Antiwar activists protest footdragging by Democrats in Congress

I read some of the stories about the antiwar protests this weekend, but it seems that the antiwar activists are protesting the Democrats as much as the Republicans and President Bush. Absolutely none of the major Democratic candidates for president in 2008 showed up at any of the rallies. That's amazing, especially given the fact that the Democratic landslide in November was attributed to antiwar sentiment.

But, if you know anything about the kind of people who attend these protests (I've observed a few in Washington, D.C. personally), you can understand why "mainstream" candidates, even liberal Democrats would keep their distance. The typical antiwar activist is so far left of center that most Democrats are politiclly closer to the average Republican.

Oddly, it is okay and admirable to be against the war (in Iraq or the overall so-called "War on Terror"), provided you are not too against it. Most politicians are trying to play it safe, playing on both sides of the fence. Only a relatively small minority of congressional Democrats are willing to support and vote for prompt withdrawal of U.S. forces even as late as the end of 2007.

-- Jack Krupansky