the "loony lefties" - what the hell are they up to now?

<satire>
early October, 2002 ... Iraq War Resolution coming before the Congress in a couple of weeks ... those "loony lefties" are screaming about peace again ... that's all the Party needs ... don't they remember what happened to McGovern? is that what they want?? if Democrats get tagged with the "soft on defense" label again we're dead ... i wish those "loony lefties" would just shutup ... besides, everyone believes Saddam has WMD ... if we called for peace and he used WMD against us, it would be the end of the Democratic Party ... we can't just ignore the politics of the situation ...

a year later, long after the invasion, those "loony lefties" were still at it ... peace now; peace now ... don't they know any other songs?? besides, the truth is that none of them could have known there were no WMD's ... Dems in the House and Senate had much better info than they did ... now they're all puffed out with their "we told you so's" ... don't they realize that their calls to end the war prove that they are the "1% loony left fringe" ... 1% !!!! that's why we call them the EXTREME LEFT ... reasonable, moderate Democrats are on-board with Colin Powell's "pottery barn" argument ... whether we should have gone into Iraq or not, we can't just leave ... we broke it; now, we have to stay there until it's fixed ... why is it so hard for those peacenik types to understand that???

and another year later, the "loony left" is still not satisfied ... what the hell is wrong with them?? maybe we should just kick them all out the party ... i mean, come on, there are a variety of proposals put forward by reasonable Democrats to end the war in around another year or two ... why can't those "loony lefties" see that just another year or two of war and occupation is the right thing to do??? with 2006 just around the corner, the last thing we should do is lurch into some kind of "hippies for peace" party ... we're so rational and reasonable that i just can't understand those "loony lefties" ...

i'm not even sure most of them are REAL DEMOCRATS anyway ... aren't most of those who are that anti-war actually Greens?? isn't there some way we can get them kicked off DU?? we're the REAL DEMOCRATS ... those "1% loony lefties" are the ones causing all the trouble ... can't they see that they should just shutup and help elect Democrats??
</satire>

the point of all this is that those who opposed the war before the IWR are now joined by many other Democrats, and even many republicans, in opposing the war ... were we "loony lefties" back then for our views against the war but now that it's a mainstream view we are no longer "loony lefties"? or are many mainstreamers now "loony lefties" because they've now joined our position on the war?

are we somehow not REAL DEMOCRATS because we were the ones who never trusted what bush was selling to deceive the country into war?? or were we the best Democrats because we deeply believed he was lying? are we somehow the "1% fringe" because we didn't go along with Colin Powell's (he's a republican, you know) "pottery barn" theory or are the mainstreamers who followed republican dogma on the war responsible for what's happened in Iraq?

and today, we on the "loony left" are still calling for an immediate end to the war ... and still you call us names ... you seem to most relish the terms "circular firing squad" and "purist" in response to our position that we will not be supporting or voting for those who were, are, and will continue to be wrong on the war ...

but it is those who toss around these insults who are the most guilty of them themselves ... the left, and we are not at all loony, has called out since before this war began for a dialog ... none was forthcoming ... and we've called out for a greater voice in the Party ... and that has not happened ... the Party elite have carefully guarded the belief that there can be no tolerance shown to the Party's anti-war wing ... they are adamant that any accommodation there will weaken a carefully reconstructed tough guy image ... the truth is, they want the money, the support and the votes from the "loony left" but they want it given like an estate from a wealthy uncle who has passed on ... just give us what we want; we don't want your loony opinions ...

it is this entrenched power structure that denies a "big tent" ... it is this entrenched power structure that shoots at its own left wing ... it is this entrenched power structure that demands purity and allegiance without respect for representation ... the loony lefties have been right, dead right, about the war before it even began ... those who trusted bush, those who believed that anything good could come from his imperial presidency, those who supported the IWR or the "pottery barn" bullshit have been wrong each and every day for more than 2 and a half years and they are still wrong ...

the offer is made ... either negotiate with the left to find common ground or quit complaining and insulting us when we refuse to join you in your tragic policies on the war ... i and others have offered numerous proposals to seek a reconciliation ... you have offered nothing but insults ... it is you who are hurting the party ... it is you who prevent unification ... it is you who allow continued death and suffering in Iraq ... it is you who put politics before policy ...

we are running out of time as we enter 2006 ... some of you are confident the "loony left" isn't needed in the Party ... perhaps you're right; perhaps not ... understand, though, that if you seek the support and the votes of the "loony left", they must be earned; they cannot be demanded ... the offer is there; it's really your choice to dialog or not ...

despite having been right about virtually everything.