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Fifth Column
"Anti-war" fascists battle to remain relevant
2010-09-06
EFL.
As President Barack Obama formally declared an end to combat operations in Iraq this week, the anti-war movement that helped sweep him into office -- and that worked for seven years to bring U.S. troops home -- finds itself struggling for survival.
Under the bus, folks, there's room for all ...
Several factors -- war fatigue; a deep, lingering recession; and the presence of a Democratic president they helped elect -- have drained the energy from organizations that led the fight against the Iraq war. Some of the most influential anti-war activist groups that once summoned half a million people to march against the Iraq war and the policies of former President George W. Bush are straining to raise the money and attention to fight what they see as Obama's military entrenchment in Afghanistan.
I don't recall a half million protesting the war anywhere.
"We don't have a very vibrant anti-war movement anymore," lamented Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Codepink and treasonous bitch, one of the anti-war movement's most visible organizations. "The issues have not changed very much. ... Now we have a surge [in Afghanistan] that we would have been furious about under George Bush, yet it's hard to mobilize people under Obama. We have the same anti-war movement and not the same passion."
And the Democrats didn't even leave any money on the nightstand for you, Medea ...
MoveOn.org, which produced a 2007 anti-war newspaper ad labeling Gen. David Petraeus "General Betray Us" for the surge in Iraq, has largely been silent on orders from above, despite a similar U.S. strategy in Afghanistan with Petraeus at the helm. Cindy Sheehan, perhaps the most famous anti-war protester, believes the peace movement is over. And United for Peace and Justice -- once the largest of three major anti-war coalitions -- has practically dissolved.
Aww, damn.
Leslie Cagan, UFPJ's founder, resigned last year after nearly seven years leading the group. "I was totally exhausted," said Cagan, 63. "I have a long history of anti-war activism -- about 45 years -- but the last eight or nine years have been totally intense. In a post 9/11 world, it's just nonstop."
And without the adoring media and the Soros money it just wasn't fun anymore ...
Liberals demanding an immediate withdrawal from Iraq after the 2003 invasion were largely ignored by the Bush administration, but their influence with Democrats and independent voters grew between 2004 and 2008, the height of the war -- and the time of Obama's emergence as a presidential contender. By 2008, the anti-war sentiment had fueled a surge in voter registration, while anti-war activists openly embraced Obama, whose early momentum was based largely on opposition to Iraq.

Now, that energy has all but vanished, leaving Obama and embattled congressional Democrats with one less ally when they need all the help they can get.

Paradoxically, the anti-war movement has grown weaker even as public opposition to the Afghanistan war has grown stronger. A recent Gallup poll found that 43 percent of those surveyed think the Afghanistan war was a mistake, compared with 30 percent in January 2009. But an anti-war rally in Washington in March 2009 drew fewer than 10,000 people -- a fraction of the 500,000 activists who attended an anti-Iraq war rally in Manhattan in 2003.
Even liberals worry about the economy, even if they don't know what to do about it ...
It wasn't 500,000 that attended the rally; it was less than 300,000 and that was a leftist estimate. And the protest took place in February, 2003, an important date because it prceded the start of the liberation of Iraq by about 30 days. This is important because despite the claimed 300,000 protesters no one was ever able to muster anything close to those numbers again in the US.
Meanwhile, the leaders have kept their grumbling about Afghanistan mostly to themselves, to keep Obama's sagging poll numbers from sinking further or jeopardizing the Democratic majority in Congress.
Thus demonstrating their true principles, or lack thereof ...
The staggering economy has hit the movement hard: Just a few years ago, some groups raised millions of dollars in donations and mobilized legions of supporters to rallies in Washington and New York; now, UFPJ -- which had a full-time, paid staff and a budget of more than $1 million -- relies on volunteers working without a headquarters and with less than $100,000 to spend.
Mr. Soros has found other ways to spend his money?
Nevertheless, many activists believe that momentum is building against the continued military presence in Afghanistan. In July, 102 House Democrats voted against the $33 billion emergency war supplemental bill, compared with 32 who voted against it last year -- a sign, activists say, that Congress is responding to falling public support for the Afghanistan war. Activists took heart when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not whip progressive members to support this bill, and when House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey said he had "profound skepticism" about spending more money on combat in Afghanistan.
Then again, perhaps they saw the poll numbers and decided that they needed to rally their single remaining bastion of support for the election ...
As Democrats in Congress begin to put pressure on the White House to leave Afghanistan, some say that move could help the anti-war movement regain some of its lost strength. Still, if outside groups can't build on that momentum, "it would be a problem," said Bob Borosage, founder and president of Institute for America's Future.
Posted by:

#15  Appeasement is not the answer
Posted by: Mike Hunt   2010-09-06 23:52  

#14  "War is not the answer"

Life is made of solutions, not problems.
Posted by: gorb   2010-09-06 22:04  

#13  I don't recall a half million protesting the war anywhere.

Looks like we just found where the MSM put some of the folks who went AWOL from Glenn Beck's rally.
Posted by: gorb   2010-09-06 22:01  

#12  3 letter word? Ooohhhh! I know this!
"Jobs"


/Sheriff Joe Biden, Captain of Recovery Semmer™
Posted by: Frank G   2010-09-06 20:47  

#11  Mike,'

how about a sign that says,

"what is a 3 letter word meaning armed combat"
Posted by: lord garth   2010-09-06 20:25  

#10  Miscellaneous asks:

"Do they want people killed? Do the want tyrants to control the world, destroy human rights, and randomly kill people that irritate them? They think that murderers are just misunderstood by police? That Stalin was really trying to save the planet by killing the millions he did?"

Yes. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2010-09-06 18:12  

#9  Mike Ramsey - may I suggest a third sign?

"War is not the answer"

THAT depends on the question.

:-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2010-09-06 18:09  

#8  I really don't get doves some times. It's like they think we're past the Second Coming and can all stand around and sing love songs. Do they want people killed? Do the want tyrants to control the world, destroy human rights, and randomly kill people that irritate them? They think that murderers are just misunderstood by police? That Stalin was really trying to save the planet by killing the millions he did? If some one doesn't stand up and/or put the a-holes of the world down, they will be ruin all of us before we even reach the Second Coming.

People can't even agree on subjects with in their own families. That'w with their own blood. We even get family murders some times. Why would some one that does not value human life, any sense of liberty, or recognize any rights of an individual, and doesn't mind killing people, make the lovers think they can reason with them? By nature, they are unreasonable and uncomprimising. It blows me away.
Posted by: miscellaneous   2010-09-06 14:47  

#7  #1 The guy across the street from me has a sign declaring that "War is not the answer".

You should put up one that says "42 is the answer"
Posted by: mojo   2010-09-06 14:46  

#6  Hopefully many of these "activists" will use more / harder dope out of boredom and ennui. May the ensuing health issues take hold...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2010-09-06 13:01  

#5  But an anti-war rally in Washington in March 2009 drew fewer than 10,000 people -- a fraction of the 500,000 activists who attended an anti-Iraq war rally in Manhattan in 2003.

It was a march near my apartment- local cops said 100,000 and staffed accordingly. Of those, I would guess 1 in 5 were 'hardcore' (this IS Manhattan, mind you.) The rest were there to impress their social networks or pick up hippies.

The 10,000 number therefore rings true as a high estimate.
Posted by: Free Radical   2010-09-06 12:20  

#4  Mike, may I suggest some of these quotes:

"Give War a Chance"

"War not the answer? Depends on the question."

"Violence; the last refuge toward the incompetent."

"War has never solved anything (except for ending slavery, nazism, communism, holcausts and fascism)."

"Communism has only killed 100 million people, let's give it another try..."

Posted by: Broadhead6   2010-09-06 11:02  

#3  Awww, geez, sounds like Medea lost her free parking spot in front of the Marine recruiting station in Berkeley.
And that spot was primo...
Posted by: tu3031   2010-09-06 10:56  

#2  Queen Pelosi said it is time to drain the swamp. Only one problem, she is part of the swamp.

The American voters need to drain the swamp, boot and then Reboot.
Posted by: JohnQC   2010-09-06 10:21  

#1  The guy across the street from me has a sign declaring that "War is not the answer".

I am going to put up two signs today.

"Big government is not the answer"

"Peace through superior firepower"

Happy Labor day.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey   2010-09-06 09:42  

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