Reply #20: I have not suggested that patriotism is contingent

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on support for the war or a vote for Cantwell. The war is a supreme act of folly initiated by a deeply stupid man, and enabled by a Congress filled with tub-thumping zealots and a pusillanimous opposition too cowed to get off their knees. I think that Democrats who lend support to the war do so because they're afraid Karl Rove is hiding under the bed ready to jump out and bite them on the ankle as soon as they try to stand up for something. That's the way politics is played today, and it is indeed contemptible. That said, Cantwell is no worse than Hillary or any of 20 others, including John Kerry in '04. I'm not expecting M.C to have a change of mind, though that would certainly be good. I just expect her to vote for Harry Reid, or whoever else the party puts forward to run the senate. And remember, Slade only served 2 terms, and at the end he was dodging down stairwells trying to avoid his outraged constituents.