{"id":4441,"date":"2008-01-17T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2008-01-17T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/reformedchicksblabbing\/2008\/01\/antiwar-groups-defeated-by-bus.html"},"modified":"2008-01-17T09:00:16","modified_gmt":"2008-01-17T09:00:16","slug":"antiwar-groups-defeated-by-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/reformedchicksblabbing\/2008\/01\/antiwar-groups-defeated-by-bus.html","title":{"rendered":"Anti-war groups defeated by Bush"},"content":{"rendered":"

They are finally admitting defeat<\/a>. One thing the article doesn’t mention is the fact that since the surge appears to be working the left really doesn’t have much leverage. They can’t say that we are in the middle of a civil war or that the Iraqis aren’t working on political solutions. All their talking points have come to naught.<\/p>\n

After a series of legislative defeats in 2007 that saw the year end with more U.S. troops in Iraq than when it began, a coalition of anti-war groups is backing away from its multimillion-dollar drive to cut funding for the war and force Congress to pass timelines for bringing U.S. troops home.
\nIn recognition of hard political reality, the groups instead will lower their sights and push for legislation to prevent President Bush from entering into a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that could keep significant numbers of troops in Iraq for years to come.
\nThe groups believe this switch in strategy can draw contrasts with Republicans that will help Democrats gain ground in November and bring the votes to pass more dramatic measures. But it is a long way from the early months of 2007, when Democrats were freshly in power and momentum for a dramatic shift in Iraq policy seemed overpowering.
\n\u201cThere was a consensus that last year was not productive,\u201d John Isaacs, executive director of Council for a Livable World, said of a meeting attended by a coalition of anti-war groups last week. \u201cOur expectations were dashed.\u201d
\nThe meeting, held at an office on K Street, was attended by around 20 representatives of influential anti-war groups, including MoveOn.org and Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which spent $12 million last year opposing the war.
\nIsaacs said he thought the meeting would be a difficult one, with an adamant faction pressing for continued focus on timelines and funding. It wasn\u2019t to be.
\n\u201cWe got our heads together and decided to go a different way,\u201d Isaacs said. \u201cThe consensus was not to keep beating our heads against the wall trying to block every funding bill \u2014 not because we don\u2019t agree with it, but because we don\u2019t have the votes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It took them long enough to figure that out, didn’t it? Not the quickest wits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They are finally admitting defeat. One thing the article doesn’t mention is the fact that since the surge appears to be working the left really doesn’t have much leverage. They can’t say that we are in the middle of a civil war or that the Iraqis aren’t working on political solutions. All their talking points…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[399],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-2"],"yoast_head":"\nAnti-war groups defeated by Bush - Reformed Chicks Blabbing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/reformedchicksblabbing\/2008\/01\/antiwar-groups-defeated-by-bus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anti-war groups defeated by Bush - Reformed Chicks Blabbing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They are finally admitting defeat. One thing the article doesn’t mention is the fact that since the surge appears to be working the left really doesn’t have much leverage. They can’t say that we are in the middle of a civil war or that the Iraqis aren’t working on political solutions. 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