The Chris Moeller Archives

Voters tell Washington "Stop the war"

Today is a day of great rejoice for Americans-- not specifically because Democrats took control of both the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives-- they still have to prove themselves-- but because their electoral victory led to the immediate resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. I'm going to interpret his departure as an indication that White House insiders believed the Democrats were about to channel their newfound power toward his ouster, even though I'm not completely convinced myself that they would have been adequately aggressive in that regard if given the chance.

I won't jump for joy yet in regards to potential legislative action. Let us not forget that it was a Democratic-controlled Senate, after the Republican defection of Jim Jeffords in 2001, that passed Bush's No Child Left Behind education bill, as well as the Patriot Act. It's particularly frightening that many Democrats are spinning their victory on Tuesday as a mandate to move the party to the center, when in fact the results had everything to do with the disastrous war in Iraq, now opposed by more than 60 percent of Americans. I shuddered when I heard one left-centrist pundit today describe Rumsfelds' resignation as an opportunity to "get the job done right" in Iraq, rather than to pursue the sound course of action and abandon the occupation altogether.

The first thing House Democrats need to do is follow Arianna Huffington's advice and anoint Jack Murtha their Majority Leader. He was the man most responsible for leading them to victory-- the elected representative who best demonstrated that the anti-war position was the centrist position across the nation. After his appointment, both chamber leaderships should push resolutions declaring that the U.S. military leave Iraq by July 1st of next year. The Iraqi people want that action, a majority of Americans want it, and the rest of the world now expects it after the public rebuke of Bush.

Much will be made of Ned Lamont's defeat at the hands of Joe Lieberman in Connecticut, but Lamont compromised his own campaign by stopping the drumbeat against the war immediately following his primary victory. He tried to carve out his own place in the center to combat "GOP Joe." Everywhere else, voters demanded a leftward push. I found particular redemption in the rejection of "Democrat" Harold Ford, Jr. in Kentucky, who ran as a full-bore Republican-- pro-gun, anti-gay, with public lectures in support of the Ten Commandments for good measure. He made Lieberman look like Eugene Debs in the Congress with a National Journal "liberal" rating of only 58 percent. Meanwhile, real liberals like Ohio Rep. Sherrod Brown (84% "liberal" on that same chart) and Vermont Rep. Bernie Sanders (90% "liberal") won their Senate races handedly on Tuesday. Even moderate Republicans like Iowa's own Jim Leach paid a price for standing too close to Bush. He lost to Democrat Dave Loebsack.

It's put up or shut up time now for Democrats. It was one thing to stand on the sidelines and watch the Republicans destroy themselves, it's something else altogether to truly lead. America has spoken. Bring our brave men and women home.

posted by CM @ 8:35 PM