Hillary Clinton is not single-handedly responsible for the Iraq War

[democrattotheend]

I believe very strongly that Obama is not only the best candidate we have this year but the best chance we have had in a long time to achieve genuine progress as a nation. But as passionate as I am about Obama's candidacy, I am frequently disturbed by the behavior of some of his supporters, which does not reflect well on our candidate and which I intend to call out when I feel it's necessary.

One such disturbing pattern I have noticed is the tendency to exploit casualties or milestones in the Iraq War for political gain by using them to remind everyone that Hillary Clinton voted for the Iraq War Resolution. In addition to the tastelessness of politicizing war deaths, the implication in many of these posts has been that Hillary is responsible for these deaths because of her poor judgment on the resolution.

Her vote was a big mistake and is absolutely fair grounds for judging her as a presidential candidate. But the resolution would have passed with or without her support, and it is wrong for people to act as though she is single-handedly responsible for every casualty in Iraq. The resolution did not pass 51-49, and I don't even believe that the President would have refrained from going to war if the resolution had failed to pass (remember that before Congress took up the resolution, Bush was claiming that Congressional approval was not necessary). All of the deaths, injuries and destruction of the Iraq War would have happened even if Clinton had voted against the resolution, and to claim that every death is her fault is not only tasteless but dishonest.

Every death in Iraq is a tragedy, and it is tragic that we have been in there for 5 years with no end in sight. But cheapening tragic losses by using them to take shots at Hillary Clinton is wrong and distasteful and I hope DUers will think twice before politicizing bad news from Iraq in the future.

[LostinVA]

1. K&R

[Raffi Ella]

2. BRAVO excellent post.THANK YOU.

:patriot:

K&R

[ClassWarrior]

3. I agree. Why doesn't she?

Why won't she admit her mistake and apologize for signing a Blank Check for Invasion? Why doesn't take responsibility for her part?

NGU.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

14. Agreed. Hillary's not solely responsible, but she's certainly a prime mover and shaker.

[ClassWarrior]

16. I don't even care about that. I just want to see her...

...own up to her own vote.

NGU.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

28. I hear you.

[roguevalley]

45. she is responsible for being one of many hands that led to an

atrocity. she cannot undermine or dismiss her participation. She cannot be free of the outcomes of her actions.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

47. Not to worry. She WILL be held accountable. I'm looking forward to her losing the nomination . .

primarily because of her poor judgment in voting for the Iraq war.

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. Thank you for this fair OP

I agree with you that Hillary's vote for the IWR is a potent basis on which to be critical of her. But Iraq is George Bush's war. A number of Democratic Senators who now campaign for Barack Obama, like Tom Daschel and Chris Dodd, joined with Hillary Clinton to vote for the IWR. John Kerry who is a top Obama surragate did also, and John Edwards went beyond voting for the IWR, he actually co-sponsored it and defended the invasion at the time. Joe Biden, another of our recent Presidential candidates who is widely regarded as being an expert of foreign affairs voted for the IWR also. I beleive none of those men, nor Hillary Clinton, would have invaded Iraq had they been President. All of them would have let the UN inspectors who returned to Iraq after the IWR passed complete their mission inside of Iraq. There were no WMD's. There would have been no Iraq war were it not for the Bush Administration.

[redqueen]

5. I agree that blaming her for the war is unfair.

But I don't agree that we should take her vote any more lightly simply because it would have passed without her vote. FAR from it.

[BigDDem]

6. Hat's off to you

Bravo!!!

:yourock:

[UALRBSofL]

7. Thanks for posting this because they never slam Kerry

who voted IWR and they voted for him in 2004. I think it must be a male/female issue.

[democrattotheend]

19. Nah, I think it is a political expediency issue, not a gender issue

I was very critical of Kerry for voting for the war, but I will admit I have found myself less likely to criticize him since he endorsed Obama. But in fairness, he did apologize for his vote, and I do believe he struggled with the decision probably more than most people who voted for it, since he had been to war and seen his fellow soldiers die in battle and I refuse to believe he would vote to send people to war without at least struggling with it. Plus, Kerry criticized Bush for the decision to invade at the time of the invasion...I don't think Clinton did.

[Mooney]

27. Kerry's not running.

And plenty of us slammed him HARD for this vote at the time.

[redqueen]

32. Kerry was slammed hard and often for that vote during that primary.

And yes, most still voted for him, and most will vote for Clinton should she be the nominee.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. people should know what they are getting before they swear her in

the reason why she is being held accountable is because she is running for president the focus is on her. We don't want to make that mistake again. War was used to score political points by the GOP and Hillary thought she could too at the time.

[susankh4]

13. We do!

And that is why the more experience oriented half of the party wants HRC.

It is BO that we don't know enough about.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. of course that is a matter of opinion

well thankfully we live in a political system that lets us think for ourselves

[cali]

34. The more experienced half? You mean Teddy Kennedy

Pat Leahy, Chris Dodd, and dozens of other experienced lawmakers with decades of service, aren't really experienced and don't know what they're doing? What a crock of shit. And there's tons about the secretive, sneaky Hill we don't know.

[democrattotheend]

21. I'm not saying that she should not be criticized for it

Or that her judgment in voting to authorize the war is not a valid factor in judging how she would act as Commander in Chief. I just think that it's unfair to act like every death in the war is her fault. I have seen people post things like "another 5 soldiers died today. Thanks, Hillary" and I think it's inappropriate and distasteful.

[againes654]

9. K&R

From an Obama supporter

[thesubstanceofdreams]

10. Good balanced post. Thank you. n/t

[tandot]

11. K & R. Thanks, democrattotheend.

:hi:

[olkaz]

12. This wouldn't be a big deal if she'd own up to it.

My original candidate, John Edwards, had the guts to own up to a bad decision. He explained why he made it, said it was wrong, and we all moved on.

Hillary won't do that. What does that say?

[susankh4]

15. Tis true.

Thanks.

K&R

[Saturday]

17. You represent your candidate well. Thank you. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. It wasn't a "mistake" for the senators. It was calculated political pandering.

At the time they voted for it, the nation was behind Bush and the invasion. The senators who voted for it were playing politics with lives.

No, Hillary isn't single-handedly responsible for the war. All of the politicians who voted for the IWR and the funding for the catastrophe are. From Bush and Cheney to the most "liberal" Democrat.

Now they cry it was a "mistake" because now it is seen as a political mistake. Not a moral failure and an indication of character - or lack of it.

They waved the flag, cheered "the troops", and sent them off to kill and die.

They are a craven lot that deserves scorn instead of public office.

[redqueen]

30. Agreed.

There was no threat to this country. There was no justification for that invasion. Not at all.

[whatchamacallit]

22. Maybe not, but when you make your campaign about "experience" and your biggest FP experience was IWR

you are open to ridicule. If she were to become president, the next war WOULD be hers.

[ClassWarrior]

23. That's BCI...

The Blank Check for Invasion.

NGU.

[whatchamacallit]

24. Ah... thanks

[Mooney]

25. No one is saying she's singlehandedly responsible for it.

But she has to take responsibility for her vote. She's an elected official. You judge them on their record, and that vote will always be a shit stain on her record.

And saying that the war would have happened with or without her vote is the lamest of cop-outs. I knew Bush was going to get re-elected, but I voted for John Kerry anyway. Should I have voted for Bush because he was going to win anyway?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

33. exactly, it is part of her 'vast' experience!

whether the poster likes it or not it is very much her war as much as Bush's

[Mooney]

35. Yep. If she's running on her experience, then her votes are part of that.

I always found her claims of "experience" to be extremely dubious. Now here's one instance of a verifiable, undeniable part of her record, and we're supposed to give her a pass?

What ARE we allowed to judge her on, if not her votes?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

38. she leaves herself vulnerable

[krawhitham]

26. She played her part

If she had done her own research she would have known the intel was faulty, hell Google would have told her as much

[PerfectSage]

29. It's a question of ethics: She is running for President

In 2000 Hillary was 100% committed to running for president in the future. She wanted to lose the liberal image and gain a centerist democrat/warhawk on foreign policy image to further her presidential ambitions. So in 2002 she voted for IWR on that basis.

On that basis she failed an ethical test. On that basis, on the most crucial vote of her political career, she threw ethics under the bus. What kind of leadership is that?

Gobama!
Go Dean's 50 State Strategy!
Go Grassroots!

[Dinger]

31. K & R, And Thank You : ) (nt)

[speedoo]

36. She has to be held accountable for her part in it.

And it was a big part, as I recall. Her vote carried a lot of weight and Bush and the rethugs pointed to her and said: "See? We must be right if Hillary is with us."

And she never said anything in opposition to the war until it was very clear that public opinion had gone against it.

She also voted against the Levin Amendment, and has never explained why.

If she won't hold herself accountable, we will. After all, she's telling us she has far more experience. So lets vote on her experience.

[MadHound]

37. It is about accountability and judgement

There is a long tradition in this country to hold politicians accountable when the fuck up. Hillary fucked up royally on the IWR, as did many others. Most people around here, and in the wider anti-war movement out in the real world, vowed to hold all those who voted for the IWR accountable for their actions. That is what is going on now, we're holding Hillary accountable. When has accountability been a bad thing in politics?

It is also about her judgment. If she voted for the IWR because she was genuinely fooled or duped or some such by the Bush administration, then quite frankly she's too stupid to hold the highest office in the land. If, as I suspect, she made a cold, calculating vote based on political expediency, then she doesn't have the moral or ethical judgment to hold the highest office in the land.

This isn't about politicizing the war, this is about holding accountable those who supported and enabled it, from Bush on down, and that includes Hillary.

[oasis]

39. k and r

[MethuenProgressive]

40. Thank you. Kick & rec!

:kick:

[Texas Hill Country]

41. Applause.

[11 Bravo]

42. Of course she is!

She's also responsible for halitosis, Rwandan genocide, George Steinbrenner, and the heartbreak of psoriasis. Where the fuck have you been?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

43. Her new campaign slogan!: "I am not single-handedly responsible for the Iraq War."

:bluebox: :redbox: :graybox: :daily: :weekly: :tv: :radio: :web:

[Catherina]

44. What's distasteful is her record on issues near and dear to the war crowd

Are you suggesting we ignore her craven opportunism?

Hillary, and every single Democrat who collaborated, is as responsible for those deaths as George Bush. This war was illegal under international law and everyone who enabled it is a criminal. How easy to bury our heads and pretend Bush was the only problem.

We must hold those responsible for this war accountable. Any person who enabled such a monstrous crime should be run out of office and scorned.

[krkaufman]

46. A different reality

It is impossible to say how the Iraq vote, or the following ramp-up to war, would have gone had a few especially prominent politicians been more vocal in opposition, and few officeholders, at the time of the vote, had as much national recognition and credibility as Sen. Clinton. She could have very easily lent her national reputation to Sen. Bob Graham's claims that the case for war was trumped-up, and that the full Iraq NIE contradicted the selectively-filtered summary NIE document. Hillary's voice could have been a tipping point in the fight, a real chance for her to lead.

But a different reality came to pass.

[burythehatchet]

48. Yes Sir, Mr. krkaufman. That is precisely the issue

she voted for the war because it was her best guess as to what would be better for her presidential aspirations. She has the name and the platform to lead on the issue. She stepped away and now wants to say she's a leader. She is the complete antithesis of a leader.

[krkaufman]

49. Obviously, I agree with your agreement. : )

And find your sig line hilarious.

Hillary failed on the most critical vote in decades. And she didn't just vote to support the use of force, she made speeches justifying the use of force -- rather than taking the risk other politicians were in making a stand contrary to public opinion and conventional "thinking." And she continued to support the invasion and occupation until public opinion finally spun around against it. This is not leadership.

[rodeodance]

50. Lots of immature posters on DU sure believe it. then they take the LIE and spread it round