Posted on 06/02/2005 7:16:21 PM PDT by 68skylark
WASHINGTON -- Are anti-war protests going to sweep the United States' streets this fall? The smart betting still says "No," or, at least, "Not yet." But as far as a generally left-wing coalition of anti-war activists is concerned, it won't be for want of trying.
On Wednesday leaders of ANSWER -- the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition -- had a news conference at the National Press Club to announce plans for nationwide popular protests against the war in Iraq on Sept. 24. They said they expected at least 100,000 people to join them in protests in Washington, Los Angeles and other cities.
On paper the coalition looks broad and impressive. It counts some 500 groups among its members. The groups include the Partnership for Civil Justice, the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, the DC Healthcare Coalition, the Mexico Solidarity Network and the Nicaragua Network.
The protest will also come as U.S. casualties in Iraq continue to steadily climb with no end, withdrawal strategy or apparent imminent victory over the Sunni insurgency there in sight.
So far more than 1,600 U.S. service personnel have been killed in Iraq in the more than two years since U.S. forces and their allies invaded the country to topple President Saddam Hussein.
Some 13,000 U.S. soldiers have been injured, more than 6,000 so seriously that they were unable to ever return to combat duty. Indeed, the rate of injuries in Iraq is now running at as high a rate as was the case in the Vietnam War as it escalated in early 1967.
On top of all that, President George W. Bush's approval ratings, which swept him back into the White House with an unprecedented number of votes only seven months ago, are running consistently well less than 50 percent, and on Iraq the rating is down to the low 40s and may drop further.
ANSWER hopes the Sept. 24 protest "will be the largest anti-war demonstrations to take place" since the president's re-election, its national coordinator Brian Becker said Wednesday.
"This will be representative of a changed mood inside the United States," Becker said. " ... We will on Sept. 24 surround the White House with a sea of anti-war demonstrators."
But it is still a long way to translate general unease about the war and disenchantment over the president's policies and command of events into any politically significant popular movement on the streets across the country.
The groups listed in the ANSWER coalition are mostly individually small and almost all appear to be left wing. The main centers for demonstrations that the group has so far announced are all East Coast or West Coast cities in states that went predominantly "blue" for the Democrats in last November's presidential election. So far they have shown no sign of significant grassroots organizing support in any, let alone many, areas of the Republican political base across the United States' vast continental Heartland. And over the past 4 1/2 years every attempt to mount significant left-wing popular protests in the streets of Washington has fizzled.
The protest organizers will face the same challenge that stymied them during the wave of protests against the president, his policies and the Iraq war during the Republican National Convention in New York last summer. Crowds sometimes well in excess of 100,000 did indeed turn up in Central Park, but they failed to gain more than perfunctory attention from the television news coverage there.
The dilemma facing organizers of popular protests against the war is that protests that turn violent are likely to alarm and alienate vastly more support than they generate. But peaceful, non-violent protests even as large as 100,000 people or greater are likely to have only peripheral political impact, especially if they are seen as only coming from traditionally radical and anti-conservative constituencies.
That could certainly change if U.S. casualties in Iraq soar violently upward to unanticipated levels over the next few months. It could also happen if the United States gets involved in a military conflict or confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program. And if such a confrontation radicalized significant elements of Iraq's own majority Shiite Muslim community into conflict with U.S. forces there, then protests and anger at home really could soar suddenly and dramatically. But none of those things has happened yet.
It also will not help to swing large numbers of undecided or wavering Americans against the war that ANSWER announced its demonstrations will also demand an end to U.S. "threats" against North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba and to the "colonial style occupation in Palestine and Haiti."
People in the United States overwhelmingly appear concerned over the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran, and even where there is concern or unease over administration policies toward these two countries it certainly does not translate anywhere into significant popular sympathy for their ruling regimes. On the contrary, this kind of rhetoric appears much more likely to marginalize the organizing groups of the protests and discredit, even de-legitimize, them among many people who might have been more sympathetic if the protests had only concentrated on the wisdom and sustainability of the current involvement in Iraq.
This is not to say that much more formidable and politically significant popular protests against the Iraq war might not develop months or years down the line. Indeed, if Congress feels forced to consider some kind of national draft or selective service following the 2006 midterm elections, it is almost certain that more massive protests will quickly result. But for now, the Sept. 24 protests do not look likely to cause them, however much ANSWER's organizers hope to the contrary.
As the author says, left-wing protesters aren't mainstream -- and with their creepy anti-American message they don't have any real chance of entering the mainstream.
No, but someone will have to sweep the streets after the protestors are finished. And, wash them, disinfect them....
"And over the past 4 1/2 years every attempt to mount significant left-wing popular protests in the streets of Washington has fizzled."
Poor little Lefties. Nobody loves them, everybody hates them, they should just go off to the garden and eat worms.
Who needs TV? We have something bigger than TV.
What do these 2 issues have to do with each other? I thought the Iraq war was all about oil? Isn't that what we heard, ad nauseum, for the last 2+ years?
Oh, I get it ... that idea flopped so we are going to pull out the race card! That's always the last resort, when everything else has failed.
What's next? We invaded Iraq specifically to capture Saddam so we could force him to do underwear modeling?
Protest Warrior does that.....and quite funny to see when they confront the leftists. If you check out the DU website you will see that in their own (little) minds they are certain they are the "voice of the people".
CSPAN does usually cover the ANSWER protests. It's hilarious.
To quote Kim Jong Il .. "I'm ronnery, so ronnery".
We should start reframing the words in this movement. Anti-war means those who oppose them (mostly veterans and hard working, law abiding citizens) are pro-war. That is far from the truth. Veterans who have lived through war, for example, are hardly pro-war. Most will remember the horrors of war and not wish that on their sons, daughters, family or friends. Yet, they know that maintaining our freedom sometimes means war. At least as long as "evil" persists in the world, someone has to stand up to it.
Let's call the idiots who protest against America what they reall are - ANTI-AMERICAN. That'll really get their panties in a bunch.
"It counts some 500 groups among its members."
The peace movement really has a record of hyping the numbers. But many of the 500 groups could be little 10 man groups made up of people already belonging to 2 or 3 others. Me....I love to watch the Mayhem that usually happens and quickly makes a lie of the term "Peace March"
"Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition"
It's really the "Act Now to Stop War and End Racism and Support the Kyoto Treaty to Prevent Global Warming and Protect Endangered Species and Raise the Minimum Wage and Block NAFTA and Beat Bush in 2004 Coalition".
Don't be too sure, they might like it.
good point
Good! The hubris of our opponents is one of our best strengths.
It's a good thing! The public associates these radicals with Democrats (correctly) and it serves to marginalize them further.
The groups include the Partnership for Civil Justice, the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, the DC Healthcare Coalition, the Mexico Solidarity Network and the Nicaragua Network.
No THOSE are mainstream groups! Why, I believe I saw their meeting(s) posted on the lobby board of the Holiday Inn right next to the room where Rotary was meeting...... NOT
First you can make fun of them:
FReeper CardCarryingMemberVastRightWC made over 100 leftists look stupid in public.
Or you can let the law handle them:
FReeper weldgophardline looks on as the Green Party is told to pack it up and leave. They shouldn't have messed with our Support Our Troops rally without getting a permit.
This always makes the leftists look small.
I-25 bridge, Fort Colins, CO.
Last year (or the year before, I forget exactly) the extremely liberal town I work in was abuzz that there was going to be an 'anti - war' protest march down a main street. This road is constantly busy, with bumper to bumper spots on most good days. It's also a main artery, connecting to the Interstate and other major roads.
Well, the town went so far to accommodate these people (maybe they got a permit) so the street was closed off for "an hour". Needless to say, this screwed up traffic and most everyone (everyone who was WORKING that day, that is) was inconvenienced by this. Well, by the time they got the peace train in gear (about an hour after the cited start time), it was only a sad trickle of a few dozen (very scary looking) people who meandered down the street. Those unaware of what was going on might have thought that the road company of Hair had gotten confused and was wandering aimlessly in a cannabis induced haze.
It was actually amusing to watch them from the window until they decided to halt their 'protest' in the middle of a four way intersection, which completely stalled all movement in the entire bloody city. All I could think, as I wondered what time I'd get out of town that Friday afternoon, was "Do they really think they are winning converts to their 'cause' with this behavior?"
You just know that never occurred to them, or their spiritual leader, Dr. Howie Dean. Go ahead, let 'em do it again...I mean, look how well it did for them in November. May they never learn, but continue to educate others as to the lunacy and selfishness of liberalism.
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