Thursday, May 24, 2007

Legislators: A Time for Principled Action on Iraq is Now

"Key Democrats To Vote Against Bill That Excludes Iraq Timetables"

There is a time when principle should trump or overwhelm any inclination or propensity to embrace some "calculated compromise" approach. And this is it.

I am sure that before the Dems caved to Bush, the leadership was looking ahead to the 2008 elections and what the impact would be. It's obvious that they were more concerned over how their refusal to fund Bush's war of choice would go over in the public's eye. And with the type of mainstream media that we have at the moment, I really don't blame them for thinking that way.

But this is a clear example where one has to assert one's principles and do what is fundamentally right. The people respect difficult decisions that are made on the basis of "authentic" considerations. They disrespect those made for purely "practical considerations" when those considerations trump a more principled course of action. The latter shows true leadership. The former, a type of crass political calculation.

It's time the Democratic leadership show some authentic leadership. Regrettably, our politicians have shown an alarming and increasing inability to connect with their primary constituency over the past several decades as corporate influence has outstripped fundamental principles of democracy...And it's very, very depressing.