It's the money, stupid

The WaPo writes about Hillary Clinton's "centrist" stance on war (good grief--she voted for the damn thing, and keeps calling for more troops--what would a hawk look like if she is "centrist?"). The Post attempts to explain:

Clinton is confronting the Democratic Party's long-standing dilemma on national defense, with those harboring national ambitions caught between the passions of the antiwar left and political concerns that they remain vulnerable to charges of weakness from the Republicans if they embrace the party's base. But some Democrats say, the left not withstanding, her refusal to advocate a speedy exit from Iraq may reflect a more accurate reading of public anxiety about the choices now facing the country.

It's not "charges of weakness" that Hillary and the other DLC'ers fear; it's the loss of campaign money. The Democratic Party's dilemma is simply being the second corporate tool party of the military-industrial complex while pretending that they are not. Hillary and Holy Joe have abandoned the pretense that they are not tools of the complex; hopefully mainstream Democrats, those who oppose the war, will abandon the pretense that Hillary represents them in any meaningful way, and see to it that she in fact doesn't represent them.

The Post did answer one of my recent questions, however:

Clinton's support for the war has prompted a challenge from Jonathan Tasini, an antiwar Democrat, in next year's Senate primary in New York. She remains overwhelmingly popular among Democrats in New York, so the challenge may be more an irritant that a real threat.

As you might expect, Tasini has a web site, featuring a no-endorsement endorsement from Cindy Sheehan, and of course a chance to donate to his campaign (hint hint). Tasini also answers the paragraph from today's WaPo article that I quoted above:

So, the national press (as well as the alternative press and blogs) continues to report on the campaign. A week ago, we didn't exist. Today, in the Washington Post's world, we're an irritant. Tomorrow?

That's up to every person at the grassroots level--if people continue to volunteer their ideas, time and energy, we're going to surprise the pundits and the mainstream press. And if we can also develop a huge contingent of small donors, we'll have the money it takes to mobilize a grassroots army.

Are you up for it?

New York's 2006 senate race will be high-profile and may well set the stage in 2008. If Hillary wins the primary, New Yorkers will be choosing between two war hawks. If Hillary loses to an anti-war Dem in the primary, however, the message will be sent throughout the country that pro-war is no longer the way to win.