Anti-war crowd starving for attention

There was a New York Times article this weekend that seems to be making the Left warm in their collective crotch area. “American Antiwar Movement Plans an Autumn Campaign Against Policies on Afghanistan” is making the rounds on the anti-war blogs as some sort of clarion call.

Anticipating a Pentagon request for more troops there, antiwar leaders have engaged in a flurry of meetings to discuss a month of demonstrations, lobbying, teach-ins and memorials in October to publicize the casualty count, raise concerns about the cost of the war and pressure Congress to demand an exit strategy.

But they face a starkly changed political climate from just a year ago, when President George W. Bush provided a lightning rod for protests. The health care battle is consuming the resources of labor unions and other core Democratic groups.

Yeah, no more BDS to capitalize upon, a shame, a crying shame. And of course the further the Times interviews from the Democrat Party, the stronger the commitment is to oppose the war. For example, from the Democrat Party’s underpants, spaketh John Soltz;

“People do not want to take on the administration,” said Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org. “Generating the kind of money that would be required to challenge the president’s policies just isn’t going to happen.”

Anti-War.com recognizes that Soltz is securely in the Democrat Party’s friendly camp;

It’s fascinating to watch “antiwar leaders” like Soltz – who openly supports the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan – move in the opposite direction from the rest of the country. What “people” don’t want to take on the administration? Why, Soltz and his oh-so-progressive friends who run Democratic front organizations, that’s who.

The Times talks to Democrat Party organ MoveOn.org;

And some groups, including Moveon.org, have yet to take a clear position on Afghanistan beyond warning that war drains resources from domestic programs.

“There is not the passion around Afghanistan that we saw around Iraq,” said Ilyse Hogue, Moveon.org’s spokeswoman. “But there are questions.”

Because, like Soltz and the VoteVets, Move On won’t bite the hand they’ve been praying will feed their egos.

A little further from the Democrat Party, Medea Benjamin and Nancy Lessin;

“We’re coming out of a low period,” said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink. “But as progressives feel more comfortable protesting against the Obama administration and challenging Democrats as well as Republicans in Congress, then we’ll be back on track.”

“There are some that feel betrayed” by Mr. Obama, said Nancy Lessin, a founder of the group Military Families Speak Out. “There are some who feel that powerful forces are pushing the president to stay on this course and that we have to build a more powerful movement to change that course.”

Yeah, a battle of wits between the anti-war groups and the Democrats. A war of attrition, one in which the Republicans will finally get to enjoy the taste of popcorn.

The Times gets around to talking to IVAW’s Perry O’Brien;

“In the next year, it will more and more become Obama’s war,” said Perry O’Brien, president of the New York chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. “He’ll be held responsible for the bloodshed.”

IVAW support in the last election wasn’t monolithic – except that they all opposed John McCain. Individual members supported the spectrum – from Ron Paul to Ralph Nader and everyone in between. IVAW follows the money from organizations like Code Pink and MFSO. They are members of the loose affiliation of United For Peace and Justice, but UFPJ don’t seem too motivated to oppose Obama, either. From Anti-War.com;

[S]ince UFPJ is dominated by the old Commie network – the remnants of the CPUSA and its social democratic split-off, the Committees of Correspondence – this is hardly surprising. These people have long been a drag on the antiwar movement, stifling the creation of a broad-based anti-interventionism in favor of saddling protests with the familiar litany of liberal demands. Now Obama’s campaign for free ice cream has totally eclipsed the ostensibly antiwar aims of the movement, inducing near complete paralysis.

The money from the Bethesda liberals is drying up – the anti-war crowd is becoming more dependent on fewer sources of cash. I guess when George Soros gets the guy he wants in the White House, there’s a lot of cash off the table.

By the way, Matthis, you nad I broke our legs on the same weekend, and I’ve been off crutches for about a month now. In fact, I put about 40 miles on my bicycle this weekend. How big of a pussy are you anyway?

Category: Antiwar crowd, Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Code Pink, Terror War