The “In Crowd” Versus the “Populists” By Ruth Conniff

[kentuck]

http://www.progressive.org/mag_rcb092806

<snip>
Sirota calls the coming election a “tidal wave” heading for Washington’s “hall of mirrors,” conjuring up a massive populist uprising against the smug establishment types that will smash their arrogant worldview to smithereens. It’s a gratifying image. But the positions of individual candidates around the country don’t necessarily sustain it. Along with the Sherrod Browns and Ned Lamonts, there are the Maria Cantwells and James Webbs, who don’t take such a strong position on getting out of Iraq, and who supported CAFTA and other free-trade bills. Around the country, a majority of Democratic Congressional candidates are not calling for withdrawal from Iraq.

Still, “the growing feeling against the war in the country is boosting Democrats' chances, even when they are too afraid to press their advantage,” says veteran Democratic campaign strategist Steve Cobble. “The main reason the Republicans are in trouble is because they lied about a war which has turned out to be a disaster. That fundamental fact should not be forgotten, even when individual Democrats shy away from running against the war.”

Certainly the Democratic leadership wants to capitalize on that sentiment. In his book The Plan, Rahm Emanuel has a chapter entitled “Who sunk my battleship?” (All the chapters have cutesy titles designed to appeal to younger, hipper voters). Emanuel criticizes the Bush Administration for its handling of the war on terror. But here’s the plan he comes up with: “We cannot fight and win a long war without more troops. . . . We need a bigger, better-equipped Army.”

Sure, “the administration jeopardized the success of our mission in Afghanistan by shifting troops to Iraq because it didn’t have enough to go all out in both places,” and “Osama bin Laden got away at Tora Bora in part because we didn’t have the personnel to pursue him.” But the answer Emanuel proposes is the Joe Lieberman/Hillary Clinton bill to add 100,000 soldiers to a U.S. Army that is losing soldiers at an alarming rate while bogged down in an unwinnable civil war. Worse, Emanuel lumps together Iraq and the war on terrorism generally—giving credence to the Bush Administration fiction that the U.S. presence in Iraq is part of the effort to fight terrorism, instead of a tragic, costly distraction that has only helped create a bigger terrorist threat.

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Impeachment ,is the only way we can save ourselves in the eyes of

The World.Everything they do is corrupt or incompetent ,it can't be that hard to oust the idiot king.

[KoKo]

2. As a Sirota fan...

I probably shouldn't reply. I think he missed that Sherrod Brown voted for the "Torture Bill" but mostly I always agree with him in what he says....because I seem to be a "populist" ...whatever that means these days.

Thanks for the post.

[KoKo]

3. A quote from the article

from Sirota sort of says ALOT!

But, as David Sirota put it in his furious blog following Broder’s column, the ragged people who work at manufacturing jobs in Ohio—those Brown represents—aren’t the people Washington insiders care about.

All I need to do is watch Imus on MSNBC in the morning to see how our Government has been sold down the drain by "INSIDERS" and that this entertainer can sell his Ranch and Green Clean on the airwaves while he shills for GE...always amazes me.

Why would I tune in? Just a political junkie and media watcher. I can't control my addiction...but then we have so little chance to view the latest political book or see our Dem Politicians go bow down before the "I-Man" that I'm fascinated by the Horror of it...and do tune in a few times a week just to see what I might have missed. :-(