Anti-War Self-Delusion
Why is it that the Republican base was able to rather easily kill the immigration bill - even though the President and a significant number of Republican senators supported it - while the Democratic base is unable to defund or stop the military in Iraq, even though the Democratic leadership is foursquare behind defeat in Iraq?
The Republicans had the numbers, for one thing. Capitol Hill was deluged with outraged calls, killing the switchboards. Republican donors began demanding refunds. The outrage was palpable, and authentic. Democratic 'outrage' against the war, in contrast, is knee-jerk, mechanical, and ho-hum predictable. Moreover, the numbers just aren't there.
Oh sure, there are the polls that claim that 120% of the American people loathe the war and want our troops out yesterday - but the Democrats have been duped by these polls and the tepid anti-war movement proves it. Besides, typical poll questions ask something akin to "do you want our troops to come home?" Hell, I am a huge supporter of the war and I too want our troops to come home. I am sure that if you polled the American people in the depths of World War II if they 'want the troops to come home', the answer would have been hell yes. Another great question is "do you approve of the way the war is being handled?" Well, if we haven't won yet, I guess the answer must be no.
The typical American's views on the war are actually quite complex in ways that cannot be captured by polls, and many seem to adhere to the following points:
• The war was a mistake to begin with - we didn't know what we were getting in to.
• The war was oversold, and much of the intelligence was faulty.
• The war is very expensive in blood and treasure, with no end in sight.
However, a great many Americans also believe the following:
• Leaving Iraq does not just make the problem of terrorism go away.
• We have spent too much in blood and treasure to just give up.
• American prestige will suffer greatly if we cut and run.
• We have made much progress in Iraq: there is a democratic government and a constitution there, and we now have Sunni allies.
• We shouldn't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory: while we haven't won yet in Iraq, it is clear that al-Qaeda hasn't won yet either. This war is winnable.
These are not mutually exclusive views. It is possible to hold all of these views without suffering from cognitive dissonance. This view of things is far more nuanced than the typical Democrat defeatists who think, in their deluded way, that they actually have the full support of the American people and have a mandate to end the war. If so . . . where is the clamor to end the war on par with the clamor to end the immigration bill? Live by the polls, die by the polls: the Dems have overrelied on polls and are now paying the price.
Posted by Ken McCracken
willisms.com |
