"The real news out of Obey's outburst is that, as the Associated Press confirms, he really doesn't have the votes in the Democratic caucus to cut off funding for the war, and that he courageously broke traditional etiquette by implicitly calling out the faction of pro-war Democrats who are standing in the way of stronger action on the war. These are the obstacles that the progressive movement should be focusing on pressuring. Obey's frustration clearly comes from his perception (whether right or wrong) that he, an antiwar stalwart from a 'tough district' is being unduly harassed at the very time he needs the progressive movement to help him whip votes out of other Democrats who are the real problem. And his frustration is grounded in reality - fairly often, progressive activists, and the Netroots in particular, give passes to conservative Democrats because they come from the same kinds of 'tough districts' Obey comes from."
But there comes a point when giving passes must end if a cause, not an electoral cause but a cause like peace or justice, is to succeed. Sirota knows this. He knows that activists for rightwing causes that have succeeded have built those successes by not giving passes to Republicans. Sure, there are other Democrats more viciously pro-war than Obey, but many of them are also in "tough districts." They shouldn't get to use that excuse either. Neither should Republicans. The point is not to single-out Obey, but merely not to excuse him. He is in a position of leadership on this issue, as Chair of the Appropriations Committee. He can use that position to lead in one direction or the other, and right now he's got it wrong.
"I'm in no way excusing Obey's behavior that was caught on film. He didn't take time to communicate properly, he got way too angry way too fast and his frustration translated into him mistreating the people who were asking him questions. That is unacceptable, and I'm happy he apologized. He needed to.
"However, the troubling thing out of the spat is not Obey's behavior: it is the reaction to it by the progressive movement, and what that reaction really says. The idea that Jack Murtha - the guy who voted for the war, the guy who was one of the most outspoken pro-war Democrats, the guy who has never seen a defense bill he didn't try to increase - is now an antiwar saint beyond reproach, but Dave Obey is some sort of pro-war villain is so fundamentally absurd it suggests that at least some who liken themselves as progressive movement leaders really are 'idiot liberals' because they have positively no idea how the hell basic movement building or power works (mind you - I'm not saying Jack Murtha hasn't been courageous in opposing the war of late- he has, which is why I thought he should have been Majority Leader - but the point is that the basic understanding of 'allies' and 'enemies' can be wholly misunderstood)."
I've criticized Murtha consistently and much more severely than you. His anti-escalation plan is still in the supplemental bill, although now as a request rather than a requirement. The absurdity of that is topped only by this. Here's a paragraph from an article I published not too long ago:
Bizarrely, this whole discussion has taken place without any reference to the fact that, in November 2003, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, which placed limits on the number of days that a member of the Armed Forces could be deployed. Bush signed that bill into law, but added a signing statement announcing his intention to disregard that section. The U.S. Constitution gives the President the power to sign bills into law and enforce them, or to veto them. There is no constitutional middle course. Yet Bush has routinely used signing statements to announce his plans to disregard portions of bills he signs into law. This abuse might be addressed by impeachment proceedings, something the Democrats are not currently considering. But short of addressing this abuse, Congress Members could at least behave as though they were aware of it.
Now Murtha is also touting an anti-torture measure in the Supplemental, avoiding recognition of the fact that Congress already banned torture and had the ban tossed out with a signing statement. We're all walking around with blinders on, pretending there's not a dictator in the White House, and bickering over which Democrats it's permissible to criticize. Apparently Murtha is fair game, but not Obey. Sirota concludes:
"If those working in professional movement politics really want to end the war - and not just be in a perpetual state of unproductive contrarian outrage - they can start by remembering the need to target pressure and the need to apply both the carrot and the stick. Shoving a stick up the rear end of an ally is the behavior of 'idiots' - whether liberal or otherwise - because it only puts our goal farther out of reach."
I don't think Sirota is an idiot, and I don't think Obey is an idiot. And I don't think calling people idiots is productive. But Obey can't be my ally as long as he is trying to fund an illegal and aggressive war that is killing hundreds of thousands of people directly and hundreds of thousands more indirectly by diverting so much money to killing. Many of us would like to speak with Obey and hear his explanations and arguments, off camera and out of the hallway. Sirota's clearly do not suffice.
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