The Democratic Party's indefensible position on Iraq

Posted by Cenk Uygur at 8:42 AM on October 26, 2005.

The Democrats are unbelievable. They give us almost no reason for hope. Just when you think they might have figured out how to fight back against the Bush administration, they pull the rug out from underneath themselves -- again. My God, how simple is it to say the Iraq War was a mistake and we should have never invaded in the first place?

But they inexplicably refuse to do this most obvious first step.

From this week on Meet the Press:

TIM RUSSERT: Based on what you now know today, do you regret having voted for the war?

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, no, Tim, because my vote was seen and I still see it as a need to say we must fight a strong and active war on terror.

Are you kidding me? Tying in the original invasion of Iraq with the fight against terrorism and al-Qaeda? Does this guy work for the Bush administration? It's impossible to be more wrong and more spineless.

Democrats blame the Bush administration for misleading the country into war, and then when given the opportunity to say they would have done otherwise, they refuse. They say they would have done the same thing.

I'm trying to not get angry, but this is as frustrating as it gets. Is there no one who will speak up for us? Is there no one who will speak reason in this country? These sadly misguided Democrats think they're being "strong" by saying they would still have authorized the invasion of Iraq knowing what they know now. In fact, they're being painfully weak. No one would mistake their vacillating position for strength.

Strength is having the courage of your convictions. And fighting for what you believe.

If the Democratic establishment actually believes the war was still a good idea, then I don't want anything to do with them. If they think it was a bad idea, but they are trying to score political points by pretending to be in favor of it, then I don't want anything to do with them.

Didn't they already lose an election with this strategy?

Other than being cowardly, this stance is also politically ineffectual. John Kerry already tried to prove how tough he was by saying he supported the Iraq War. It didn't work. People called him a flip-flopper for criticizing the President while agreeing with him at the same time. They were right.

"The Iraq war was a terrible idea and I completely agree with it" is an unprincipled stand that cannot be defended. It's so simple to say you were misled by the administration and that you would never trust them to make this type of decision again.

It looks like Patrick Fitzgerald is going to make your case so much easier by uncovering some of the lies that led us into the war. For the love of God, just say you were lied to and that you would never make the same mistake if you had to do it over.

Democrats criticize the President for never owning up to his mistakes, but yet, they're doing the same exact thing. And the mistake they would have to admit to here is "trusting this administration." So simple. If they can't get this right this late in the game, are they ever going to be able to get anything right?

I don't want to nitpick every Senator on every issue. I am not the type to abandon someone because they disagree with me on a couple of things. You will never find a politician you completely agree with. But the Iraq War is not a minor issue. It is the largest and most important issue. When the Democratic establishment supports George Bush's logic in taking us into this war and agrees with him on the original invasion, they make it impossible to support them.

I know this is not the position of every elected Democratic official. However, it is the position of the most influential and powerful Democratic leaders in the country, including Senators Schumer, Clinton, Kerry and Biden. This is not a small fringe group within the party, this is the party establishment.

Since the Republicans seem to be irredeemably lost on this issue, the Democratic Party is our last shred of hope. I hesitate in using harsh language against them, but they leave us no choice. I hope they can prove me wrong and show the American people they do have the courage to stand up and fight for the majority of Americans who now believe the Iraq War was a mistake. If they can't do that, they leave us with no one to root for, no hope for a better direction and no faith left in the system.