Among The Dems Running For President, Who's For War, Who's For Peace?

Before we look at what they're saying now, let's look at the records of some of the candidates running for president who have records. Let's start with the 2002 vote to authorize the attack on Iraq. 21 Democratic senators and 126 Democratic Reps voted against going to war. Some of them are running for president-- as are some of the people for voted for the wat, either because they're war mongers or because they're too stupid to understand when they're been played-- in either case, m unfit for public office. None of the senators who voted NO are among the current candidates. Only one asshole voted to authorize Bush's and Cheney's war: Joe Biden.

82 Democrats joined 215 Republicans (all but 6) to make the war bipartisan. Among the Democrats who voted NO there is only one current candidate: Bernie. Among the Democrats who voted for the war, most were subsequently defeated or now lobbyists, dead, retired or in prison. The only ones left in Congress are Sanford Bishop (BlueDog-GA), Eliot Engel (New Dem-NY), Steny Hoyer (Crook-MD), Ron Kind (New Dem-WI), Nita Lowey (NY), Stephen Lynch (New Dem-MA), Carolyn Maloney (NY), Ed Markey (MA), Frank Pascrell (NJ), Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN), Adan Schiff (New Dem-CA) and Brad Sherman (CA). None of them are running for president.

In 2002, one was smart enough to vote against the war in Iraq and one was stupid enough to vote for it

Another way to gage this kind of thing is to go back and look who co-sponsored anti-war and pro-war resolutions. For example, when Bernie introduced to remove the US Armed Forces from the Yemen conflict, 4 senators who are now candidates for president signed on as co-sponsors-- Cory Booker (NJ), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and, almost a year after it was introduced, Kamala Harris (CA). And when it was voted on, all the Democrats voted for all it in the Senate.

Ro Khanna introduced a companion bill in the House. Cosponsors included presidential candidates Tulsi Gabbard, Beto and, eventually-- the last co-sponsor to sign on-- Eric Swalwell. Conspicuously absent were John Delaney (New Dem-MD), Tim Ryan (OH), Seth Moulton (New Dem-MA). It passed on February 13 of this year with all Democrats present voting YES. One Democrat was absent, Tim Ryan.

Dave Jacobson, writing for The Hill yesterday, asked if Democratic presidential candidates will make ending the war in Afghanistan a priority. He started his opinion piece by remind his readers that "Since its inception, the 18-year war in Afghanistan has cost Americans tremendously in blood and treasure. The AP recently noted that as of early 2019, 'the U.S. has spent $737 billion on the war and lost more than 2,400 military lives, according to the Pentagon.' And that’s not the totality, unfortunately. In fact, the Pentagon recently said that the war in Afghanistan costs taxpayers $45 billion per year… with no end in sight they may have to keep footing that bill for years to come. At a time when public opinion for the war’s foreverness is waning, data suggests that, 'About half of adults (49 percent) say the United States has mostly failed in achieving its goals there.' All this begs the question of why Democratic candidates leading in the polls aren’t talking more about such a major issue."

This dynamic represents a sharp contrast from the last Democrat to successfully win the presidency. In 2008, Barack Obama made an anti-war message of ending the war in Iraq a core pillar of his campaign. At the time, the Iraq war was enormously unpopular, while the majority of Americans still supported the war in Afghanistan.

Since then, the tables have turned, and Americans have soured on the continued presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan as the war approaches nearly two-decades in duration.

To be clear-- it’s not that candidates haven’t taken a position on the seemingly endless war; on the contrary, a slew of the top-polling Democratic White House hopefuls have made public their desire to bring an end to the war that started in October of 2001:

• Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has Tweeted, “The American people do not want endless war.”
• Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) noted that, “she supports a ‘political solution’ to the war that would allow U.S. troops to return home.”
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, “supports pulling troops out of Afghanistan.”
• Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said, “I think it’s right to get our troops out of Afghanistan.”
• Former Vice President Joe Biden internally opposed the 2009 Afghanistan troop surge, and has said that, “Nation building in a country as destitute and decentralized as Afghanistan, he argued, was hopeless…” Still, as a newly announced candidate for President in 2020, he hasn’t yet spelled out a specific plan for Afghanistan moving forward.
• Former Congressman Bet O'Rourke (D-TX) has been less detailed on the issue as well.

Even though a number of top-tier candidates have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to their position on ending America’s longest war, the reality is that none of them has made it a hallmark their campaign, or for that matter, harnessed a potent anti-war message like Obama successfully did in '08 with the unpopular war in Iraq.

Lesser-knowns, such as Congresswoman and Iraq war veteran Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), have tried to brand themselves as being the anti-war candidate, but from the start her campaign has failed to take off or generate momentum.

Still, public opinion data increasingly suggests that many Americans have grown tired of the war in Afghanistan. With such a vast array of candidates jockeying for the job of commander-in-chief, and particularly within the crowded upper echelon of the field, it’s an open question as to whether or not one of the leading Democrats will grab ahold of the anti-war mantle, own it, and define their campaign with it. If they're looking for a way to stand out from the pack and gain some altitude by breaking through with voters who are juggling with the embarrassment of riches when it comes to the candidates, such a move could help.

Do you want another clueless president who's going to do whatever he's told to do by the Military Industrial Complex? You do? OK, meet a real idiot who's rapidly losing his grip on reality: