Reply #171: i'm glad you asked ... [View All]

[welshTerrier2]

right now, what i've been doing is talking to all the Clark or Kerry supporters i can find ... i even was able to have an exchange directly with Wes Clark although that will require some follow-up ...

i believe, if the US had stayed in Vietnam another 10 or 20 years, we still would not have been successful ... can anyone look at Iraq and believe the US occupation is helping the situation? i do not believe that anything positive can be achieved in Iraq while the US remains there ... and i'm not calling for an immediate withdrawal as the only path worth considering ... i think a case can be made for a very short-term occupation, say 3 months or less ... but i see nothing that can be gained in 6 months or a year or two years or whatever that cannot be achieved in 3 months ... frankly, i'm skeptical anything can be achieved at all ... the US is a major obstacle, not an aid, to progress in Iraq ...

so, to answer your question, my current approach is to do all i can to convince Clark and Kerry to step up to the plate and lead the "peace movement" ... and if they don't want to represent the views i hold, i want to be up front with them and their supporters that i will not support them ... at some point, we have to stop pretending the Democratic Party represents us if they continue to refuse to do so ...

and so, what will i do if no prominent Democrats step up to the plate ??? well, i will put issues ahead of Party ... i will continue to work for and support progressive Democrats as my first choice ... and in races where none is found, and that includes the Presidential race, i will look to third parties ...

if i am in a miniscule minority who chooses this course, no harm will come to the eventual Democratic nominee ... if my views are held by a significant number of Democrats, perhaps someone in the Party better start paying more attention to us ... roll the dice, my friend ... all i can do right now is try to make my position clear ...