Alan Grayson: Which Party is the Peace Party?

[cal04]

by Alan Grayson
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/28/880003/-Which-Party-is-the-Peace-Party

Me: "Why are people so uninformed and apathetic about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?"

Right-winger: "I don't know, and I don't care."

A recent poll showed that almost twice as many Americans think that we are losing the war in Afghanistan as think that we are winning it. (Whatever "losing" and "winning" mean, in this context.)

But another recent poll reports that only eight percent of all Americans say that the war will be "most important to (their) vote for Congress." Which means that for 92%, it's not so important.

The war is like a dead skunk in the crawlspace. If it's there long enough, you just ignore it. But it's still there.

A few weeks ago, we conceived of an online "peace party," at our website www.CongressmanWithGuts.com.

We have been joined by some of our greatest voices for peace:

Director Oliver Stone, who volunteered to serve in Vietnam, volunteered for the infantry, and then showed us what he had seen, in movies like "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July."

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who is the only current Member of Congress to have voted against the war in Afghanistan, and is the founder of the "Out of Iraq" Caucus in Congress.

Director Robert Greenwald, who gave us the antiwar documentaries "Iraq for Sale" (in which I appeared, when I was prosecuting war profiteers), "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the War in Iraq," and now "Rethink Afghanistan."

And today, Martin Sheen, who has defined the role of actor-activist for a generation, and who played Josiah Bartlet, the President whom we wished we had, during the long, dark Bush years.

What's the point? We are trying to show that there is a community for peace. That the American people do care about peace. We want peace. And Lord knows that after a decade of war, we deserve peace.

We are not alone.

Marcy Wheeler, Digby, Steve Clemons, Bob Herbert and many others are voices of sanity. And in Congress, Jim McGovern is leading a fight to put a timeline on the latest supplemental funding bill for the war, and Dave Obey is delaying the supplemental funding until we fund our schools. Just last week, Dennis Kucinich was handing out articles on the floor showing that our war money is going to Taliban warlords in 'passage bribes' paid by private contractors. These articles were based on this study by Chairman Tierney, which was in turn based on this Nation article by Aram Roston.

We are not alone. Many are working to end these wars. But we need to make even more noise.

The war has killed thousands of Americans, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis. Roughly a quarter of a million American soldiers have returned home with permanent brain abnormalities, a legacy that will be with us for half a century. At a time when people are losing their jobs, their health coverage and their homes, war has cost every man, woman and child in this country over $10,000. War and torture have made a mockery of the Constitution, and destroyed our standing among the peoples of the world.

And war hasn't made us any safer.

So we are having a peace party today. We have three goals in mind:

(1) Raise money.
(2) Raise consciousness.
(3) Raise hell.

And we're going to have to raise hell, because just as in 1968, neither political party is willing to speak out for peace. In 2006 and 2008, the Democratic Leadership was carried into power on the backs of voters who wanted peace. And now, they seem to think that the only way out of Afghanistan is to get in deeper.

As for the Republicans Leadership, they have institutionalized warmongery. They never met a war they didn't like. If you don't believe me, then ask Glenn Beck.

Which party cares about peace? Schools? Health? Jobs?

For years, I prosecuted war profiteers in Iraq. I saw exactly what General Smedley Butler meant when he said, "war is a racket." I'm not going to change my mind about these wars any time soon.

But we have to change other people's minds. We have to get the American People to care enough about war to end it.

At some point, I will stop speaking out against the war.

When it's over.

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[Oregone]

1. Or the single-payer party?

Which is it?

[Demeter]

3. Oooh! That's Gonna Hurt!

[Demeter]

2. We Don't Have a Peace Party

We have a large Peace Movement which was betrayed by Obama, as the latest betrayal in a long history of betrayals.

[damntexdem]

8. The peace movement must stop dwelling on so-called betrayals ...

and push its own agenda, not depending on any party. The big betrayal was by Johnson on Vietnam; but that was not a betrayal of a peace movement, rather of Democratic liberalism, destroying the Great Society and the liberal consensus by escalation in Vietnam. That betrayal in fact helped foster the growth of the peace movement then; and any peace movement should have learned from it not to rely on any political party. Yes, support candidates who offer some support for peace-movement goals; but never submerge the peace movement in any party -- specifically, in the Democratic Party.

[stray cat]

12. We really blew it when we separated from England violently

and the war of northern aggression should never have been fought and pearl harbor was deserved and we should have just thanked Japan for pointing out the errors of our policies

[Fumesucker]

13. Interesting that you can't find an example in the last sixty plus years. n/t.

[BeFree]

4. When it is over...

..I'll stop speaking about the war.

WTF is wrong with our countrymen that have STFU, allowing the warmongers to rule?

[Swamp Rat]

5. The peace movement in the USA was cut behind the knees... it seemed to end so abruptly

yet we are still at 'war'.

Some kinda invisible, neat trick to shut us all up? :shrug:

[damntexdem]

6. There are pieces of a party out there.

But no clear peace party.

Should there be? Or rather, should the peace movement depend on any party to be? I argue not. The peace movement must pursue its own objectives and never surrender itself to any political party.

[ellenfl]

7. k&r eom

[SunnySong]

9. How do we know we won in Afghanistan... Has anyone in The Obama administration

actually mentioned what winning would look like?

[Catherina]

10. I recommended but want my rec back. This guy is an AIPAC hawk. Opportunist

Gutsy progressive congressman Alan Grayson leads a double life

by Max Blumenthal on December 1, 2009

Since defeating an incumbent in Florida’s Republican-heavy 8th congressional district last year, Rep. Alan Grayson has emerged as one of the progressive movement’s most vocal champions. His attacks on Republican obstruction of healthcare reform and staunch opposition to escalation in Afghanistan have earned Grayson effusive praise from many liberal bloggers and activists.

Even before his election, Grayson gained recognition from the Wall Street Journal for being a "fierce critic of the war in Iraq" who sported a "Bush Lied, People Died" bumper sticker on his car. Recently, Grayson to CNN, "People want to see a congressman with guts. And America likes to hear the truth."

Grayson has battled for the public option and opposed the wars Obama has inherited from Bush. Of course, these positions are upheld by a broad swath of congressional Democrats and, at least in the case of the public option, are supported by a majority of Americans. But when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Grayson is fully programmed by AIPAC and the pro-war, pro-settlements wing of the Israel Lobby.

In an interview in March with the Philadelphia Jewish Voice, Grayson revealed two meetings he held the previous week with AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr. In the interview, Grayson explained how Kohr helped to "educate" him about Israel-related issues, then misquoted the Abba Eban line, "The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."

GRAYSON: I met with Howard Kohr, the head of AIPAC , twice last week.

PJV: And what was the gist of the conversation?

GRAYSON: The gist of the conversation was that Iran is a tremendous threat to Israel and needs to be stopped. And I agree with that.

PJV: And what about what is going on in the Gaza Strip; was there any conversation about that?

GRAYSON: Yes, we talked about that. I think what AIPAC often tries to do is to educate Members of Congress who frankly follow this a lot less closely than I do. In my case, I read Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post online four or five times a week, so I am pretty familiar with the circumstances and why the war took place. As a famous Israeli once said, the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Grayson’s January 8th statement explaining his vote in favor of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip read like a mimeograph of those released by other AIPAC-friendly members of Congress. However, its introductory line stood out: "Congressman Alan Grayson, one of three incoming Jewish members of Congress, issued the following statement on the situation in Gaza."

...

http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/gutsy-progressive-congressman-alan-grayson-leads-a-double-life.html

[stray cat]

11. The green party is anti-war in all cases even when invaded I think

[Ken Burch]

14. Somebody invaded the Green Party?

n/t.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Certainly not either of the "major" parties who support Obama's "necessary" war in Afghanistan.