The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
This is the lucky site of a Hillary Clinton speech on October 11th and I shall be in attendence, hoping to discover whether or not Senator Clinton will be an asset or a risk for progressives in 2008. I'm truly curious.
Can she win a Presidential election? Despite intense debate, I believe so. However, she's weakened by the fact that she has yet to come out against Iraq. Almost everyone in the Senate made a mistake in passing the resolution for war against Iraq. I refuse to believe for an instant a single Senator truly believed the President would only go to war as a last resort. Even before important documents such as the Downing Street Memo were revealed, it should have been clear that the President wasn't giving the weapons inspectors or the UN the time and respect they deserved. People like Hillary Clinton and almost all of the Democrats should have shown a little political backbone and resisted the President - despite his popularity at the time.
Hillary Clinton should start a new trend - a trend of honesty among important Democratic leaders. She should go on Meet the Press, or a show like it, and say something like this: 'I'm sorry, under the political circumstances of the time I made a decision I have now come to regret. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; there was no al Qaeda connection. It was a mistake to invade that country, a mistake I deeply regret. Democrats should have resisted the resolution we helped pass before the invasion, but we failed and for that I apologize. Now, it is important to start to a plan to quickly withdraw our troops from Iraq in a way that will help, not hinder, Iraqis.'
Until Democrats start to show some conviction and advance truly progressive politics, the people of this country won't follow them like they did in the past. Democrats used to have a significant advantage in the actual size of their political party over Republicans, however that advantage has eroded. Now, both parties operate at about equal parity in size - but not in power or resources. Democrats have lost many working and middle class citizens because of a lack of conviction and because they aren't advancing the policies which will help people help themselves. Republicans are the ones doing the talking and showing conviction and have gained ground because of it. (People should read "What's the Matter with Kansas?" if they're interested in this subject.)
I'll be interested if Senator Clinton can seperate herself from the current mold of Democratic leaders and somehow send a message that reveals hope for a better future.
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2 comments:
i agree. the vote to allow bush to use the military in iraq was a mistake, and anyone who was paying attention knew it.
democrats are in a tough position regarding iraq. several of them have made good, concrete suggestions for improving the situation over there. they've even written bills to get the troops out. but they are, unfortunately, powerless in a republican-controlled congress, so that's as far as they can go. it would be nice to see hillary go that far, but it won't help iraq, the troops, or the democratic party if she does.
It may not, but I think it would help her when she runs for President. She'll have to put forward a decent plan to withdraw from Iraq that won't leave it in shambles - she'd do good to look at something like the Center for American Progress has to offer.
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