The anti-war movement faces its biggest challenge yet — politics
By SARA DONNELLY | December 27, 2006
THE FEW, THE CHILLY: Congress Square protesters. |
Four weeks after Democrats rode a wave of anti-war discontent to gain control of the US House and Senate, only four protestors show up to the weekly “Bridges for Peace” demonstration on the Casco Bay Bridge. Bundled in heavy coats, knit caps, and thick gloves, they stand in a line on the South Portland side holding signs to “End the Occupation” and “Stop Funding the Oil Wars.” Cars and trucks serenade them with honks. One twenty-something beefcake leans out of his passenger window and screams “Scum!” So goes another Sunday afternoon at the vigil, which has gone on every week since the fall of 2002. But despite the four years these activists have had to hone their vision for peace, none of them agree on exactly how the country should get out of Iraq, what “immediate withdrawal” means temporally, or how to contain what we’ll leave behind. It’s never been their job to confront the devil in those details.“The only hope we have now is the Democrats will actually chair committees,” says Andy, a 49-year-old activist from South Portland who declines to give his last name because he works for the government. He’s wearing a navy blue visor and “Impeach Bush” and “Kucinich Means Courage” buttons. The freezing noontime air has turned his nose pink. “What they do with that, who knows? My hope is that they’ll come out with a clear message. You’ve got a lot of big, intelligent people — former generals, former CIA people, folks that are clearly much more informed as to what’s needed, more than people like me.”
A station wagon honks as it passes him.
“I don’t have a clue what’s needed.”
Everybody’s talking about
But the time has come for activists like Andy to find a clue. November 7, election day, couldn’t have been more important for any other anti-Bushie group than the anti-war movement, which earned a nationwide pat on the back when American voters turned en masse to Democrats who had successfully linked the Bush administration with the bloody nightmare that is the war in Iraq. Democrats gained 31 seats to snag the majority in the US House of Representatives and six seats for control over the US Senate. It is the first time since 1994 that the Dems have had control of both branches of Congress. The dissing of the Republicans reveals, as Boston Globe columnist Scott Lehigh wrote on November 8, that “the country has concluded [Bush] made a huge mistake in going to war.” (It also led to the resignation of defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld the day after the election. Rumsfeld’s replacement, Robert Gates, was confirmed by the Senate on December 6; so far, he seems like less of a war hawk than Rumsfeld.)
But everything sweet comes at a price. The anti-war movement must now sharpen its goals to a point if it plans to play any significant role in what happens to American soldiers in Iraq. As Congress takes its holiday break, what to do with Iraq is the topic of every major news debate on television, some politician’s new withdrawal plan is on the front page of national newspapers almost every day, and the president has finally admitted publicly that we are losing the war.
Related:
Hard sell, Uh, race still matters, folks, Marrying into history, More 
- Hard sell
Over the past eight months, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey (who wants to be governor) has methodically distanced herself from her boss and fellow Republican, Governor Mitt Romney (who wants to be president).
- Uh, race still matters, folks
In a few short days Barack Obama will go from being our first black president-elect to our first black president. Yes siree, the black guy is finally going to be in charge. We finally did it. Welcome to post-racial America!
- Marrying into history
remember the day Vermont legalized Civil Unions for same-sex couples. I was in college at the time and I remember thinking out loud that I could move there and get "Civil Union-ed" someday. It didn't sound the same as my previous dreams of getting "Married."
- Economic scale
We want what everyone wants — happiness and the personal freedoms our forefathers lived and died for.
- Ho-Hos and air guitars
The fact is, most couples argue in the early stages of wedding planning. My partner, Diane, and I are no exception to this rule. Currently, our biggest argument surrounding plans for our wedding is whether or not she can slide into the ballroom during our reception, performing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" on her air guitar.
- One man, one octupus
Marriage equality
- Mixed Magic's When Fate Comes Knocking
It's been said before and it'll be said again: the election of Barack Obama casts a new light on the Civil Rights Movement. Or, in Ricardo Pitts-Wiley's words, "We get to tell the story in a different way."
- Black like him?
Whatever your race — and whatever you think of his résumé, or his politics, or his yen for tax-cheating cabinet nominees — Barack Obama's arrival in the Oval Office is something to celebrate.
- Obama and McCain: Repro Rights Checklist
It’s important to know where our next president stands with regard to reproductive rights — and to remember that those rights depend on who’s in charge.
- Be a real man
I hope you inform your readers that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month throughout the United States.
- Capital power
In 2002, it was no mere coincidence that David N. Cicilline’s Providence mayoral campaign placed its campaign headquarters on Elmwood Avenue, in the heart of the capital city’s Latino community.
- Less
Topics:
News Features
, U.S. Government, U.S. Congressional News, Iraq Study Group, More
, U.S. Government, U.S. Congressional News, Iraq Study Group, United for Peace and Justice, Jack Reed, Carl Levin, David Smith, Tom Andrews, Robert Gates, CODEPINK, Less
