I know I've said some harsh words about the ethical consistency of the vast majority of people who protested Bush's wars, labeling them the anti-Republican-war movement and uncharitably suggesting that their commitment to opposing US military assaults would disappear once a Democrat was pulling the trigger. But maybe I spoke too soon:
The day after Obama's speech, Code Pink, the ANSWER Coalition, and four other antiwar groups sponsored a San Francisco rally opposing the Afghanistan decision — the first indication of whether Bay Area residents were motivated to march against Obama.
ANSWER's regional director Richard Becker told us the day before, "I think we're going to get a big turnout. The tension has really been building. We may see a revival."
But on the streets, there wasn't much sign of an antiwar revival, at least not yet. Only about 100 people were gathered at the intersection of Market and Powell streets when the rally begun, and that built up to maybe a few hundred by the time they marched.
Or maybe not.
At "hundreds" I could practically name most of the people who were there—collectively, the committed core of activists who can be counted on to show up for anti-war actions no matter which political party is dropping the bombs (and Frank Chu, of course). And to be fair, there wasn't much opportunity to publicize this action, and given a bit more time I don't doubt we'd see, oh, a few thousand people in the streets. But I can also predict that finding a mainstream Democratic voter at any of the upcoming protests will be like finding a girl in a comic book store: not a once in a lifetime event, maybe, but still enough to make you do a double take.
So the Peace Prize Bomber will be able to continue his reign of irony for the next few years with a minimum of fuss on the home front. And while that may not seem like much of a gift, don't think he doesn't appreciate it; after all, beyond their votes, supine acquiescence to mass murder and mayhem is one of the most useful things his supporters can give him.
The Distant Ocean 
Awful, but anticipated.
Isn’t it wonderful to be able to predict the future with such accuracy?
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Wake me when the revolution starts.
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a girl in the comic book store — it’s like it’s raining vaginas!
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I thought for a moment of sending a link to this post to a couple of Obamaphile friends, but while they’re somewhat disillusioned, they still get a little impatient with the Glenn Greenwald links I send them. This one would probably sting a little too much.
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Isn’t it wonderful to be able to predict the future with such accuracy?
It might be if it weren’t for the Cassandra complex (which was about understanding the present more than predicting the future, but the same principle applies). And you can’t even feel much of a sense of achievement, since things like this become pretty obvious once you accept some of the lessons that reality bashes us over the head with on a regular basis.
Like this: Donald, I predict that your Obamaphile friends will overcome their disillusionment and vote for him again. See, I am like unto Nostradamus!
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I’ll go you one better. They will point to 2000 as the reason for doing so. You damn Naderite, you.
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Empty has something there. The “stab in the back” of 2000 still has legs. Democrats have been hankering for a dolchstosslegende of their very own; a proprietary one. They’re tired of Republican hand-me-downs. The older Dems do have the tired, battered, smelly old legacy dolchstosslegendes they’ve been deploying since the Nixon era. But they’re creaking. They need freshening up, and the younger Dems want to feel important enough to be betrayed too.
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I want to see Nader run against Dodd just for the off-the-Richter-scale rage fests it would induce all around Blogland. Any results beyond that would be strictly gravy, as they used to say.
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The “stab in the back” of 2000 still has legs.
To put it mildly. Democrats will still be frightening their children with this hoary morality tale in 2050, in the unfortunate event that there are still Democrats in 2050.
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There’s a chance they’ll (please don’t hit me) Whig out completely before 2050. President Obama looks hellbent on shredding the remnants of the welfare state. The Democratic Party dead-enders won’t give up, but the party is whittling support down to the same kind of core that keeps voting Republican: marginally functional cranks and self-loathing masochists.
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Harold, I’m afraid you may be an optimist. I’m sorry to have to tell you this.
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I do like to keep things positive.
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By 2050 the binary charade will have been dispensed with for national security reasons and there will simply be The Party.
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