Anyone else a Salon subscriber??

[whometense]

Tim Grieve can't be allowed to get away with perpetuating this crap, but I have no time right now to research and post a rebuttal.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2006/06/05/iraqdems/index.html

The Democrats and Iraq

Joe Biden said on "Meet the Press" Sunday that he'll be "surprised" if the 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq becomes the "defining issue" in the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

He'd better that hope he's right.

Biden voted to authorize the use of force against Iraq in 2002 –- a vote that puts him, at least in hindsight, on the wrong side of the vast majority of Democratic voters. As Knight Ridder notes today, a recent CBS News poll had 77 percent of Democrats saying that it was a mistake for the United States to take military action in Iraq.

Of course, Biden isn't exactly alone here. Seven of the Democrats considering White House runs in 2008 were in the Senate in 2002, and six of them -- Biden, Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards and John Kerry -- voted in favor of authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Among the six, only Edwards has said unequivocally that his vote was a mistake.

Ted Kennedy said Friday that his vote "against this misbegotten war" in 2002 was "the best vote I have cast in the United States Senate since I was elected in 1962." Tim Russert asked Biden Sunday if he has the same view. Biden's response: "I, I don’t think so. I think misunderstanding this administration is the worst miscalculation I’ve ever made in my career."

It was a Kerry-like equivocation (:banghead:), and it's the kind of thing we'll be hearing often as Democratic contenders try to square their 2002 votes with political reality in 2006 and beyond. Feingold doesn't have to engage in such verbal gymnastics; neither, for that matter, would Al Gore, if he were to run. But so long as centrists like Mark Warner and Hillary Clinton are perceived as the "serious" Democratic contenders – so long as Democrats cluck about Americans' not being "ready" for a Russ Feingold -- a "sorry, my bad" candidate will be the best the Democrats can hope to offer in 2008.

It's a sad reality, and we aren't the only ones coming face-to-face with it. In an interview with the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza, Feingold says that -- if he decides not to run or runs and loses -- even he may "end up" supporting "someone who in the beginning supported the war."

-- Tim Grieve

[emulatorloo]

1. There are a lot of voters who believed Bush's "cooked intel" too

The Senate, just like the American People, has a right to expect that the President won't lie about serious matters like going to war. And that the Sec of Defense isn;t lying when he shows you pictures of exactly where the WMDs are stored. Or that a Vice President won't destroy a man's wife because that man told the truth.

Bushco deliberately distored and took advantage of the American People.

But somehow it is everybody's fault but Bush and his minions.

[partisan]

2. Um

"Among the six, only Edwards has said unequivocally that his vote was a mistake."

I could have sworn Kerry has said he made a mistake.

[beachmom]

3. Damn straight. And Kerry called it a "profound mistake"

He's spoken more about this than Edwards. Is this sloppy journalism or intentional deception, I would like to know. Sorry, Whometense -- I don't have a subscription to Salon.

[whometense]

4. I'm just fried from an insane weekend,

and you don't want to post there unless you're on top of your game (and the facts).

Mass wrote a really good response (I hope you don't mind my quoting you):
http://letters.salon.com/politics/war_room/2006/06/05/iraqdems/permalink/8b895973243d1f58ac578c449035ca82.html

Sadly wrong about Kerry - He said again and again that his vote was a mistake

I dont know what it will take for the liberal blogosphere to look at what he actually said and stop repeating talking points. (Sorry, you're a big boy, so I assume you can do your research yourself. I hope I do not presume too much).

BTW, are you aware that he has a proposal to withdraw the troops before the end of the year (supported among others by Feingold).

Tiring to see that Salon is not better than the NYTimes and other media when it comes to say the truth.

-- mass

[beachmom]

5. Great comment (Mass)

So is subscribing to Salon worth it? I never go there because the ads get blocked so I can't view them in order to get into the articles. I rely on you guys for excerpts from there.

[Mass]

6. I dont have a subscription. I use the freepass.

[whometense]

7. It's the only web-based paid subscription I have.

I like the writing there, and you get great freebies when you subscribe. I've been a subscriber since they first started the premium membership. And I'll probably keep it up, although Time Grieve really makes me think twice...

[emulatorloo]

8. I use the freepass - but they do have some very good writers there

So I'm considering subscribing to support it.

[emulatorloo]

9. excellent, Mass . . . n/t