WHAT’S NEXT FOR LIBERALS?….Two days ago Matt Yglesias asked:
The question “what’s next for anti-war movement?” still remains and I’d still be curious to know. The war is going to happen, demonstration or no, and then what do people plan to do?
Clearly it’s going to take some real pressure from the public to get the administration to stick to its original promises [about promoting democracy in Iraq]. Pressure I wish liberals were more interested in organizing….
I think Matt has answered his own question. Liberals have mostly been too busy protesting the war itself to spend any time pressuring the administration about post-war Iraq, and while this is understandable it also leaves a clear field for the neocon hawks in the administration to set any post-war policy they like.
But if there’s a post-war agenda for liberals, promotion of democracy and human rights ought to be it. George Bush has repeatedly shown himself unwilling to take electoral risks ? this is the big difference between him and Tony Blair ? so it’s up to the Democrats to make this issue their own. It’s the right thing to do both morally and practically, and we should be willing to fight for it.
