Talk about not knowing who is an ally and who isn't: antiwar activists targeting Dave Obey in Washington, DC and at his home office, too, are going after the wrong guy.
Obey is as antiwar as they get, and has done so while based in the conservative northern 7th Congressional district.
He opposed the war in Vietnam and voted against the original Iraq war authorization.
While he lost his temper with activists who confronted him in a House office building hallway (Obey's always had a direct manner and short fuse, which is a welcome alternative to the people-pleasing phonies who heavily-populate elected offices), his quick apology should help folks listen to what he has been saying for a while:
The Democrats don't have a big enough majority to cut off war funding, or override a Presidential veto, let alone get tough resolutions through committees for floor debate, so he's looking for a workable, winnable solution.
That's frustrating to antiwar people (including me), and certainly to those with family members in harm's way, but for goodness sakes: Obey didn't start the war and isn't the problem.
Antiwar activists should be pressuring pro-war Republican congressmen like Paul Ryan and Jim Sensenbrenner if they want to help create a real congressional counterweight to the troop surge and the rest of the Bush administration's devastating Middle East 'policy.'
I hear you, but it seems the Dem strategy so far is a total loser. They can't keep the liberals if they want to keep the conservatives. They don't have the Senate even if they had the votes in the House. All of this makes me wonder if their majority is in name only. It's sad to say, but Tom Delay would have found a way to do more with less. Why can't the Dems just lead when they're given a chance to do so?
ReplyDeleteI've watched that video 4-5 times now, and what really strikes me is just how truly awful Obey's behaviour is. She's standing there patiently listening, not interrupting; he's pointing and yelling and swearing. A staff member actually comes out to get him out of the hallway. If he lived in a bigger media market, he'd be toast.