General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why on Earth should we nominate a presidential candidate who voted for war with Iraq? [View all]Martin Eden
(12,863 posts)Anyone who didn't know the IWR would make war with Iraq a certainty is either fooling themselves or simply wasn't paying attention.
The November mid-term elections hadn't taken place yet, and both the House AND Senate are needed to pass this kind of authorization.
Voting for something horrible just because the next Congress might pass it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Ever hear of a principled stand? The lead-up to the war in Iraq and that vote in particvular is when our country REALLY NEEDED Democrats to stand up and show some REAL LEADERSHIP. It was a great opportunity to demonstrate that the Democratic Party is strong, principled, and shows superior judgment in critical matters.
Democratic leaders like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry demonstrated horrible judgment, and let us down when we needed them the most.
Since then I have refused to support any Democrat in a primary who voted for the IWR.
But this did not stop me from going to Cuyahoga, Ohio in November 2004 to help get out the vote for John Kerry. We have two choices for president, and one of those choices is orders of magnitude more unacceptable.
If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee for president in 2016 I will support her.
But I hope for someone with better judgment in critical matters.