Crossposted at DailyKos

A CONTINUING GENOCIDE

If you already know all about Darfur, scroll down to the next section. Unfortunately, many people are still unclear about what's going on.

After three years of genocide, the word "Darfur" is no longer a foreign (no pun intended) term for most Americans. But when you ask someone if they've heard of Darfur, the response is often a generic, pathetic "Oh yeah, um, isn't that the place in Africa where those people are fighting?"  Tragically, the crisis in Darfur still is not being brought to the forefront in mainstream America.

Sudan has experienced inner turmoil for most of the country's autonomous existence.  It was embattled in a bloody North-South civil war for 20 years that claimed over 2 million lives and displaced nearly twice as many.  In 2003, two rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) took up arms against a repressive fundamentalist Islamic regime, igniting more killing and violence.  

Darfur is roughly the size of France and home to a wide range of religious and ethnic groups.  Its desolate landscape has been ravaged by Arab Janjaweed militias who have burned villages and their inhabitants to the ground in horrific "scorched-earth" campaigns.  Haunting accounts of rape and vicious sexual abuse run rampant throughout refugee camps.  The conflict has escalated into the world's worst humanitarian crisis with nearly 400,000 dead and many more who undoubtedly will succumb to starvation, disease, and future violence.

The U.S. Congress adopted resolutions in July 2004 condemning the situation in Darfur as genocide, yet such action has amounted to little more than lip service.  Congress has since passed several pieces of legislation in both chambers, most notably the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.  The act reinforces AU efforts to negotiate peace talks and imposes sanctions against the government of Sudan among other things.  The DPAA is a step in the right direction, but clearly much more needs to be done.

One can't be too shocked that more isn't being done to put an end to the situation in Darfur.  Despite the current administration's thirst for oil, it has no stake in any of Sudan's rich oil reserves because of sanctions imposed on the country when it was placed on the State Department's list of countries harboring terrorists (i.e. Osama bin Laden) during the Clinton years.  

Lack of action by the U.S. is a direct result of a lack of political will, plain and simple.  Perhaps the most devastating aspect of the genocide is that the damage is often grossly underestimated until after the violence ceases.

GENOCDE AND A FAILING CONGRESS

Not surprisingly, Democrats have been much more supportive than Republicans on the issue -- with a few exceptions, of course. Barack Obama, Dick Durbin and Hillary Clinton lead the way in the Senate, while Donald Payne and Michael Capuano lead the charge in the House (Nancy Pelosi also scores well). All of these members of Congress received an A+ on the Genocide Intervention Network's newly released Darfur scorecard.

An overwhelming number of Republicans received a failing grade, including Chuck Hagel, Mitch McConnell and Pat Roberts. John McCain escaped getting an F, but failed to sponsor any of the primary three Darfur bills. (Two important exceptions to this trend are Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo, who despite their atrocious positions on other issues have been true leaders on Darfur.)

With many prominent conservatives' approval ratings continually sinking to abysmal levels, Democrats have a chance to win the majority in the House and maybe even the Senate this November. With such a clear division between the parties, will Darfur play a role?

MAKING DARFUR A SWING ISSUE

In several important elections this fall, the incumbent has a truly atrocious record -- and the Democratic challengers should be encouraged to emphasize it. This is an issue that will play well, given that 70% of voters want the U.S. to do more in Darfur.

George Allen: F

The Darfur scorecard sums it up nicely: "George Allen has received an F for not supporting a single piece of Darfur legislation or casting any favorable votes to stop the genocide in Darfur. This person has the power to protect civilians in Darfur, yet is doing nothing." Raising Kaine also has a great post on this.

Jim Webb: Couldn't find anything about Darfur connected to him. However, his friend and endorser Wes Clark has been a big leader on Darfur, so hopefully some of that will rub off. Tell Jim Webb to take a stand on Darfur!

Jon Kyl: F

Neither Kyl nor Jim Pederson has said anything about Darfur. Tell Jim Pederson to take a stand on Darfur!

John Ensign: F

Jack Carter hasn't said much (at least that I can find) but Sarah Carter did post a link that mentions how hard it is to get people talking about Darfur. Tell Jack Carter to start talking about Darfur!

Orrin Hatch: F

We know Pete Ashdown is a long shot. But talking about how Orrin Hatch is apparently so conservative that he can't even follow Sam Brownback's lead on Darfur could raise his profile -- and if it pushed Hatch toward a new position, that would certainly be a good victory. Tell Pete Ashdown to take a stand on Darfur!

Nancy Johnson (CT-05): D

The only reason Nancy Johnson didn't get an F was because she voted for the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act -- as did all but three members of the House. Chris Murphy
needs to push the issue!

Deborah Price (OH-15): D

Ditto for Deborah -- she voted for the DPAA and nothing else. Give Mary Jo Kilroy a push.

Lynn Westmoreland (GA-08): D

Stephen Colbert's most famous congressional interviewee, Westmoreland doesn't like preventing genocide any more than he likes the Voting Rights Act (in other words, not much). Tell Jim Marshall what he needs to do here.

Jean Schmidt (OH-02): C

Mean Jean voted against funding peacekeepers in Darfur, and followed that up with a vote against a bill (sponsored by none other than Henry Hyde) to send humanitarian aid to Darfur. Dr. Victoria Wulsin's campaign, on the other hand, blogged about Darfur and her 2004 column in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Curt Weldon (PA-07): C

Curt Weldon is something of a special case. You see, in the information his office submitted for the scorecard, he wrote that this summer, they are hosting "an intern from Sudan, one of the 'Lost Boys' who fled the fighting years ago. They plan on working with him to develop comprehensive approaches to conflict resolution in Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea." You would think that might mean he would support the peacekeepers currently in Darfur -- but no. Like Mean Jean, Weldon voted against both the peacekeeping funding and the humanitarian aid.

Joe Sestak needs to push that hard.

Frustrating races: Jeff Flake (AZ-06) got an F -- one of only three F's in the entire House -- for voting against the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, but he is running unopposed. And Joe Lieberman? Well, he can't get pushed much, because he already got an A+. But Lamont has John Edwards campaigning for him, and Edwards has been talking about Darfur -- so perhaps it's something they can respectfully agree on.

SWINGING A GENOCIDE

It seems clear from the overall grades that a Democratic House and Democratic Senate would move the United States closer to stopping the genocide in Darfur. What's more, because so many voters want the U.S. to do more, emphasizing their differences on this issue can actually help Democrats win.

For those of you who aren't in competitive races, check out your own legislators' scores on Darfur. There are a few surprises. (Paul Sarbanes? Dennis Kucinich? Robert Byrd?)

Now is the perfect time for constituents to pressure their legislators into taking more significant action.  Tell them not to turn their backs on the people of Darfur.  Praise your members of Congress who have consistently fought for the people of Darfur, and criticize members who have stood idly by while thousands of people are being slaughtered and millions are being displaced.

We have let this wound in Sudan fester for too long. It has developed into a humanitarian catastrophe, and if nothing is done, it has the potential to explode into something much bigger.

Let's swing this election and stop a genocide at the same time!