Over at Pax Nortona, Joel has some very good arguments against the Democratic candidates supporting intervention in the Liberian mess. His main objection is that the right-wingers will use a Democrat’s “If it was good enough to go to war in Iraq, why not intervene in (fill in the blank)” against them. Either they’ll echo it as a justification for whatever imperial campaign they want to engage in next, or they’ll claim that we are being bloodthirsty and without concern for our boys (and girls) in uniform.
Joel ends with a plea to the Dems, saying, “Think, Democrats. Think! Don’t wimp out on opposing war!”
Unfortunately, I think Joel is giving the Dems too much credit. Most of the Democrats don’t oppose war. Remember, only 21 of the 50 Democratic Senators voted against the Iraq War resolution while only 126 of the 208 Representatives opposed going to war. And, other than our adventures in Latin America and the Middle East, most of the wars we’ve been involved in during this century have been initiated by Democratic presidents: Wilson – WWI; Roosevelt – WWII; Truman – Korea; Kennedy/Johnson – Vietnam. So, counting on the Dems to be opposed to war is not necessarily a winning bet.
