state which operates at two different speeds.

[Iownpeterbilt]

We don't meed a new party, just vote out the usless incumbents and elect fresh faces. It don't even matter which party, vote the new ones out the first time they run. If we would stop putting the same social parasites back in office maybe we could get the country back on course, if it's not too late!!!!!!!

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

Progressive Democrats? I dont see no stinking progressive democrats...

[WNeuhauser]

You said it.

What we need in the Senate is to replace Majority leader Harry let-the-Re­publicans-­backseat-d­rive Reid, with someone smart, forceful, focused and isn't easily snookered, like Jim Webb

[WorkingClass]

Miles:

Get it thru your head that the Democrats are not cowards. When they tell you they are opposed to the Republicans they are liars. It is not cowardice that causes them to vote with the Republicans. The Democrats want the same things the Republicans want. Find the courage yourself to face the facts. Then reconsider this statement:

Bringing real progressive change to the country is a long hard fight and for better or worse, it will need to be fought within the Democratic Party.

[wldnswmmr]

Spot on, Working Class. I am afraid this observation is exactly right. Miles proceeds on the assumption that the Democrats are getting gamed at every turn, despite their majority status. This is the old thinking, maybe even what the Democratic leadership wants us to think. A load of crap. It is now obvious that these votes are not coerced, are not inevitable - the purpose of the big anti-Bush campaign in the fall of 2006 was strictly power politics, in order to elect Democrats. There was no substance to it. They did not intend a change in policy, in Iraq, on the Constitution, on global warming, on American privacy rights, or anywhere else. Not cowardice, but collusion. A third party IS possible - a marginal character like Ross Perot was able to command 19% of the popular vote, and that was during times when Congressional approval ratings were much higher and the country was in much better shape. Double that and we're there. Meanwhile, somewhere the much maligned Ralph Nader is smiling and saying I told you so.

[jmpurser]

There won't be any good days for progressives until we get our own party.

[MrLion]

A hard day? This entire year has been hard for progressives. Capitol Hill Democrats took impeachment off the table, talked a big game on defunding the war but didn't follow up, and crawled under their desks and went into a fetal position when the FISA bill came up for a vote.

They're worse than the Washington Generals. At least the Generals didn't make lame excuses for throwing games to the Globetrotters.