Is it possible to be a progressive if you voted for the IWR?

[Clintonista2]

The following people voted for the IWR:

Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bond (R-MO)
Breaux (D-LA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Campbell (R-CO)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carnahan (D-MO)
Carper (D-DE)
Cleland (D-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Daschle (D-SD)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Edwards (D-NC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Fitzgerald (R-IL)
Frist (R-TN)
Gramm (R-TX)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Helms (R-NC)
Hollings (D-SC)
Hutchinson (R-AR)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Miller (D-GA)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Nickles (R-OK)
Reid (D-NV)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Santorum (R-PA)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-NH)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thompson (R-TN)
Thurmond (R-SC)
Torricelli (D-NJ)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

[Fovea]

1. Only if they repudiate that vote.

But it is not about whether they can be a progressive, but if they can be trusted if they do not see our current foreign policy as a suicide pact.

Certainly, no one should be talking about obliterating anybody in the Middle East.

[boppers]

2. You can be a progressive, and stupid.

Acknowledging the "stupid" is required, though.

[chknltl]

3. Wiki on progressivism says nada about war

So I vote yes, even voting for this fiasco and further funding this fiasco does not change being a progressive...well at least accdg. to WIKI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism
Common feelings among progressives...well those I chat with here in the DU and out in the real world, strongly suggests an animosity toward this particular war/fiasco. I believe that progressives have the correct sense of right vs wrong...we know in our hearts that this war/fiasco is WRONG and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that we have been USED! Imo those who voted for the IWR were USED.

[Hippo_Tron]

4. It's not black and white

Frankly I'd respect some of those people that voted for the IWR if they just admitted that they caved to political pressure. Nobody is perfect, especially not politicians, and I certainly couldn't really expect someone like Mary Landrieu or Max Cleland to actually vote against the IWR and then go run for re-election in states that Bush carried by 10 points or more in 2000. It would be political suicide.

Yes the guy in my avatar put his re-election on the line to vote against it, but those were very different circumstances and Paul Wellstone's unique personality and campaign style allowed him to actually gain votes for taking a principled stand against the IWR.

Hillary Clinton wasn't up for re-election and furthermore she hasn't apologized and claims that she made the best decision with the evidence available to her at the time. And frankly that's a complete crock of shit. There were plenty of dissenting opinions at the time questioning the Bush Administration's case for WMD's, ties to Al Qaeda, and whether or not we should actually trust them to use diplomacy. She got caught up in group-think and made the wrong decision just like John Kennedy got caught up in group-think and made the wrong decision with the Bay of Pigs. The only difference is that after Kennedy screwed up, he didn't claim that he made the best decision possible given the circumstances, he admitted that he screwed up and apologized for it.

Let me put it this way. I'm not sure whether or not it's progressive to make a decision based on what Don Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, and Colin Powell tell you and ignore the dissenting opinions because they don't come from people of their stature. I do know that it's certainly not something I want in a President.

[Skittles]

7. fuck them all

there is no excuse: they voted their careers over the interests of America - they have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS. :puke:

[Hippo_Tron]

8. Politicians prioritize re-election over principles, that's a concept as old as democracy

The idea that Hillary Clinton actually thought the Iraq War was a good idea bothers me more than the idea that she voted for the IWR for political reasons.

[Skittles]

9. look how popular Edwards was on DU

and he CO-SPONSORED the damn thing! Ugh - it's a complete deal-breaker for me....anyone who could not see the repukes were itching to go to war had their head up their ass. :puke:

[featherman]

5. Let's celebrate those who stood up and voted NO instead making excuses

or labels for those who did not have that courage.

[Skittles]

10. THANK YOU

the excuses made - especially "IF THEY WOULD JUST SAY THEY'RE SORRY" - OMFG :puke:

[Hippo_Tron]

11. Here's the list of those who voted aganst

Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chafee (R-RI)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (D-FL)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Wellstone (D-MN)
Wyden (D-OR)

[Justitia]

13. Definitely some progressives there. Not to mention, solid human beings. -eom

[Clintonista2]

17. I'm simply asking because I have heard Obama supporters

Many of whom favored Edwards before he dropped out, claim that it's "impossible to be a progressive if you voted for the IWR"

[featherman]

18. And many supported Biden or Dodd... I did not but, like Kerry, would have

found them "acceptable" for other reasons if they had been successful and landed the nomination.

It had always been my preference to support someone who had the courage of their convictions to oppose an illegal and immoral invasion of a sovereign country that had done nothing to us.... the obvious long term effect of which was going to be against our own national interest. These senators (Clinton, Dodd, Biden, Kerry, Edwards) should have known better and done the right thing... not what they perceived (wrongly) as the politically expedient thing that arbitrarily unleashed death and destruction on tens of thousands of innocent people.

[JVS]

6. Everyone who voted for the IWR fucked up bigtime and should own up to it.

[Justitia]

12. Most legislators are not progressives, but liberals. Progressive is a subset of liberal.

All progressives are liberal, not all liberals are progressive.

Obviously liberals voted for this war. I didn't see a single progressive on there, IMO.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. Yes. The first step is -get this- acknowledging that the vote was wrong and a mistake.

Want a template on how to do that, look to Senator Edwards's campaign.

[lligrd]

15. Can One Be An Idiot And A Progressive At The Same Time?

As Hillary claims?

[cali]

16. I refuse to pigeon hole people like that. I will say that

in my book, it wasn't just wasn't one vote- but as Leahy said, likely thev most important vote they'd ever cast. I would NEVER vote in the primary for anyone who voted for the IWR. It demonstrated craveness or stupidity. Not qualities I look for in a president.

[Carrieyazel]

19. Curious. Why aren't Schumer and Clinton bold-faced?

Their domestic voting records are every bit as liberal as the bold-faced Senators.