"America has moved past the Iraq war vote."

[grasswire]

Last edited Thu Mar 31, 2016, 11:39 PM - Edit history (1)

"This election is about the future. Right now. Not the past."

Clinton strategist on MSNBC a moment ago


edit: It was Joel Benenson --- the one who talked about "tone" the other day.

[PoliticAverse]

1. Last I checked the Iraq war was still going on.

(I don't care if someone formally declared it was over.)

[dogman]

4. Tell that to the Veterans.

Tell that to the families. What a smarmy ass he is.

[revbones]

58. Gah! I was just about to click reply and type that exact title.

[Buns_of_Fire]

65. BTW, this is the same genius who doesn't like Bernie's "tone"... nt

[daleanime]

77. +1

[Ghost Dog]

42. 1). War was not formally declared in the first place;

2). It was an illegal invasion.

[reformist2]

90. +1000000. Tell all the soldiers still stuck in Iraq that we've "moved on".

[Purveyor]

2. I heard that. More rope please... nt

[azmom]

3. In their dreams.

[GeorgiaPeanuts]

5. We will move past that vote...

...When we feel confident that Clinton learned her lesson.

[XemaSab]

107. Doesn't matter what you know

the week after finals are over.

[elleng]

6. That's their strategy,

we've 'moved past' losing HOW many, for lies and then BAD JUDGMENT? REALLY?

[neverforget]

7. I saw that. Iraq and Syria sure haven't moved past it

They deal with it everyday. I feel like

[arcane1]

8. If a republican had said that, ALL of DU would condemn them for it n/t

[marions ghost]

9. Can't bury it

impossible.

Past is prologue etc etc

[SamKnause]

10. Bullshit we have.

[noretreatnosurrender]

11. They Wish

[Joe the Revelator]

12. He have a mouse in his pocket?

[PowerToThePeople]

13. So, the war criminals are in the Hague?

No?

I guess we are not over it yet.

[peace13]

14. She should tell that to the troops...those who didn't make it home.

Those still trying to put their lives back together. Maybe send that in a card to families who have had their troops come home only to commit suicide. Seriously, she should run it by the Iraqis as well. I bet they are pretty over it! Some of these people are just heartless!

[SoLeftIAmRight]

15. that's our girl

and some here support her

[NWCorona]

35. I commend you for stepping up

But not back handing vets while doing so.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

39. ???

they are not all the same

[Autumn]

16. Some have. Others? Not so much. But he's right, this election is about the future

and that future should not involve Hillary. She is not the one we need at this time. More of the same will not do.

[RiverLover]

17. At least they held it to a vote. Did anyone call a vote for the Afghan War?

$4 trillion US taxpayer dollars btn Iraq & Afghanistan. Countless lives, maimed or ended.

And for what?

So Halliburton & Shell & Raytheon can make more money?

We need to get money out of politics. Its becoming downright criminal, this endless cycle of payoffs & profits.

[kgnu_fan]

18. I think that will create uproar.... think about all these veterans still suffering from the war

[DesertFlower]

19. she's not the only dem who voted for it.

82 house members and 29 senators voted for it -- including kerry.

i haven't forgotten it. it was terrible and never should have happened.

i haven't forgotten the viet nam war either and how those veterans were treated.

[BillZBubb]

66. She's the only Dem now running for president who voted for it. That's why it matters.

All the Dems who voted for it deserve life long disdain.

In Clinton's case it is even worse. If you watch her Yes vote speech, you can see the cynicism, dishonesty and cowardice just oozing from every pore. It was a profile in cravenness.

[DesertFlower]

68. what happened when kerry ran in '04?

i wasn't on DU then. was he torn apart?

[Raster]

85. He wasn't torn apart and neither is she now.

But he was held accountable, quite frankly, perhaps more so than Secretary Clinton. After all, he had actually been to war, and was considered more of a Dove than a Hawk.

You are correct, just about everyone in Congress voted for the Shrub's illegal invasion of a sovereign nation that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11, nor was there any evidence whatsoever they had weapons of mass destruction. That is, just about everyone...

I've said this before, and I will say this again. If there was ANYONE in Congress that had access to high-level, good information, it was probably the then Senator Clinton, the wife of an ex-President that was briefed daily by the CIA, and by their own admission, had no secrets. Hillary Clinton's vote to authorize the Iraq war was purely from a personal position standpoint. Hillary Clinton began running for the Presidency the minute she and President Clinton left the White House.

[NWCorona]

30. So all those vets suffering from PSD are all on the extreme left?

[cosmicone]

40. They don't blame Hillary. They blame GW Bush.

Hillary was just 1 vote out of some 90 in the Senate and it was simply to authorize.

The actual decision to go to war was Bush's and the Unicorn Sparklepony army here seems to blame the entire thing on Hillary.

People are far smarter than that and they see the reality. This is why Hillary is WINNING BIG.

#feelthemath

[islandmkl]

45. Hillary just happens to be the only Presidential candidate who voted for it...

small fact to some...not so small to others...

[cosmicone]

48. Makes no difference except the extreme left which is obsessed. nt

[think]

63. You do know American soldiers are still dying in Iraq right?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-soldier-in-iraq-becomes-the-second-combat-death-in-war-against-islamic-state/2016/03/19/f906b677-4b5e-4840-a77c-64b19d7ef5e8_story.html

[choie]

64. it's despicable that

you minimize the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and a million Iraqis as something the extreme left is obsessed with. Where the hell is your humanity? Probably where Clinton's is...nowhere.

[Dragonfli]

100. Wher the hell is the "extreme left"? None in this country that's for sure

McCarthy's Ghost speaking in the ears of those that fear the Red Menace are hiding under their beds? Some people here appear delusional.


If anything we have some very extreme right people, Clinton is firmly right (not center right even) and Sanders is barely center left




There are a couple in the UK because they use a parliamentary system, but even there only a couple are extreme left, most are center left, some a bit right of center right, right,and a couple extreme right

[appalachiablue]

108. That's very helpful, esp. the UK grid for comparison. Thanks.

[reformist2]

91. Obsessed with a horrendous mistake, and the creeps who voted for it? Damned right we are!

[NWCorona]

59. Are you a vet?

I am and I have breakfast regularly with fellow vets. I can't and won't attempt to speak for everyone but every person who voted yes can't now plead innocent. Also it wasn't Bush. Cheney was the man behind the curtain.

Coming back to Hillary's vote. Do you realize how important Hillary's vote was? How important it was to pull, and give cover to, other Democrats to vote yes?

#IFeelTheMath and the pendulum is swinging Bernie's way.

[cosmicone]

61. ROFL

"Pendulum is swinging Bernie's way"

[NWCorona]

67. Someone's worried!

6 straight blowouts!, took the lead in the next two states, Hillary having to rush back to NY to "try" And lock down her supposed home state. Yeah the pendulum is coming Bernie's way!

[cosmicone]

75. Worried? eyeroll n/t

[hobbit709]

112. You notice he didn't answer your question.

which is typical of that poster.

[NWCorona]

117. Yup!

[HDSam]

79. I'm a

Veteran and there's more than enough blame to pass around for that vote - Hillary owns some of it.

[SHRED]

87. Get your vote count straight

58% of Democratic senators (29 of 50) voted for the resolution. Those voting for the resolution were:

Bayh, Evan (D-IN)
Baucus, Max (D-MT)
Biden, Joseph (D-DE)
Breaux, John (D-LA)
Cantwell, Maria (D-WA)
Carnahan, Jean (D-MO)
Carper, Thomas (D-DE)
Cleland, Max (D-GA)
Clinton, Hillary (D-NY)
Daschle, Tom (D-SD)
Dodd, Chris (D-CT)
Dorgan, Byron (D-ND)
Edwards, John (D-NC)
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)
Harkin, Tom (D-IA)
Hollings, Ernest (D-SC)
Johnson, Tim (D-SD)
Kerry, John (D-MA)
Kohl, Herb (D-WI)
Landrieu, Mary (D-LA)
Lieberman, Joseph (D-CT)
Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR)
Miller, Zell (D-GA)
Nelson, Ben (D-NE)
Nelson, Bill (D-FL)
Reid, Harry (D-NV)
Rockefeller, Jay (D-WV)
Schumer, Chuck (D-NY)
Torricelli, Robert (D-NJ)

42% of Democratic senators (21 of 50) voted against the resolution. Those voting against the resolution are:

Akaka, Daniel (D-HI)
Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM)
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
Byrd, Robert (D-WV)
Conrad, Kent (D-ND)
Corzine, Jon (D-NJ)
Dayton, Mark (D-MN)
Durbin, Dick (D-IL)
Feingold, Russ (D-WI)
Graham, Bob (D-FL)
Inouye, Daniel (D-HI)
Kennedy, Edward (D-MA)
Leahy, Patrick (D-VT)
Levin, Carl (D-MI)
Mikulski, Barbara (D-MD)
Murray, Patty (D-WA)
Reed, Jack (D-RI)
Sarbanes, Paul (D-MD)
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)
Wellstone, Paul (D-F-L-MN)
Wyden, Ron (D-OR)

[neverforget]

96. And she cast it with conviction!

This is a very difficult vote. This is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make -- any vote that may lead to war should be hard -- but I cast it with conviction.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/01/12/435624/-A-golden-oldie-Hillary-s-floor-speech-to-invade-Iraq

[SHRED]

104. I couldn't get through that

[Bluenorthwest]

33. Today's news: Has the U.S. Found a New Friend in Iraq's Shiite Militias?

On March 12, US Consul General Steve Walker visited Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital in Basra to pay his respects to wounded members of the Popular Mobilization Units. The visit marked the first time a US official has publicly met these troops. This is particularly remarkable as until now, the official US position toward the Popular Mobilization Units was negative, and the United States had even demanded that the Iraqi government prevent the forces from taking part in the operations to liberate some areas, such as the city of Ramadi in Anbar, that were freed without their participation by US request.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-31/has-the-us-found-a-new-friend-in-iraqs-shiite-militias

You need to get out of that cosmicone of silence and listen to what's actually going on in the world. Making light of situations in which people are risking their lives for a mission you say does not matter is fairly disgusting really. People are still deployed.

[Hydra]

43. You know, some of us were against the Bush Admin

And we don't appreciate dismissing an illegal invasion in favor of a politician that thought it was politically advantageous at the time to jump into the camp of Gov. Bush.


BTW, Unicorn J. Sparklepony? Really?

42% of Democratic senators (21 of 50) voted against the resolution. Those voting against the resolution are:

Akaka, Daniel (D-HI)
Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM)
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
Byrd, Robert (D-WV)
Conrad, Kent (D-ND)
Corzine, Jon (D-NJ)
Dayton, Mark (D-MN)
Durbin, Dick (D-IL)
Feingold, Russ (D-WI)
Graham, Bob (D-FL)
Inouye, Daniel (D-HI)
Kennedy, Edward (D-MA)
Leahy, Patrick (D-VT)
Levin, Carl (D-MI)
Mikulski, Barbara (D-MD)
Murray, Patty (D-WA)
Reed, Jack (D-RI)
Sarbanes, Paul (D-MD)
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)
Wellstone, Paul (D-F-L-MN)
Wyden, Ron (D-OR)

Long live the sparkle ponies. Or as we like to call them, the people that read the Intel.

[HDSam]

44. Hands down

that's the stupidest fucking comment I've read anywhere in a long, long time.

[Hydra]

49. Really makes it clear how much they care about the issues, doesn't it? n/t

[killbotfactory]

57. Do you think our "smart bombs" don't kill women and children? nt

On second thought, you must be trolling. right? I can appreciate trolling. Because you aren't killing people who just want to live.

[cosmicone]

60. *** NEWSFLASH**** People Die in Wars

[Hydra]

73. So Hillary knowingly voted people to their deaths?

*Offers Cosmo a shovel* By all means, please continue!

[cosmicone]

74. So FDR knowingly killed people in Europe?

Fail

[Hydra]

80. Oh, I'm sorry

Was there a world war going on in Iraq before Hillary stumped aggressively for the Bush Admin? I must have missed that part...

[HDSam]

93. Yet another

Ridiculous response. The distinction is that Germany, Japan and Italy truly represented an undeniable and articulatable threat. That doesn't hold true for Iraq, a war based on fabricated evidence.

And to answer your question, yes, of course FDR knew people would die, to think otherwise is to believe he didn't fully comprehend the incredible impact such a decision would have on other people's lives. It should be noted the same comprehension doesn't seem evident for some politicians when they voted to invade Iraq.

[killbotfactory]

121. Exactly. And it's obscene. Which is why people are offended by war. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. According to The Lancet, 654,965 people HAVE NOT moved past the Iraq War Vote...

They fuckin' DIED.

[amborin]

22. Iraq war continuing, ISIS in Iraq; Libya in chaos after HRC's bombing, ISIS in Libya, Syria in chaos

[uppityperson]

23. Has Hillary said she was wrong to vote for it? I haven't been following. Thanks.

It seems invading Iraq resulted in DAESH, something I'll never forgive the bush cabal for.

[pat_k]

24. "Look forward, not back" -- perhaps the most destructive rationalization...

... for refusing to hold anyone accountable for their crimes ever invoked.

It was the excuse Obama invoked when he issued his 2009 blanket grant of immunity to the criminals in our government.

"Let's focus on preventing it from happening in the future" (a variation on "look forward not back) was invoked to rationalize refusing to hold any individuals responsible for the fraudulent acts that brought down the world economy.

Over and over again, there is no positive change to "look forward to" because officials refuse to "look back" and hold people accountable for their crimes.

There can be no redemption without accountability. And without accountability, the stains can never be washed out or "gotten past."

[NWCorona]

25. Major fail!

Wrong on so many levels. I personally know people would will never see their kids again.

[Bluenorthwest]

26. Here's some military news from Iraq today, American invovlement all over it:

Despite its earlier fears, the U.S. is now expressing support for Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units.
"On March 12, US Consul General Steve Walker visited Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital in Basra to pay his respects to wounded members of the Popular Mobilization Units. The visit marked the first time a US official has publicly met these troops. This is particularly remarkable as until now, the official US position toward the Popular Mobilization Units was negative, and the United States had even demanded that the Iraqi government prevent the forces from taking part in the operations to liberate some areas, such as the city of Ramadi in Anbar, that were freed without their participation by US request."

Someone needs to tell Consul General Walker that America has moved passed all of that, he can come home and stop stressing about militias in Basra.

[snowy owl]

27. The past predicts the future . . . and aren't we still fighting it?

[Impedimentus]

28. Redacted resume ?

How convenient.

FEEL THE BERN - 2016

[leveymg]

29. They have to be stopped. nt

[LonePirate]

31. America may have but DU certainly has not judging by the numerous posts on the subject here.

[Hydra]

51. I don't think America has either

Just mentioning her strategic vote causes major fallout for her. Dismissing it as unimportant? Please proceed Team Hill...

[LonePirate]

71. The vast majority of today's college students have little to no memory of that vote or of 9/11.

Sure, many of them may have seen footage of it but without being old enough to fully process it, that vote means far less to them than it does to older generations. This election is certainly going to be the last one where it matters to people.

[phantom power]

32. Wishing doesn't make it so.

[SusanCalvin]

34. I haven't. nt

[Marr]

36. Hillary would like to move on to an IRAN war vote. /nt

[catnhatnh]

37. Worthless asswipe

I haven't forgotten Vietnam-Do you think for a fucking second I forgot those 5000 kids in Iraq? Die in pain-A bunch of my friends did.

[IdaBriggs]

38. Nope. I really haven't. I still want Bush & Cheney prosecuted.

And not a lot of respect for the idiots who didn't stand up to them - if I could figure out the rush to war wasn't about keeping America safe, why couldn't the people who voted for it?



Yes, I marched. Walking in circles didn't stop it.

[tokenlib]

41. With all due respect...Go to Hell strategist person! n/t

[Kelvin Mace]

46. Really?

Gosh, who will tell the dead people and their families?

[stopwastingmymoney]

47. Not me, not ever

If someone wants to jump me for that, call me extreme left or believing in sparkle ponies or some such shit, they might want to view my journal first

[Live and Learn]

50. +10,000 nt

[Hydra]

53. Sorry, that only qualifies you for normal human being

Dismissing it as unimportant? That qualifies the person quoted as a monster.

[killbotfactory]

52. FUCK THAT GUY SO MUCH

FUCK THAT GUY SO MUCH
FUCK THAT GUY SO MUCH
FUCK THAT GUY SO MUCH
FUCK THAT GUY SO MUCH

[glowing]

54. Sure, that's why my brother in law has orders to go back in Oct?

[stopwastingmymoney]

69. That's awful, I'm sorry

My brother is still in the Guard, not safe not safe

[glowing]

78. And my sister brother in law is in the VT guard.

6months before he would have been out of service, they called his guard unit to action. Now he's in Iraq and past his "due out" date, and it looks like his guard unit is getting an extended rotation as well. aND
We aren't in a war?


I almost forgot about this extended family member's duty service until you mentioned guard.

[notadmblnd]

55. Could it be that the HRC campaign is in the midst of a version of the "Dean Scream"

Cause I don't believe that they're having a good day.

[whatchamacallit]

56. "There are new wars to start" n/t

[artislife]

62. I am sure all the maimed and the families of the dead

are so over it, too.

[tokenlib]

70. And the percentage of disabled vets from Iraq is higher than most people know...

..this is the war that keeps giving pain and anguish..the aftermath of using depleted uranium. Not that they all don't cause hell of course...

[Z_California]

72. "We're not gonna talk about the past, unless of course

we're misrepresenting Bernie's record.

[SamKnause]

76. Never !!!!!!

[Punkingal]

81. No, no we haven't moved past it.

Benenson is an idiot.

[Skwmom]

82. Blood and treasure are still being paid for that Iraq War vote.

[FlatBaroque]

83. Joel - future fall guy

[grasswire]

84. two boo boos in one week

the "tone" snafu

the "past Iraq war vote" snafu

[llugo1013]

86. Lessons Learned

That's what's wrong with our Great Nation, we don't learn from our mistakes. Our past makes our future. I'm an OEF/OIF Marine Vet..we went to War for the wrong reasons and as a result the Middle East is destabilized and terrorism has become a common stay. If we start ignoring the Iraq War will we be bound to repeat history.

[grasswire]

88. thank you. nt

[SHRED]

89. Wow...Hillary and her campaign are having a terrible day

[2banon]

92. he's getting air play on NPR these past couple of days.

no questions regarding "tone" comment.


🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

[AzDar]

94. Nauseating. And typical. That man and the campaign employing him are despicable...

[reddread]

95. yeah. no.

wishful thinking.

[hibbing]

97. Not me, never

Makes me sick to think of the destruction we have caused in the whole region let alone all the veterans and current service members being sent there.

Peace

[senz]

98. The U.S. invasion of Iraq destabilized the M.E., resulting in ISIS & the refugee crisis.

It was a tragic mistake of colossal proportions. We should never forget this fact, nor should we downplay its importance. The fact that Hillary Clinton would wish us to do so is further proof that she is unfit for the presidency.

[senseandsensibility]

99. Disgusting.

[jillan]

101. Lawrence did a great job of grilling Benenson on this and many other issues. He just may be

the only one left on msnbc with any ounce of integrity.

He also gave a tough interview to Tad Devine.

Thank you Lawrence.

[MisterP]

102. problem is she won't mind IS being pinned on her--she's just waiting for them to

stop screwing around, take Sanaa and Damascus, and then on to Tehran! she basically told everyone that was her plan--defended it

[Half-Century Man]

103. A kid I watched growing up went to war because of the Iraqi war vote

When he came back in country, his mom called me up madder than hell. She found a purple heart on his dress blues. After looking at it I had to tell her he came home with a purple heart with a cluster. He got zapped twice. Kept it a secret.

Scars on his leg from a mortar round and a separated collar bone from getting blown out of a gun truck when his convoy got ambushed.
He considers himself very lucky.

Ask him if he has moved on. Ask his mom if she has moved on.

[HassleCat]

105. Some other stuff we should get over.

The voting rights act. The fair housing act. Brown vs. Board of Education. OSHA. EPA. And so on. All so last Tuesday.

[loyalsister]

109. Although

Lives in exchange for political opportunism, callous exploitation, outright gullibility, and faulty judgement should never ever be forgotten.

[eridani]

110. No Iraq War = no ISIS n/t

[Orsino]

111. And is all excited for the next war? n/t

[PonyUp]

113. "The children are still dead. What difference does it make!!!"

[grntuscarora]

114. Tell that to the families of the dead and maimed, Hillary.

right to their faces--go ahead.

[bigwillq]

115. I haven't moved passed it.

Probably never will. I will never forget what the government got my country involved in.

[Scuba]

116. Joel, are you jacking me off? I haven't moved past the VietNam debacle yet, let alone Iraq.

Your girl beat the war drums on the floor of the Senate then voted for that clusterfuck. You may have moved on, but many of us never will.

[Octafish]

118. Sort of sums up America's problem in one sentence.

Mass insanity due to mass misinformation.

Thanks for adding to the noise, Mr. Benenson. Hope your kids never have to wear combat boots for all these wars built and sold on lies.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

119. Doesn't she just wish.

[Avalux]

120. Ummmm.....NO Hillary we have not. Hundreds of thousands dead? ISIS? Anyone???