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July 28, 2004
Abu Ghraib, you said?
I am yet to hear the words "torture," "abuse," or "Abu Ghraib" mentioned anywhere in the Democratic National Convention. Admittedly, I haven't been watching the whole thing minute by minute so I did a search of the transcripts of speeches made available on the Dems own website. None of the people below uttered any of those words. In fact, they didn't even say the word "Iraqi" at any point. Let's pretend they don't exist, okay?
Speakers at the 2004 Democratic Convention who did not mention the words "torture," "abuse," "Abu Ghraib," or "Iraqi" for that matter:
Roberta Achtenberg
David Alston
Rep. Tammy Baldwin
Marcia Bristo
President Jimmy Carter
President Bill Clinton
Senator Hillary Clinton
Howard Dean
Rep. Rosa DeLauro
Rep. John Dingell
Shirley Franklin
Rep. Richard Gephardt
Vice-President Al Gore
Teresa Heinz Kerry
Barack Obama
Even the great liberal hope Barack Obama expressed no concern about the fate of Iraqis. I suppose when he said my brother's and my sister's keeper, he meant my American brothers and sisters only. (In fact he sounded very much like Clinton to me.) Worse, a shameful swipe came from Rep. Tammy Baldwin who said "If our leaders can promise 'health care for all' to Iraq, why can't we do the same here at home?"
I don't know what else to say but to call it shameful. We crippled the place with economic sanctions for 10 years, bombed its infrastructure, occupied it and spent their money on profits for American companies -- and they don't even have reliable potable water because that wasn't our priority as to how we spent their money! Their kids are dying of cholera and we're pretending that we have promised health care to all Iraqis, and that's done in the name of progressive values?
This false pretense, that somehow our spending of money on Iraq is what's cause decline of services in America is a great victory of imperialist ideology. It's sad to see it repeated, and even embraced, by progressives.
This country is more than rich enough to provide health care to its citizens and help reconstruct a country it has wrecked. Its leaders are doing neither, by choice. The sooner American progressives stop implying money spent on Iraqis are robbing them of anything, the sooner they will be able to actually fight for their rights by focusing on the accurate targets.
Posted by zeynep at July 28, 2004 12:40 PM
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Comments
Let me start with a mild defense of Obama: He, in my opinion, has more of an internationalist perspective of any of the senators, which I think is in no small part due to his father's side of the family being from Kenya. His background is in local politics as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and state senator so it is difficult to know exactly what his positions will be when dealing with other countries. But I have seen him argue for real free trade (which I don't totally agree with) and not the kind of exploitative protectionist "free trade" that became public in the Cancun round.
Also, the democrats don't have an answer to Iraq's problems, with the majority of them having voted for the Iraq war in the first place, so I am not sure exactly what you expect them to say.
I agree with the point of the post, that the democrats position on Iraq is shameful, but I am a bit confused as to why you would use the amount that they talk about Iraq at the convention as the way you display that. Also, the method that you used -- counting the number of times a word is used -- is inherently flawed. I am not saying that those people did talk about those issues, but they very well could have. Doing searches is a great starting point for research, but it is hardly an ending point.
I don't mean to be too critical; I think that this is a fine blog. If it seems like I mostly post only when I disagree with something, that is because I mostly post only when I disagree with something. Which means that I have few quibles with most of your excellent posts.
Posted by: Another Ted at July 28, 2004 02:03 PM
No, I agree counting words is a very minimal method. I actually listened to most of the speeches and noticed that nobody was talking about Iraqis and all that has happened to them as a result of our actions. I counted to confirm my impression since perhaps I had missed a mention somewhere. I'd be happy to post if anyone actually remembers a mention from the podium that there is that little matter of the 22 million people under our occupation.
Obama may or may not be internationalist in perspective, I don't know that much about him. His father's side of the family surely would have a view of what it is to be colonized -- so it would have been very appropriate if he used his shooting stardom to insert a single sentence about the people we are occupying. If it's an oversight, it's very telling of a deliberate blindness. If it's deliberate, that's very telling too.
As for the democrats -- their leadership voted for the war but their base has been mostly against it from the beginning. Yes, what are the leaders to say?
And finally, please do post your objections and criticisms. Thoughtful discussion is sorely lacking among progressives and I sure appreciate it.
Posted by: zeynep at July 28, 2004 02:31 PM
I tried to listen to Pacifica's 2 and a half-hour coverage last night of the DNC, but I only made it through the first hour or so. I agree with Zeynep that the DNC has been abominable in it's centrist positioning regarding important political and social issues in which it should be far more critical of the current administration that it has been. This DNC coverage broadcast on Pacifica, which I listened to on KPFA in berkeley, was hosted by Davey Dee and Larry Bensky from KPFA, and a woman from KPFK in Los Angeles whose name I did not absorb.
I did listen long enough to hear Barack Obama's speech and I was particularly unimpressed by what he said. He sounded like a typical power-elite Democrat to me. However, Davey Dee did comment that he had spoken earlier in the day at the alternative Take Back America Rally and counter-convention in Cambridge, Massachusettes. According to Davey Dee Mr. Obama had been much more forceful in his criticism of the Bush Administration, and the Iraqi War at the Take Back America rally. Further according to Davey Dee the speakers at the DNC were being coerced to tone down their rhetoric and to not be too critical of the Bush-43 regime. According to Davey Dee this entire charade of non-criticism is being forced upon speakers at the DNC by the "Old Guard" of the Democratic Party. According to Davey Dee only speakers who agreed to conform to rigid and strict guidelines from top Democratic Party officials were being allowed to speak at all.
In this regard Michael Moore spoke at the Take Back America Rally, although he was clearly unwelcome inside the Flint Center. This morning on Democracy Now Amy Goodman featured his entire speech from Cambridge and is posting it on her website. A text of this same Michael Moore speech has also been posted today on Common Dreams.org.
Davey Dee also reported that both Howard Dean and Al Gore spoke at the Take Back America Rally in much more forceful terms, and were much more openly critical of the Bush-43 regime wackos. It was only within the restricted confines of Boston's Flint Center and the DNC that these speakers were being forced to "stifle themselves," water down their messages, and govern what they said and how they said it. This just reflects even worse, of course, on the internal Democratic Party apparatas and the "Old Guard" relics who are still controlling Democratic Party procedures.
Unfortunately the Democrats seem determined to allow Bush-43 to remain in power by refusing to directly challenge any of his immoral, illegal, unethical, and criminal policies and behaviors. This is not the correct approach in my view. Instead of this tactic of letting Bush-43 self-destruct which he may or may not be doing, the Democrats should be challenging Bush-43 boldly and incessantly and holding him accountable for every damn lie he and his cronies have told, and every damn crime they have all committed in unison or separately. Of course, this would implicate some Democrats and the "Old Guard" is aware of this I suppose. Protecting Democratic Party interests though is not on my tally sheet, so I would prefer a much more aggression critical assault on Bush-43 by these lukewarm Democrats. However, it doesn't seem like any of us are going to get what we want any time soon.
Sincerely,
Old & In The Way
Posted by: Phil Cicchi at July 28, 2004 06:04 PM
Oh gods and goddesses how I love this site!!! zeynep your the best!!! And those who comment are great as well! I've read many comments by both Another Ted and Phil Cicchi and I greatly appreciate the insight that all of you give. This blog is WAY better than the reading the mainstream media!!!!!
ps: another ted, I'm the ted that was posting a week or so ago under the name ted, so if your more comfortable without the 'another' it's wide open. I'm using terrible now which title I've had almost as long and seems to fit me well.
Posted by: Terrible at July 28, 2004 08:54 PM
Will go with you Zeynep, on this one.I think it is reprehensible that the whole issue of Iraq is receiving such little (none) attention.That the above mentioned words have not been uttered,as you point out, drives the point irrefutably home.
I suppose this whole exercise (the convention) is really ment to put on the pretty pretty for those clueless 10% playing hard to get in the middle. It is a sad thing,that the regeneration (Dean) of the party ,its newfound energy (anti-war ) has been so thoroughly turned inside out (out republican the republicans a la Clinton) just to steal a kiss (of death) from the middle.
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