Anti-War Self-Delusion

The Whistler • July 18, 2007

Why is it that the Republican base was able to rather easily kill the immigration
bill – even though the President and a significant number of Republican senators
supported it – while the Democratic base is unable to defund or stop the military
in Iraq, even though the Democratic leadership is foursquare behind defeat in
Iraq?

The Republicans had the numbers, for one thing. Capitol Hill was deluged with
outraged calls, killing the switchboards. Republican donors began demanding
refunds. The outrage was palpable, and authentic. Democratic ‘outrage’ against
the war, in contrast, is knee-jerk, mechanical, and ho-hum predictable. Moreover,
the numbers just aren’t there.

Oh sure, there are the polls that claim that 120% of the American people loathe
the war and want our troops out yesterday – but the Democrats have been duped
by these polls and the tepid anti-war movement proves it. Besides, typical poll
questions ask something akin to "do you want our troops to come home?"
Hell, I am a huge supporter of the war and I too want our troops to come home.
I am sure that if you polled the American people in the depths of World War
II if they ‘want the troops to come home’, the answer would have been hell
yes. Another great question is "do you approve of the way the war is
being handled?" Well, if we haven’t won yet, I guess the answer must be
no.

The typical American’s views on the war are actually quite complex in ways
that cannot be captured by polls, and many seem to adhere to the following points:

The war was a mistake to begin with – we didn’t know what we were getting
in to.
The war was oversold, and much of the intelligence was faulty.
The war is very expensive in blood and treasure, with no end in sight.

However, a great many Americans also believe the following:

Leaving Iraq does not just make the problem of terrorism go away.
We have spent too much in blood and treasure to just give up.
American prestige will suffer greatly if we cut and run.
We have made much progress in Iraq: there is a democratic government and
a constitution there, and we now have Sunni allies.
We shouldn’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory: while we haven’t won
yet in Iraq, it is clear that al-Qaeda hasn’t won yet either. This war
is winnable.

These are not mutually exclusive views. It is possible to hold all of these
views without suffering from cognitive dissonance. This view of things is far
more nuanced than the typical Democrat defeatists who think, in their deluded
way, that they actually have the full support of the American people and have
a mandate to end the war. If so . . . where is the clamor to end the war on
par with the clamor to end the immigration bill? Live by the polls, die by the
polls: the Dems have overrelied on polls and are now paying the price.

Crossposted from WILLisms.com

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http://www.ski-blog.com/ sayanything-24

Very well said. The war was a mistake. It was in response to 9-11, which also was a mistake that we didn’t prevent. But then again, the first WTC bombing was a mistake that we didn’t prevent. Establishing air bases in Saudi Arabia in Gulf War I was a mistake. The Crusades were a mistake. Providing funds to the same folks that formed the Taliban so that they could fight the Russians was a mistake. Not fighting the Soviets right after WWII was a mistake…

If we just did things perfectly, we could live in a Utopian society like Russia would have been if not for the US’s meddling kids (Scooby and Shaggy included).

But we are where we are. I want the kids home and the war over by 2008. I want my kids to not have to worry about terrorism. I want the Isrealis and Palestinians to live in peace. Problem is that several million Radical Muslims don’t and most Americans realize that.

These polls are misleading. There is a great deal of dissatisfaction over the war, but the Dems are in dangerous territory here. There are long term ramifications for being the party behind a second humiliating defeat for America since they were also behind the last one in Vietnam.
http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

the so called Patriot Act

Hmmmm. The “so called” ews48 made a “so called” argument about the “so called” name of a “so called” act, because in his “so called” world, putting “so called” in front of something makes “so called” sense.
Yes, ews48, it is “so called”, for that is it’s name!
Actually, that was probably your best point. The rest of the drivel you spouted isn’t worth the time to review, much less rebut.
Neiman

Justin: I thought I was a master at taking people in one direction when from the start I intended to go in another direction entirely; but the above was masterful.

“The war was a mistake.” That pulls people into the body of the text and you keep pulling them farther down the text with similar statements until at last they cannot let go until the final sentence. Very good!
danthepanicman

I don’t think we will ever know what really went on, who was responsible, or why. Things like this go back so far. Like the Kennedy assassination. Sometimes you just have to accept that we are always kept out of the loop.
robert108

I think the real answer to the question Ken posed is that the leftie antiwar view is over-represented in the MSM, which gives the impression that the antiwar contingent is much larger than it really is. I noticed this during the Sixties and Seventies, when the media gave the impression that feminism was a very large and powerful movement, when the truth was that there were(and are) relatively few NOW members. They were also over-represented in the public media, and so had much more clout than their numbers deserved. I think it might be the case as well with today’s lefties, including the antiwar movement. America is basically a conservative country, and all their propaganda can’t change that fact. We just need a real issue, like the “immigration” bill, and we find out how Americans really feel. The Dems were taken by surprise, because they have come to believe their own propaganda; they even duped some RINOs with it. Most Americans don’t want the invasion.
http://ewebsmith.com/ ews48

The war and the so called Patriot Act are the result of a panic attack based on drummed up intelligence.

Bush just wanted to invade Iraq for reasons that are suspected but not clear.

Staying in Iraq will never just make the problem of terrorism go away.

The country has lost to much in blood and treasure so others could profit. It’s time to cut our loses.

American prestige has suffered greatly from this fiasco.

We have made no process in Iraq: there is a disfunctional government and Al Qaeda is growing stronger everyday. Sunnis are taking up arms against Al Qaeda because the authority is being challenged.

We are not going to like how this ends.
http://www.ski-blog.com/ sayanything-24

We are not going to like how this ends.

Be “we” you mean Democrats and by “not like how this ends” you probably mean with a stable government in Iraq and the Democrat Party being humiliated because of their surrender at all costs mentality.

Do you like how Afghanistan has “ended”? We sure don’t hear much about this war that was not winnable according to Michael Moore and where the Russians could not win in 20 years.
robert108

ews: Nice repitition of leftie talking points. Every one of them is what the MSM is trying to propagandize us into believing, but most Americans know better.
2Hotel9

Ken, I am going to shamelessly plug this post all over. Very well put.

ews, just keep spewing those talking points, someone will believe you if you bite your lower lip and squeeze out a few tears.
http://www.kenmccracken.blogspot.com/ Ken McCracken

I agree – well said, Justin.

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