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The Anti-War Left's Big Gun
Benjamin Sarlin is Washington correspondent for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
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As Obama continues to debate a troop surge, liberals who want the U.S. out of Afghanistan are turning up the heat. Benjamin Sarlin on Alan Grayson—yes, that loudmouth on health care—the freshman congressman who's leading the charge.
If you think Alan Grayson was tough on Republicans over health care, wait until you hear him talk about Afghanistan.
The freshman Florida congressman, who represents a moderate district that includes parts of Orlando, rode into office on Barack Obama's coattails last year—and has generally supported the president’s domestic agenda. But his loyalty does not extend to military matters—on which he’s shown a fiercely independent streak. Grayson is one of 51 House Democrats who have voted against funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—and favors withdrawing all troops from the latter theater, as soon as possible.
"There is no need to occupy other countries against their will," Grayson told The Daily Beast in an interview. "The British gave up on that 60 years ago. The Soviet Union gave up on that 20 years ago. What are we waiting for?"
“Grayson has been very strong from Day One on this issue, when there were very few of us talking about it,” says filmmaker Robert Greenwald. “First of all, he’s got a huge amount of relevant knowledge. Second of all, he’s fearless.”
Grayson, who became a Democratic hero overnight for his bare-knuckled assault on the GOP’s health-care opposition, is rapidly emerging as one of the leading voices of the anti-war left. He brings a certain authority to the cause; a defense lawyer in his previous life, he hauled Iraq War defense contractors into court, and racked up huge settlements—giving him both a substantive expertise and the kind of financial cushion that allows him to speak his mind with impunity.
He’s arriving at a crucial juncture in the Afghanistan debate. From his right, the president faces pressure to ramp up troop strength, as recommended by Gen. Stanley McChrystal and endorsed by lawmakers like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). From the left, Obama has been lobbied to leave the force size alone or even begin drawing it down in favor of devoting more resources to chasing al Qaeda in Pakistan. The debate threatens to split Obama's progressive base and undercut whatever boost the president might receive from a health-care victory.
Grayson is hardly alone. Recently, online juggernaut MoveOn.org, one of the most important players in the health-care debate on the left, began lending its weight to the anti-war effort, pushing for an exit strategy in Afghanistan. Activist filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who built a liberal following by taking on Fox News in years past, has been steadily promoting his antiwar film, Rethink Afghanistan. This month, Grayson attended a screening of Rethink Afghanistan, then delivered a speech to the audience warning that aid to that country was "the fig leaf to try and make Congress and the American people feel better about war and about killing"—arguing that any nation-building efforts there are "fatally flawed."
According to Greenwald, Grayson has helped galvanize the burgeoning movement.
"Grayson has been very strong from Day One on this issue, when there were very few of us talking about it," Greenwald told The Daily Beast. "First of all, he's got a huge amount of relevant knowledge. Second of all, he's fearless to say it like it is: [The war] doesn’t make any sense and it's not going to make us more secure."
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mcmchugh99
Expect to see him as a governor or Senator one of these days, maybe even more than that. There are pitifully few Dems with guts these days, but they'd better find some or rent some because they won't have a better opportunity to pass reforms in a generation than they will in the coming decade.
The last reform cycle was in the 1960s and the next will be in the 2030s so for our generation, this is it.
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sonofloud
A democrat with cojones ???
This must be a dream.....Toto ?
sophia5
Please Daily Beast.
Have British Journalist Lara Logan,
someone with credibility, write a column on Afghanistan.
She's actually spent time there in the War zone,
and seems familiar with the Tribal Factions.
Perhaps she could clarify the situation,
and present reasons FOR OR AGAINST troop escalation.
c-four
There OBVIOUSLY never were "ANTI-WAR" Liberal-Democrats.
There was a "HATE BUSH/SOLDIERS" movement by Liberal-Democrats....now known as Socialist-Obamacrats.
This must be where Nancy "stretch" Pelosi got the term "Astro-Turf"?
greenferret
32 House Democrats voted against war funding, not 51. 51 voted against the bill when it was certain to pass; 21 of those changed their vote when the revised bill actually had a chance of not passing. These Congress members voted No for show when it didn't matter, and voted Yes to fund wars when it came to crunch time: Yvette Clarke, Steve Cohen, Jim Cooper, Jerry Costello, Barney Frank, Luis Gutierrez, Jay Inslee, Steve Kagen, Edward Markey, Doris Matsui, Jim McDermott, George Miller, Grace Napolitano, Richard Neal (MA), James Oberstar, Jan Schakowsky, Mike Thompson, Edolphus Towns, Nydia Velázquez, and Anthony Weiner. And John Lewis, for one reason or another, did not vote.
The whole story is at http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43479
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