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Intellectual Conservative PoliticsIowa.com Weekly Weblog No Runny Eggs
This is the personal weblog of Aakash Raut, established Sept. 2002. It will cover current affairs, worldwide & national topics, local & university events, and provide insight and commentary on contemporary issues and the news from his perspective. Enjoy! --------------- ARCHIVES Sept 2002 - Now -------------
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E-mail - uisconservative-at-yahoo About Aakash 
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Saturday, December 23, 2006
 Update (6/7/07): I think that myself - and/or guest bloggers - will be back here soon... THANK YOU SO MUCH for your patience!! Please stand by. Amazon.com Associate Do your last-minute Christmas shopping at Amazon.com, and help out this blogger! Friday, December 22, 2006
I haven't been able to make much progress at all, on the tasks (such as Graduate coursework, described below), which needed to be in on Monday. This past semester's coursework is actually manageable, but this is not to mention the work from prior semesters. As has been said before, being the Chairman of what's been called the most active College Republicans chapter in the state has something to do with this, but this could still have been managed, if a couple of people (not this past semester, but during the prior year), who had taken positions of responsibility had done what they committed to do... and if certain [non-student] leaders had managed things better, and treated us with more respect, rather than just trying to take advantage of our free labor. I do not know if I will be a Graduate student again next semester. In addition, there is a possibility that I may have to move to a different state, which has thrown a million different variables into an already very-complicated situation, in which I already had major decisions to make. I will be leaving here, on December 28th, to go to the location to where I may be moving. I was already there twice this past semester (for six days in early October, and then during Thanksgiving Break), in which I wanted to survey the city, and learn more about the local and state aspects of life, particularly in the political, occupational, and academic arenas. CR leaders Ruth Malhotra and Alex Brunk have helped a little with this (one conversation each), and fellow UIS student (and CSF member) Josh Sabo will be helping some as well. I should have been in contact with Blogosphere allies, such as Erick Erickson, Basil, Gennie, and - how could I have forgotten!! - our old friend Patrick Carver!! The very-distinguished Professor Kent Redfield is giving me extra time to turn in the work from this past semester, which I will hopefullly get completed, before long. As I discovered two years ago, going to a different environment (such as a sunnier location, down South), while bringing along the laptop, can help get work finished. Even before the situation regarding this semester, I had (as noted above) a bunch of overdue and incomplete work piled up, so I've been planning to turn this weblog over to guest bloggers. I did that, for the first time, two years ago (right before I left the state - incidentally, on the same date!! - and Nathan Averbeck did so well!! Last year around this time, Christian Hartsock was my guest blogger, and he posted his first entry on Christmas Day. As stated in my past entries, I had been meaning to ask James Lawrence to guest blog here again, like he did one time two summers ago. I was planning to do this some months ago, and use as the springboard for his entrance here the fact that he was a major conservative scholarship winner this summer. More recently, I was going to mention that he was featured in that excellent article by Daniel McCarthy for The American Conservative, which I was interviewed for, shortly after my first trip (mentioned above) to the location, for which I'm again leaving in a few days. I need to blog something about that article, which hits upon a key issue that I've been distressed about, for awhile (but not as much anymore, as it seems that more young people now seem to get it). I was also going to use this inspirational news item as a springboard to turning over this weblog, which I've had saved on my laptop desktop since August. It shows that you can still take care of tasks, even if it seems that too much time has passed. I was having similar problem last year, to which I've having this year... I was reminded of that when checking my blog's hit counter's referral listings, and noticing hits from this 'Marginal Revolution' entry from last year, which I had trackbacked to, from this entry on December 31st - with the text and 'title' labels of busy, errands, research, writing. (See, many of us have these types of problems, around this time of the year... The reason that that entry came up again this month was that Tyler Cowen linked to it, in this recent entry, also on the topic of errands and busyness. (Why aren't they allowing trackbacks there anymore?) It is from there that I found 'The Happiness Project.' Check out this 'tip' from last month (I'm doing #4 right now... and have been for awhile! :-), and this recent piece of advice, and this one, this one, this one, this one, and last but not least, this 'tip' for 'Happiness'. Update (6/7/07): I may be coming back before long - or at least guest bloggers may. - - - - - - [Hat tip: Chris Abraham] Friday, December 15, 2006
Christmas EXPLOSSION BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM 2006, hosted once again by Jeff Black I wanted to do a 'live-blog' entry, during this Christmas Party ("Explosion") that I am at... but oftentimes, I obsess about what order to post blog entries in, whether to divide something into two or more entries, or put it all in one, etc. I didn't know whether to publish these thoughts below the entry about my post-semester coursework emergency, or above it, or as a shrunken addendum to it, or... I guess I'm just going to publish this as a separate entry, above the previous one, and go back to assignment-attempting and partying.  What I wanted to say is that I remember last year, I was at this Christmas Party, again held right after the semester officially ended, and like last year, I had incomplete coursework in my Graduate POS Course, and was sitting on Jeff Black's campus townhouse bed, with a few others who were in the room, trying to work on composition. I also remember that I had partially written (and saved as a draft) a blog entry, several days later mentioning some things from the party, and thoughts I had had, about the movies they were considering - It's a Wonderful Life and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I was specifically going to expound upon how I was disturbed to learn about the political messages behind that class Christmas tale, and was going to present "the softer side of Scrooge."Like many posts, it was one that was saved as a draft on Blogger, and never published. I have done that in December, with Pearl Harbor-related posts, and was wanting to avoid that this year, but so far, once again, the December 7th drafts I saved this year have yet to see the light of the Blogosphere. Maybe (though don't count on it) I have been planning to turn this blog over to James, and I have a good springboard in mind from which to do that, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Last year around this time, I used a guest blogger, but he didn't get the setup configured until Christmas Day, when he published his first entry.  This post was meant to be a live-blog Christmas Party addendum to the post I just published below (also from the bed with the coats on it, in Jeff Black's room). It is getting longer and longer though, so I need to cut this off, and get back to... whatever (hopefully, including some coursework completion). They were watching A Charlie Brown Christmas (which Micah brought, as per many requests, and which I don't think I've ever seen before, and this time, only heard parts of, from the other room, though they all got quiet for what was apparently the climatic and powerful part  ), and now, they are watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966).  For those of you reading this to whom (unlike Drew and Dave and most people here at UIS) this still applies: Best of luck to everyone on Finals!! On Tuesday late morning/early afternoon, I was going to publish a quick entry here, saying something like: Help! (12/12/06) I have blogged before, during the past year plus (yikes!!) about how I am compiling not only a huge backlog of entries that I need to write up or finish, and publish here... But also, a bunch of overdue and incomplete coursework, that needs to be submitted. Today is a special situation, because I'm part of a group for a project in my Graduate Political Studies course, and I need to have my part of the assignment composed and submitted ASAP, for review and printing and presenting this evening, for the class at 6:00 PM. If not, I'll be in trouble not only with the professor, but with my fellow students as well. It is so difficult to concentrate and compose things like this... This wasn't a problem for me, during pre-college school, and it was still quite manageable (though a struggle) in undergraduate school. Becoming UIS CR Chairman in the Fall 2004 semester, and needing to turn that organization around (which we did a tremendous job in doing, as people all throughout Illinois, and in D.C. as well, are aware of), has indeed contributed to this dilemma, but other factors are clearly interfering and impeding me as well. Rigid deadlines can sometimes breakthrough the fog and internal distractions (which have been keeping me down)... This accountability is something that we should perhaps try in Iraq as well. I need to break through right now, and get this thing done. I did get that assignment done (though not to the extent I would have liked, but surprisingly satisfactorily), and e-mailed it at 4:08 PM, just not in time for Drew to print it out at the Media Lab. I only had time to print out eight (out of the required sixteen) copies, before class - to which I ended up being about 15 minutes late. I was afraid that I was going to be embarrassed, by barging in with my part of the project (and half-short on copies, also) in the midst of the class presentations. Instead, when I got there, the two groups were sitting with their members, reviewing each others' assignments, and those of the other group. I don't know how many people noticed when I came in, but I immediately handed Professor Redfield my assignment, and told him that I didn't have the full 16 copies printed out. He then went and photocopied the rest of the copies - which I ended up not really needing, because my fellow group members had no reason to review it, because we each presented on behalf of our own project contribution. When I got up to present my part, I had to improvise. I was unshaven, and my hair was sticking up, and I was nervous, upset, and had absolutely no preparation, but I ended up summarizing things decently. Our Professor (buy his books!) is actually giving us until Monday (Dec. 18th) to turn in all our assignments... Even though this is the end of Finals Week. The elections and other stuff has put me quite behind (I'm talking about for this semester, even aside from previously), and I have seven assignments to complete, in about three days. I've been able to do things like this (and more) in the past, many times... But as I've been telling people, I am now getting old. :-( I think that politics can do this to people. At 25, I am losing energy, strength, and the ability to do things that were once simplistic. Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Read them! I decided the other day to remove my entry below (on the local ice storms, posted at 9:19 PM on Dec. 1st). It will appear again, but I wanted to focus on the previous entry, which I published late... It is a Blogosphere comment, summarizing my in-depth 'pre-election' piece, on how Democrats are more pro-war than Republicans. I think that this is especially appropriate, since it was part of a series of posts on liberal war hawks, something that people still seem interested in, as evidenced by this post [ found via the Catallarchy sidebar ] by our old [liberal] friend, Kevin Drum (282 comments!!) and this entry by Glenn Greenwald (amazingly, 69 trackbacks!) and this recent entry, which I read after seeing this one at a weblog I just found, via a Google blogsearch on liberals hawks. - Comment on the Election Results, and the Pro-War Liberals - The Antiwar Case for a Republican Majority Friday, December 01, 2006
Power back for an Hour Despite having a backlog several miles long - for entries that need to be published here - I went ahead and saved some posts as drafts (to be published, hopefully soon) during the past few days, regarding Thanksgiving, elections, and more on liberal internationalism. Maybe those will get published, and appear below, before too long... You never know, though. However, I wanted a drop a note right now, about what is going on locally - as well as throughout this region of the country. Our house got power back at almost precisely 7:00 PM, a little over an hour ago. (The television still isn't working... Or rather, the cable connection - my dad tested it, and it was in fact able to play a VHS tape. I might be going over to Innertube therefore - I guess that shows, once again, where my priorities wrongfully lie... but it's just so hard to focus and concentrate, many times.) I don't know if there are houses or areas left here in Springfield that are still without power. From going over to our newspaper's home page, it appears that there are... Wait - that's from several hours ago, when we were still without power. I learned something more today about the city power system, with regards to CWLP and Ameren. On the local news two nights ago, the Mayor's pal, Mr. Todd Renfrow, said that they are prepared, for the coming weather. Today was a test of that purported preparedness. (I wonder if what happened today, along with the city's response, in the coming weeks and months, will end up having a negative or positive impact on Mayor Tim Davlin's re-election campaign this Spring - Perhaps this evening is too early to be thinking of this however... Though you can bet that he [and other candidates for his spot, and the city council] probably already are. The energy issue has already been boiling, both this summer, with CWLP, and just this week again, with Ameren and electric rates, and the Davlin/CWLP/Sierra Club deal back on the table, but rammed through again, and construction now starting.) Our power went out about 10 minutes after midnight, but almost immediately came back on. The lights flickered a couple of times after that, but we weren't expecting that the power would go off completely, at about 3:00 AM, and stayed off for 16 hours (is that all it was?... it seemed longer). I was told that this - and those tornados earlier this year (which I noticed they did an encyclopedia article on - though I'm disappointed to discover it's been removed from our city's article, which I see has been expanded since then, along with the one for my university, and definitely the one for my high school) - were the longest two outage incidents we've experienced, since living here [for 21 years]. Someone said on the radio today that this is different from the March tornados, because while they severely affected only parts of Springfield, this latest "snow emergency" situation strongly affected the whole city. That made sense, when I heard it on the radio this afternoon, but thinking about it now, I don't know if that is actually true. During the tornados, there was only one tree in our entire subdivision that fell down... and I was told that it fell in such an incredible way, as if designed to not hit anything. And those of us on campus had our share of frights that night (and then weeks later again) - Friends actually spotted the twisters, bouncing in and out of the sky, from the townhouses - but both times, it seemed like the campus itself remained untouched. (That being said, at our house [I was still at my campus townhouse residence, even though it was Spring Break, and I could have been at home, like the dorm students were... All three of my roommates were still there as well, however], while not hit at all by the tornados, was affected... My parents nearly hurt themselves, trying to rapidly bail the water out, to prevent our [very-finished!] basement from flooding, due to the power outage and sump pump not working.) The devastation in other parts of the city (such as Wabash Avenue and the nearby Jerome area) was very severe. However, a similar variety-in-severity scenario arguably exists, with the present situation. I called in to work this morning (I work at a place near the east side of the city), to see if things were still up and running. My supervisor said that they were indeed, but I shouldn't come in, because the streets and weather conditions were horrible, and most of the others were not able to come in that day anyway. I called campus this afternoon, and spoke first to Joe, who said that power was on at the campus. I then called Jeff, who confirmed that not only were things fine, but he assumed that CSF ("The Edge") was still on for this evening. The power was still out at 6:13 PM, when I called CSF leader & Campus Minister Todd Magruder on his cell phone, wondering if it was still on... I could hear background noise, indicating that it in fact still was, and he told me that "there are a lot of people here." So I think that there were only parts of the city that were severely affected by this storm... Someone on the radio called in, saying that people here make too much out of these things, that "This too shall pass," and that we should relax and spend time with our families; people in states further north (like Minnesota, etc...) have things much worse. Come to think of it, people do seem to excessively panic, about situations like this... When interviewing us, after we arrived in D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration (our flights were delayed that day, because the area had its first snow), Rose the reporter told us that people there were like that as well - they go crazy when the first snow of the season strikes, even if its not that severe of a situation. I could complain about not having access to a flushable toilet today at home, or not being able to use running water (except sparingly), or about not having been able to use a computer today, and having to do things in the dark. However, there are people who don't have home internet access, or homes with bathrooms and running water (or homes at all!), and who can't reassure themselves with the fact that those things will be 'back' in the very-near future. One thing that experiences like this show is how dependent we've become on electronic devices, for communicating with others, keeping ourselves occupied, using for work and school, and how much these are related to our sense of emotional and psychologica sercurity and peace of mind. Perhaps it would be a healthy excercise to go for a few days, or even a week, without using computers or the television. I did that, for like a 48 hour period (though I maintained my non-use of televion for like a week and half), with participation in a 'fast' that CSF did, back in the Spring 2003 semester. I could certainly use the clarity, and loss of distraction, with the situation that I'm in, in the present day. Such a project would likely have to be postponed, until after Finals Week, though. Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Note (12/2/06): PLEASE read through the entry featured below, begun before Election Day, which postulates the theory that a Democrat takeover of Congress could yield higher support for war than if we (the Republicans) had maintained control. The following is an additional comment on this topic, covering the issues addressed in that entry. It was posted at another weblog over Thanksgiving Break. But please look through the actual entry, which is still being amended, and may be republished later in article form. Actually, Ned Lamont is no more liberal than Senator Joe Lieberman. Tuesday, November 21, 2006
I finally got my 'pre-election' weblog entry published (though too late to help us keep control)... It is "An Antiwar Case for a Republican Congress." (It's two posts below, right under my last entry on the Cardinals' World Series victory.)  http://uis.blogspot.com/#116168060368646519It is still unfinished, with notes regarding aspects of this issue that I've considered, but have yet to verbalize. This is what happens when you've stayed on, as Chairman of the capital-city College Republicans organization, for the third year in a row. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep this up. I am out of state right now, for Thanksgiving 'Break,' and while things have slowed down somewhat (though we're always busy, no matter what time of year it is), I have about six weeks of coursework this semester to catch up on (as alluded to at the start of that entry), not to mention previous 'incompletes'... I might turn this blog over to James and others now, or I might post a few more items first. Please check out that working entry, two below.http://uis.blogspot.com/#116168060368646519 Friday, October 27, 2006
Couldn't think of the right words for this, anyway... Though many have forgotten (probably because I haven't been paying attention for awhile... And this especially happens during Election Years it seems, even if the Cardinals are in the post-season, because all these things coincide, especially when I'm already head-deep in campaigns and elections) - I am a strong Cardinals fan. I was just telling Jeff though (last night, and as we are here at his place, watching the game... it's now the 8th inning!), that I'm wondering why I'm not that excited. I mean, while I'm too young to have remembered 1985, I do remember 1996, when we fumbled a 3-1 lead [not in the World Series, but in the pennant race] to the Braves. We soooo deserved to win more than they. So I should be jumping out of my seat (as the other 20 or people here are... But for some reason, I'm not. (Though I did break into applause, slightly before the rest in fact, at that last RBI.) While many have forgotten that I'm a Cardinals fan, I was glad that Matt Wallace (who is back for tonight!) has not, when I spoke to him, after CSF. And if I do a Google search, I think that the Blogosphere may also still remember (though it's frustrating how much, from back then, is no longer up). Let's see... Ugh! It's worse than I thought. [Ask.com is better, though... Perhaps I should start using that site more. Just as I remember 1996, I remember two years ago, when we won the pennant (yes!!), but then somehow got swept, straight out. My blog remembers too. Well, I think it may be the last inning now. It's time to go back into the living room. Go Cardinals!! Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Churning out more bloggage on this topic, even as I have a million 'more important' things to get done... The Antiwar Case for a Republican Congress It is currently 3:35 AM, and I am about four weeks behind in my Graduate POS course (not to mention stuff piled up from before). I've been planning, for awhile, to turn this blog over to James (and possibly a couple others), and I think I finally will for awhile, but I need to get a few particular entries churned out first. In my posts below, I point out that: 1) In the run-up to the Iraq War, there were divisions, within both the Right and the Left, about whether to support the war. The anti-war Right has been emphasized by me (as many in the Blogosphere have been aware of), from 2002 until the present, in blog entries, and in comment posts at various sites. The pro-war Left has been discussed by me in several entries as well, such as the ones posted here from last month, and in prior years as well. 2) In the present time, many people (both on the Left and on the Right) who previously supported the Iraq war, are turning away from it. There are divisions, within BOTH the Democrat and Republican Parties, about what course of action to take, with regard to the present Iraq situation. 3) Elected officials tend to be more opposed to policies (especially openly) if the administration proposing, implementing, and defending them is of the opposite party. Meanwhile, the leaders of the executive administration's same party are more likely to defend those policies, even if they don't personally agree with them, or have strong doubts. [ Note: I was quoted in Time Magazine regarding this, which I call the "Party Reversal Phenomenon." But it is really an obvious fact of political and psychological reality, based on human nature, and the sharply partisan nature of our contemporary political system. ] 4) The Iraq War is based upon principles contrary to conservatism, and is a break from the Republican traditions of limited government and sovereignty, which were more prevalent within our party when Bill Clinton was president. This war is rooted in a neoconservative and liberal internationalist vision, which is fundamentally leftist in nature. 5) Due to the coming election, Democrats (who previously acknowledged - and even hailed - the divisions within their ranks, on the issue of Iraq, and whose anti-war members touted the anti-war leaders within our Party), may seek to cast this debate as Republican vs. Democrat (something that I was previously resisting, from my fellow Republicans). The Democrats may try to do this now, more than ever before, due to the possibility that they will be able to capture the U.S. Congress in November. 6) Misinformed/dishonest Republicans who are lockstep defenders of the Iraq war, and of the Bush administration's interventionist foreign policy, are playing into the hands of the Democrats, by creating a strong link between conservatives/Republicans and the failed foreign policy of the Bush administration (policies that have their philosophical and historic roots in liberal, Democrat traditions), thereby also pushing this inaccurate reductionist frame, and thereby aiding the Democrats, since said policies are now more unpopular than ever. 7) The Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have been willing to stand up to the Bush administration's liberal and neoconservative policies, on a variety of foreign and domestic policy issues, and if the Democrats take control of the House, those who would be put in power include liberals who support statist, pro-war policies. In this entry, I am going to make the case that allowing the Democrats to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives (and perhaps the U.S. Senate as well) will actually weaken the anti-war cause, and could lead to even greater congressional support for warfare and military intervention. If it's war you want, vote Democrat The antiwar case for a Republican Congress Due to time constraints, I am not going to be able to cover these points extremely in-depth, but I have somewhat done so, during the past few years. Let's examine some issues, one-by-one: - Democrat support for war. I have pointed out, numerous times before, that Democrats and liberals support warfare and military interventionism more often than conservatives and Republicans do. This entry from January 2004 examines this topic in-depth, in relation to the current Iraq war. The fact that a Republican is in the White House is a major factor why there were a large number of conservatives and Republicans who supported the current Iraq war from the start (though a significant number of us opposed it), and why there weren't even more Democrats and liberals who supported it (though a large number did). The situation was reversed, when Bill Clinton was in office. Prior to the 2004 presidential election, I pointed out that if John Kerry was elected, we may have more warfare and military interventionism that if President Bush were to be re-elected. Others were thinking along the same lines: - If it's war you want, vote Kerry: The Democratic contender is more hawkish than Bush, and may appeal to the neocons this November, April 10, 2004 - On Iraq, President Bush followed Senator Kerry's instructions, March 16, 2004 - The Democrats aren't the anti-war alternative in 2004 - Do we want a left-wing war criminal as President? - The Progressive Peacenik Myth: Contrary to the conventional wisdom, American imperialism is, at its roots, a left-wing disorder rather than a conservative impulse Donald Devine, the editor of Conservative Battleline (who has been, along with fellow ACU leader David Keene, a strong critic of the neoconservative foreign policy - much to the angst of National Review and others), endorsed President Bush for re-election, in the pre-election issue of Conservative Battleine, calling him "The Peace Candidate." While that publication had previously opined that the 2004 presidential election wouldn't make much difference (with Dr. Devine being so repulsed by the Bush administration's policies, that he refused to shake hands with the President, when the ACU hosted him!), it ultimately came to the conclusion that George W. Bush would be significantly better, the most major reason being that he would be likely to withdraw from Iraq before John Kerry would. Neocon leftist Andrew Sullivan - a strong supporter of the Iraq war - may have reached the same conclusion, as he endorsed John Kerry for President (and no, it wasn't just because of gay marriage and other social issues), fulfilling the conclusions of John Laughland, in the first article mentioned above.   Before the Iraq war began, I noticed that the last unsuccessful Vice-Presidential nominee of the Democrat Party (yes, he is a staunch liberal) strongly supported the Iraq war (along with other left-wingers), while the last unsuccessful Vice-Presidential nominee of the Republican Party opposed this war.And of course, many of the principle leaders in the previous administration [Clinton] supported this war, and laid the groundwork for it (as Hillary herself pointed out), while the leaders of the previous Republican administration [Bush 41] opposed this war. I am not going to go into this more in-depth right now, because I have covered the PRO-WAR LEFT in my more-recent entries [here, here, and here], and in 2004 [here and here]. And the antiwar Right has been covered by me, in too many blog entries and comment posts to count, something that I became known for in the Blogosphere, before the Iraq war even began. The main purpose of this entry however, is to explain why it would be best, for those of us who are against warfare and interventionism, for the Republicans to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Let us examine what a Democrat U.S. House would look like. "America Weakly..." or America WAR-ly?? Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi As noted in my last entry, it was just ten years ago that the Republican nominee for Congress, against Ms. Pelosi, was none other than Justin Raimondo (the editorial director of Antiwar.com, which had been founded the previous year, to oppose the pro-war policies of the Clinton administration). Justin's campaign site, from his run against Ms. Pelosi, is still up. Check it out, at: www.antiwar.com/raimondo As you can see there, Justin ran against Ms. Pelosi on an anti-war, pro-liberty platform. Because a Democrat was in the White House, Ms. Pelosi was pro-war. (Also see National Review's Rich Lowry: "Nancy the Warrior") But even with Bush as President, Ms. Pelosi has not, despite what is being said by Republicans who should know better, been strongly anti-war. Keeping troops in a foreign operation indefinitely, with no exit strategy, no timetable for withdrawal, on open-ended "peacekeeping missions," and for the purposes of nation-building, and imposing "democracy" overseas through statist means, increased spending, and governmental management... Those are the principles of LIBERAL INTERNATIONALISM. Democrats supported this, as part of the "Clinton Doctrine," not too long ago, while most Republicans and conservatives (though not the neocons) opposed it. George W. Bush campaigned against Al Gore and Bill Clinton on this very issue, was called an "isolationist" for his traditionalist positioning. In 2004, and even just last year, the liberal/Democrat critics of President Bush's foreign policy (along with the neocons such as Bill Kristol) proposed increasing the size of our army and advocated SENDING MORE TROOPS to Iraq. The Weekly Standard praised John Kerry for his position on this, and indicated their willingness to ally with the liberal internationalists, against true-blue conservatives. When John Murtha proposed a bill to withdraw our troops from Iraq, Nancy Pelosi (Note: Congressman John Murtha is actually one of the MOST CONSERVATIVE Democrats in the United States Congress.) In San Francisco, both liberals and conservatives (the few who are there), recognize that their Congresswoman is not truly anti-war. Speaking of San Francisco Congress members, the Hon. Tom Lantos (D-CA) has been serving in the U.S. House of Representatives since he was elected in 1980. He is currently the top Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, which is chaired by the very-distinguished U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL). If the Dems win the U.S. House, Lantos is poised to become the Chairman of this important committee. Chairman, House International Relations Committee: Tom Lantos Out of all the people in the United States Congress, Tom Lantos is perhaps the most pro-war. The Congressman "has supported every war that's been proposed since he entered office" [26 years ago], from Grenada to the current war against Iraq. The current (Republican) Chairman of the House International Relations Committee however, Congressman Henry Hyde, was not a strong supporter of the Iraq war. Hyde initially opposed this war (along with other Republicans) and while he may have officially given his backing to the effort, before it began, he has been among those GOP leaders critical of the Bush administration's war policy, and the "doctrine" behind it. When the Iraq war resolution was being debated, in the fall of 2002, Hyde tried to scale it back. More recently, it was reported that Chairman Hyde, along with his Republican counterpart in the U.S. Senate - Chairman Dick Lugar (R-IN) - were planning to keep any anti-Iran proposal bottled up in committee (something which got them attacked by the neocons). Note: And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi "signed on to" said legislation!! [The Hill] Earlier this year, Hyde gave a speech (which, as usual, was not covered by the media... which continues to fail in coverage of anti-war conservatives and Republicans) denouncing the hawkish and extremely-unrealistic philosophies of the neoconservatives - and liberal internationalists - whose twisted ideological vision was what got us into this mess in the first place. "Lashing our interests to the indiscriminate promotion of democracy is a tempting but unwarranted strategy, more a leap of faith than a sober calculation. There are other negative consequences as well. A broad and energetic promotion of democracy in other countries that will not enjoy our long-term and guiding presence may equate not to peace and stability but to revolution." The Perils of the Golden Theory, Feb. 16, 2006 [Transcript] [audio] [corresponding OP-ED] This speech was praised by other conservative commentators, who have joined us in taking on the neocon/neoliberal trend that has engulfed our Party, and the Bush administration, during the past four years. Henry Hyde is right - again, Terence Jeffrey [ original 2001 piece ] Hyde's Warning, James M. Wall, The Christian Century Henry Hyde Speaks Truth to Power, Diane Alden Imperial overreach is accelerating the global decline of America, Martin Jacques, London Guardian Yes, Congressman Hyde is retiring this time around. However, other Republicans on the House International Relations Committee have also been speaking out against the Iraq war, and against this neoliberal geopolitical philosophy. As I pointed out more than a year ago, half of the Republicans on that Committee voted in favor of an intra-Committee resolution, from true-blue conservative Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC), to get President Bush to develop an exit strategy on Iraq. If the Democrats take over the U.S. House, a moderately anti-war Republican Chairman of the International Relations Committee will be replaced by an extreme war hawk. Note: This entry is still in progress. It was conceived and begun, prior to the Election, but due to how incredibly busy so many of us have been (and continue to be, even after that day has passed), I have not been able to publish it so far. It is being first published tonight, Tuesday, Nov. 21st. I will finish the rest of this piece later (below), and perhaps re-publish it in article form. Weldon - Bayh debate Hostettler Darfur Updates Chairman, House Armed Services Committee: Ike Skelton (D-MO) Congressman Skelton supported Bill Clinton's illegal war in Kosovo, and while he has now (right before the election!) joined Lantos and the other House Democrats in calling for a reversal of plans in Iraq, he supported the Iraq war. He is a "Truman Democrat" - like the liberal internationalists we've been discussing. Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee: Charlie Rangel (D-NY) Three years ago, Congressman Rangel proposed reinstating the draft. He did this presumably with the belief that a draft would cause fewer people to support warfare and military interventionism. If a Congressman like [the outstanding Republican & longtime antiwar leader] Ron Paul (R-TX) did this, then it would be understandable. But for someone like Charlie Rangel to do so is utterly hypocritical. During the Clinton administration, liberals and Democrats [except the Category #1 ones, like Congressman Kucinich and Congresswoman Lee, and a few principled moderate and conservative ones as well*] supported the hyper-interventionist foreign policies of that administration. Because of the liberal imperialism of the Clinton years, it was conservatives and libertarians who first had the idea (though they didn't necessarily support the plan) that a draft could result in more Americans become anti-intervention. I remember this column, from the 2000 presidential race: The 'D' Word, June 6, 2000 The reason that it is extremely hypocritical for Congressman Rangel to be now making this argument is because partisan leftists like him are Johnny-come-latelys to the anti-war cause. As this article points out, the Congressman joined with his party leadership to support President Clinton's disasterous nation-building program in Somalia, the failed policy in Haiti,** the horrible intervention into the civil war in Bosnia,*** and the illegal war in Kosovo. To be fair, Congressman Rangel did [at least somewhat] critize President Clinton's bombings of Iraq - in early, and then late, 1998. But he - along with most members of the Congressional Black Caucus - were eager to support President Clinton, because he was on the verge of being impeached. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), who opposed the December airstrikes ("Operation Desert Fox"), even said it was "unpatriotic" for a Republican congressman to accuse President Clinton of using the war to distract from his domestic problems. Another House Democrat (from a neighboring California district)**** boldly stated, "Never underestimate a desperate partisan whose lust for the president's blood will cause him to make statements that will give aid and comfort to the enemy." [ Washington Post ] Sound familiar? Footnotes (12/19/06) I had included asterisks above, but haven't even put the footnotes until now... This shows you how overwhelming things have been - even worse, perhaps than before - something that I've mentioned in my entries above. I still haven't gotten much of my work in, but I don't want to delay adding the footnote references, any more. * U.S. Reps. Ralph Hall (D-TX) and Virgil Goode (D-VA), both of whom opposed the imperialistic policies of the Clinton administration, were conservative Democrats, who later switched to the Republican Party. ** Again in 2004, the Democrats demanded that President Bush send troops - unilaterally, and without any international approval - into Haiti, to keep President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in power. *** The intervention into the Bosnian civil war was once again supported by most Democrats, while being opposed by most Republicans. **** U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) was pro-war during the Clinton administration, and has continued to be hawkish, even with President Bush in office. He supported the Iraq war, and how - he is attacking the Bush administration for not being hawkish enough!! Take a look at Congressman Sherman's official page on "Middle East Issues": http://www.house.gov/sherman/middle_east_issues.shtml I mentioned above how House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar (R-IN) both oppose punative measures against Iran (as does the Bush State Department), which are supported by liberals and Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as well as neoconservatives like Michael Ledeen, who have attacked the Republican Congressional leadership for not being hawkish enough. In addition to incoming House International Relations Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA) [see above, and his article here], fellow California Congressman Brad Sherman seems to be hawkish towards Iran as well, also attacking President Bush, on The Huffington Post: The U.S. Bows Down to Iran -- And Fails to Stop Its Nuclear Program, Sept. 19, 2006 Sunday, October 22, 2006
This is NOT a 'republican' war... This entry is intended as a follow-up to my previous posts on Senator Joe Lieberman, and the geopolitical principles of liberal internationalism... Particularly, the facts that 1) Many liberals supported the Iraq war, in accordance with this leftist philosophy... 2) Senator Lieberman was one of these liberal Democrats... 3) Being a pro-war Democrat/leftist has conned some people (both Democrats and Republicans) into believing that people such as Joe Lieberman, Zell Miller, Tony Blair, Keith Thompson, and Christopher Hitchens are not liberal, or are "moderate" - or even conservative... 4) The Iraq war, and the ongoing occupation of Iraq, are very much inconsistent with conservative and 'republican' traditions, and are more consistent with the liberal, neoliberal, and statist philosophies rooted in a dangerous and un-American geopolitical tradition. With the passage of time, and with the short attention and memory spans that so many people seem to have, and with the ever-worsening situation in Iraq, combined with a steady drop in public support for the war, it is now my fear (which for some reason, I wasn't that concerned about before), that people will forget the fact that, prior to this war, there were significant divides, within both the Right and the Left, on whether to support the war. I was covering the anti-war Right since before the war began, in blog entries and comment posts at various sites. And the pro-war Left is discussed in my last several entries, as well as in previous years. But as time passes, I am afraid that this will be mischaracterized as a Left vs. Right, or Democrat vs. Republican, conflict. Democrats are doing this to help themselves in the election, which, as a Republican, I am really concerned about... While I have very much been a critic of the national GOP leadership, for many years, I think it would be horrible if the Republicans were to lose the U.S. House [where principled conservatives have, for several years now, been taking on the Bush administration, and the neocons, on a variety of issues, such as the North American Union, amnesty for illegal aliens, ethnic pandering, the U.S.A. Patriot Act, and even the Iraq war - on funding issues, and troop withdrawal as well]. And some Republicans and "conservatives" are also making these reductionist mischaracterizations... And in doing so, are both 1) showing their ignorance of geopolitical philosophy, intra-movement cleavages, and [even-recent] history and 2) helping the Democrats, by connecting our party leaders and candidates with the failed policies of interventionism and liberal internationalism, even as it threatens to cost us control of Congress [something that those of us on the anti-war Right WARNED YOU ALL ABOUT, prior to the war], and even as more and more Republican officials break from these beliefs - not to mention those who opposed it from the start. One example of someone who is stupidly doing this is Lars Larson, whose show I managed to catch (perhaps for the first time ever), when driving home after Friday's Annual Dinner for Springfield Right to Life. It made me mad to hear him creating such ignorant and dishonest reductionist frames of what "Republicans" and "Democrats" supposedly propose for Iraq. It is sickening to hear my fellow Republicans talking about "cut and run" and how we need to "stay the course" with no "artificial" timetables for withdrawal... and railing against the Republican "isolationists" and the Democrat "defeatists." Do people like Lars, Roger Hedgecock, Hush Bimbo, and Sean Vanity realize that they are making socialist arguments - which many of them and their talk radio colleagues (as well as most GOP congressmen, including presidential candidate George W. Bush) opposed during the Clinton administration (even when troops were in the field, and our nation was at war)? (Our nation's military leaders and veterans strongly opposed those interventionist policies as well, which became an asset to Mr. Bush in his campaign against Al Gore. Many of those same military heroes opposed the Iraq war, and when President Bush did a 180 on his geopolitical philosophy, some did not support him for re-election [as they had the first time]. One of those prestigious war heroes, a conservative Republican who is perhaps the most distinguished U.S. Navy veteran alive, is now even running for the U.S. Senate, as a Democrat!)  A Refreshing Reminder Anyway, now to the main item I wanted to feature in this entry: Despite the wrongful framing of the Iraq war debate - by both dishonest, opportunistic Democrats as well as ignorant and idealistic Republicans - it was refreshing to see, around the same time that I wrote the entries below, the "Spotlight" article featured on Antiwar.com. (I was just discussing the issues mentioned above with Chris Bennett, and he mentioned Nancy Pelosi, who would presumably become Speaker of the House if the Democrats take over. [ America Weakly ] When taking to Chris, I was venting on how frustrated I was by the above-mentioned mischaracterizations, and the fact that many of the so-called "Republican" foreign policy principles are not Republican or conservative at all, something that was clear during the previous presidency. When he mentioned Nancy Pelosi, I brought up the ironic fact that ten years ago, the Republican Party's nominee against her was none other than Justin Raimondo, and that Antiwar.com contains some good info on how Ms. Pelosi is actuallly pro-war, both during the Clinton administration, and during the current presidency as well. Here is my entry from years ago, about this issue, and National Review's Rich Lowry commented on this as well - Article link: "Nancy the Warrior")  (Also, the Democrat leader - in the Dems-take-the-House horror scenario - who would be the Chairman of the House International Relations Committee is another liberal San Francisco Congressman, Tom Lantos. As I said in that conversation with Chris, Lantos is currently the Ranking Democrat on that Committee, and [as mentioned in my entry below] is extremely pro-war - probably more so than almost all of the Republicans and Democrats in Congress. On the other hand, the current Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on International Relations, the esteemed [and unfortunately retiring] Henry Hyde, is not a war hawk... Congressman Hyde was not a strong supporter of the Iraq war, attempted to scale back President Bush's war powers, and has been among those conservative and Republican leaders who have been critical of the situation that this administration has gotten us into, and the philosophy behind it ( 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, 6 )... A situation and philosophy which Congressman Lantos was among the most forceful in pushing - along with Top House Democrat Leader Dick Gephardt - and which he and others are now trying to run away from, to help their House candidates, so that they can get into majority leadership positions.)[ Top Dems Try to Run Away from the Mess They Created ... And right before the election! ] Anyway... Here is the article featured that day on Antiwar.com: Bush's Useful Idiots, Tony Judt, Sept. 21, 2006 It's great to see that despite the dishonesty and ignorance on this matter, some people have not forgotten the Democrats' and liberals' culpability in this war, and the ongoing mess in Iraq. Friday, August 25, 2006
This is a follow-up to my recent entry, two below, on Senator Joe Lieberman. --------------------------------------------------- "Joe Lieberman is a Republican." - Sam Seder, In These Times "Joe Lieberman is not a liberal..." - CavalierX (Joe Mariani) and many others "Lieberman is a staunch liberal on social and economic causes. He favors abortion, gay issues, big labor and unfettered government spending. Yet he is a moderate on national security..." - Mark Hyman, The Point Senator Lieberman is not a "conservative" or a "moderate." He is a liberal internationalist - one of many who supported the Iraq war, just as many liberals and Democrats supported past "liberal interventions" during the Clinton administration. Partisanship vs. Courage When a Democrat is in the White House, it is more likely that Republicans will oppose his policies, while fellow Democrats will support them. When a Republican is in the White House, it is the opposite. [See: "Party Reversal Phenomenon" - I was quoted in Time Magazine regarding this, following the 2004 National Conservative Student Conference] However, there are people in both major parties, who support their ideological principles, regardless of who is implementing them. Many liberals and Democrats supported the Iraq war, in accordance with the same leftist foreign policy principles - LIBERAL INTERNATIONALISM - that they used to justify their support of similar policies during the Clinton administration. As the Iraq war has become increasingly unpopular however, many of the war's supporters - both liberals/Democrats, as well as some conservatives and Republicans - have softened or backed off from this support. Senator Lieberman has done some of this as well, in making strong criticisms of the Bush administration's foreign and domestic policies - including with regard to its management of the Iraq situation. However, he has chosen to continue supporting the Iraq war (along with other liberals, such as Billy Clinton, his Lady MacBeth (a "war godess"?), San Francisco leftist Congressman Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE), insufferable socialist Christopher Hitchens, gay "sex columnist" Dan Savage, Hollywood leftist Ron Silver, Democrat Party activist Lowell Feld, leading left-wing intellectual Paul Berman, Democrat/Labour lifelong leftist Sarah Baxter, and several major leftist Blogosphere members, such as Oliver Kamm, Michael Totten, Jeff Jarvis, Charles Johnson, Alcibiades, Democracy Guy (Tim Russo), and Roger L. Simon, along with organizations such as Social Democrats USA, the Progressive Policy Institute, and much of The New Republic magazine leadership, as well as many others on the left. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  This makes Senator Lieberman a principled liberal, not a "moderate" or a "conservative." This is an issue of political theory and intra-party, intra-movement schisms... The fact that many people do not comprehend this is what I meant in my remarks earlier this month on Mr. Lieberman. While "Gray Dog" and Bill Faith may not be under said impression, there are, in fact, many who are.  Note: Senator Lieberman received an ACU rating of 8% last year, 0% in 2004, and 0% in 2003. This makes him one of the most liberal members of the United States Senate. [Update (10/14/06): ...and here are Senator Lieberman's ratings from the major liberal and conservative interest groups. While some liberals (and of course, conservatives) have been duped, it's good to see that there are some liberals (and I wish, more conservatives as well!) who recognize that support of war does not a non-liberal make.]Also: Where was the alarm and outrage when the excellent "Jews for Morality" website was hacked, months prior to the 2000 elections, and right after it started to expose "the Lieberman hoax"? From 2000: || "The Lieberman Hoax" || The Lieberman Record || Lieberman Excommunicated || "Tax and Spend Liberal" I wanted to re-post here, my comment piece, from January 2004, in this discussion thread at the eTalkinghead weblog. (This is an edited version, with broken links repaired, and other minor changes made.) ----------- Dustin, ----------- end of comment ---------- Original discussion (with blogger's response) here. Related Items - Liberals Support War, July 31, 2004 - On Lieberman and the Pro-War Left, January 19, 2004 From The New Republic, Oct. 21, 2002: - The Liberal Case for War - This war is justified exclusively on liberal grounds, Jonathan Chait - Slave State - Where are all the liberal humanitarian interventionists now?, Robert D. Kaplan  Trackbacked on October 1st to Conservative Culture and to Pirates, Man Your Women!... and on October |
