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Think. Again.

(22,330 posts)
26. I think you may have taken a portion of the article out of context...
Fri Jan 10, 2025, 05:22 PM
Jan 2025

Here is more of the same article, including the original sub-heading:

In defending the militarist status quo, Democrats ceded the anti-war lane to Republicans. As they enter the political wilderness, it’s time to reckon with what they got so wrong


-snip-

It’s a cliche that Americans don’t vote on foreign policy issues. However, according to public opinion surveys by Chris Shell, a fellow with the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, foreign policy played a relatively prominent role in the 2024 election – the climate crisis and immigration registered at the top of voters’ foreign policy concerns, followed by the war in Gaza, the Russia-Ukraine war and US-China relations. Among undecided voters in the weeks leading up to the election, Harris scored higher than Trump on only one of those issues (the climate crisis).

However disingenuous, especially given his aggressive support for rightwing forces in Israel, Trump’s vows to end the two wars dominating headlines were part of a winning message. According to the New York Times: “The Trump campaign’s research found that up-for-grabs voters were about six times as likely as other battleground-state voters to be motivated by their views of Israel’s war in Gaza.” Trump made a play for these voters, promising to seek peace and attacking Democrats for campaigning with the “radical war hawk” Liz Cheney. Just as he did in 2016 when he criticized Hillary Clinton as “trigger happy”, he managed to get to the Democrats’ left on foreign policy.

Democrats have no excuse for being surprised by this. Americans have voted for the less interventionist candidate of the two major parties in every presidential election since the end of the cold war (in the one exception, the post-9/11 election of 2004, John “reporting for duty” Kerry didn’t offer much of an alternative). George W Bush himself originally campaigned in 2000 on a “humbler” foreign policy.

Barack Obama ran and won by opposing not just the Iraq war, but warmongering itself. His memorable line in a January 2008 primary debate – “I don’t want to just end the war. I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place” – wasn’t just a critique of a policy, but of the entire militarist, interventionist foreign policy priesthood, which would later be termed “the Blob” by Obama’s speechwriter and adviser Ben Rhodes.

-snip-


We on DU know very well that there is a strong dislike of rightwing netanyahu's massacres in gaza.

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Hopefully the Harris campaign was the last stand for the 'suburban republican moderate' strategy. Voltaire2 Jan 2025 #1
Well the article is BS Mountainguy Jan 2025 #8
So, be Republican Lite.... Bettie Jan 2025 #12
Nobody is being Republican Lite. But the far left trash that is closer to MAGA JI7 Jan 2025 #13
I think we should be Democrats Mountainguy Jan 2025 #14
Oh, I've been told, over and over Bettie Jan 2025 #15
Our base is Black women mcar Jan 2025 #17
Black women made up 7% of the voting electorate. Self Esteem Jan 2025 #27
DU POST OF THE DAY WarGamer Jan 2025 #19
Well, Matt Duss is an idiot, for sure. I have not found this typical or even common on the Guardian. hlthe2b Jan 2025 #2
...Liz Cheney... mr715 Jan 2025 #3
Damn. That's cold blooded Seeking Serenity Jan 2025 #21
Easily some of the dumbest shit I've read in a publication that is awash with dumb shit. BannonsLiver Jan 2025 #4
A piece of Pure BS, not at all like Guardian to publish this RainCaster Jan 2025 #5
Trump is threatening to use military force to take Greenland and the Panama Canal but Dems are the war party? GTFO! LonePirate Jan 2025 #6
So people know details of policy and every person that supports Democrats JI7 Jan 2025 #7
Yup ismnotwasm Jan 2025 #9
Absolutely. How so few can see this and are so easily fooled, I do not know. betsuni Jan 2025 #11
It isn't new, was left-populist constant bashing of Hillary as warmonger/war hawk/more dangerous than Trump. betsuni Jan 2025 #10
Oh, I remember all those fake-assed anti-drone activists from 2016 Blue_Tires Jan 2025 #20
I don't know who Matt Duss is Blue_Tires Jan 2025 #16
He's a Bernie Bro FakeNoose Jan 2025 #22
It's called the "horseshoe left" for a reason... Blue_Tires Jan 2025 #24
Don't be so quick to dismiss this story... WarGamer Jan 2025 #18
lol BannonsLiver Jan 2025 #23
Are Democrats war mongers? WarGamer Jan 2025 #29
It's agitprop... Blue_Tires Jan 2025 #25
I think you may have taken a portion of the article out of context... Think. Again. Jan 2025 #26
What war did Biden start or expand while president? Self Esteem Jan 2025 #28
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