Disregarding & Disparaging the Vast Majority of America

[applegrove]

Disregarding & Disparaging the Vast Majority of America
by David Sirota
at Huffington Post

"It is very clear that Washington, D.C. today is a place wholly separated from the rest of America – a place that no longer even pretends to be slightly interested in the will of the people it is supposed to be representing. We can see this no more clearly than on the Iraq issue.

Republicans are running around bragging about their "stay the course" policy that has endangered America's national security, brought massive military casualties and destroyed our country's international credibility. Perhaps worse, many Democratic lawmakers are still cowering in a corner on the issue – while the class of professional election losers who populate the Democratic political Establishment tell reporters with a straight face that their party would be risking itself politically if it took a real stand.

What we rarely hear from politicians, political operatives or the media who cover them are the actual facts about what America wants. And on Iraq, what the public wants is very clear. Here is what Editor & Publisher magazine notes today:

"A CNN poll, for example, conducted June 14-15 found that 53% favored a timetable for withdrawal, while 41% opposed it. Yet newspaper editorials, as usual, remain mute on this and the Senate today soundly trounced the Democrats' withdrawal pleas, even a wishy-washy one put forward by Sen. Carl Levin...CBS News poll taken less than two weeks ago asked if what has transpired in Iraq was 'worth the loss of American life and other costs.' The result: 62% said 'no.'...A detailed NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey completed 10 days ago shows, among other things, that 57% of respondents support reducing troop levels now, with only 35% favoring current levels. The vast majority of those backing withdrawal favor setting a timeline."
But beyond just knowing that the public strongly supports a timetable for withdrawal, we also know that the public will reward politicians who supports that position. Far from being a political "risk" as it is billed in the media/political Establishment - supporting a scheduled exit strategy is actually a boost to candidates:

....Snip"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/disregarding-disparagin_b_23634.html

[acmejack]

1. Sums it up rather nicely I think.