Give BUSH another $124 BILLION for WAR??? No frickin way. NO FRICKIN WAY!!!
Start with the world as it is, not as you wish it to be. American has an army in Iraq, and it will cost at least as much as that to withdraw it. America also has a President that acts like a dictator, one that must be brought down before we can begin to withdraw troops. Money is going to troops in Iraq, and you should get used to that fact. The elections of 2000, 2002, and 2004 had consequences, as did our failure to end the Cold War. This is one of the tragedies of American history unfolding in front of our eyes. As Americans, though, we have to accept responsibility for our country's actions and do the best we can.
Matt: I respect your views and what you have accomplished with this site.
However, when I read phrases like "start with the world as it is, not as you wish it to be," or "Money is going to troops in Iraq, and you should get used to that fact," I cringe at the subtle but evident condescension, which I trust was not deliberate on your part.
As someone who has been involved with a series of against-the-odds victories at the grassroots level over the past decade, I am used to hearing such phrases from those in the Democratic establishment (not something I consider you part of... yet).
Countless times I was told by folks who valued their positions and influence more than their own ostensible ideals that our goals in various David-v.-Goliath battles were unrealistic, unachievable, even dangerous... and that our methods were extreme, overly radical, etc.
Every time, however, the people won when they stood up for what they really wanted -- not what professional politicians and pundits told us was possible.
In one of these battles, our adversary spent $60 million on their campaign (in a town of just 7,500 people) and the bad guys still lost. We won, by the way, without help from our Democratic Senators (Clinton and Schumer) or Attorney General (Spitzer), and other party officials who dodged the issue like the plague while the little guys and gals at the grassroots did all the gutsy, hard work.
So I don't have much patience for Dems who say what is and isn't possible to achieve.
The war is wrong, dead wrong, deeply unpopular, and getting moreso by the day. What this past few weeks says to me? That one of the biggest obstacles to ending that war is simply a lack of real leadership, guts, and imagination in the party, in my opinion.
So please be careful about sounding even a little bit like you're lecturing people about recognizing realities, etc. It's not that there aren't unrealistic people on the left (as in all ideological camps) but saying so is kind of an ugly and defensive habit of the elements of our party who you, among others, have historically challenged to aim higher.
