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Blogosphere fury at Dems on Iraq vote |
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By Jonathan E. Kaplan
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Posted: 05/30/07 07:27 PM [ET] |
Furious that congressional Democratic leaders did not fight harder to pass a supplemental spending bill with a timeline to end the war in Iraq and tougher benchmarks, liberal online activists have ripped party leaders and threatened to halt contributions to Democratic lawmakers.
The power of the so-called netroots — liberal activists who rally likeminded supporters on the Internet — is not clear. They have a loud voice and they have the capacity to raise money quickly for a candidate they favor, but they so far have been unable to push House and Senate Democratic leaders on a range of issues, including ending the war in Iraq.
“They let us down this time,” Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, the founder of the site DailyKos, wrote. “But the opportunities for them to make amends still exist. And if they don’t? Well, no one, not even the most rabid partisans, have an endless supply of patience.”
Liberal bloggers even criticized House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), who helped recapture the House last year as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), for saying that the deal was “the beginning of the end of the president’s policy in Iraq.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) and other senior Democrats have promised to use the regular defense appropriations process and other legislative vehicles to end the war in Iraq. In addition, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has guaranteed centrist Democrats a vote on a measure this fall to de-authorize the use of force.
But nothing that Democrats have said seemed to placate the party’s left wing. Most galling to some activists was a DCCC letter that tried to claim credit for forcing President Bush to agree to “accountability and reporting provisions” and “cancel[ing] the President’s blank check in Iraq.”
David Sirota, a prominent blogger and former congressional aide, wrote that the letter was “utterly Orwellian.”
Readers at the DailyKos website were furious about the letter, while other readers were angry that the DCCC used James Carville, a Democratic political consultant, in a separate fundraising pitch. Many said they would not donate to DCCC any more.
“You insult me, sir. And I will not be insulted. Go to hell,” wrote Bill from Portland, Maine.
“PIGS will fly before I will contribute a penny to this s—- ... where is our spine, backbone, morals and ethics,” wrote Left My Heart.
“Unlike our Democratic leaders, I am a Democrat who has backbone and conviction. I am hereby defunding YOU!” wrote
Jayden.
Brian Wolff, the DCCC’s executive director, blamed President Bush and congressional Republicans for blocking a tougher bill and explained that Democrats could not pass a bill to end the war without GOP support.
“Had it not been for the president’s veto and the Republicans’ unwillingness to join Democrats and override it, we would have had a dramatic change in direction,” he said. “Our fight to end the war continues and we look forward to working with the netroots to do just that — end the war.”
The netroots activists also targeted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). His approval rating sank to 33 percent based on an unscientific poll of more than 17,000 DailyKos readers, perhaps indicating that he has a difficult job corralling 49 Democrats. Pelosi had a job approval rating of 52 percent.
“The netroots and local activists, like the vast majority of Americans, are frustrated with the direction in Iraq, as is Harry Reid. But activists trust Sen. Reid as a person who is fully committed to bringing a responsible end to this war,” said Rodell Mollineau, Reid’s spokesman.
As angry as liberal activists are over last week’s vote, it is not clear now whether they can punish congressional Democrats who supported the supplemental spending bill.
Some Democratic lawmakers and aides are frustrated with the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and feel whatever they do would not be good enough.
“No American troop will go without … just so the most liberal activists in the country can be quieted,” said a senior House Democratic aide. “If it means Democrats in Congress get tea bags and hate mail, so be it — we will not be irresponsible with the lives of our troops.”
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