The rebellion in Congress against US intervention in the Libyan civil war was effectively quashed by the Democrats when a majority of Republicans voted in favor of a bipartisan resolution to defund the mission, but the Democratic leadership kept enough of their caucus in line to defeat the measure. The proposed legislation, co-sponsored by Reps. Dennis “Department of Peace” Kucinich, and Justin “Tea Party” Amash, perfectly embodies the spirit of the growing left-right foreign policy alliance as expressed in a recent open letter released by Come Home America, calling for an end to our role as the world’s policeman. The letter was signed by a dizzyingly diverse range of political pundits and publicists, from Ralph Nader and Medea Benjamin to Dan McCarthy, editor of The American Conservative, as well as my reactionary self. In short, a group of people who don’t have much in common politically – except a growing sense of outrage at what is being done in our name overseas.
In making the argument that critics of the Libyan adventure want to “defend” Gadhafi, Hillary was even more explicit: “Whose side are you on?”, she shrieked. They both sound like George W. Bush and his neoconservative minions, who were constantly attacking critics of the Iraq war as being somehow sympathetic to “the terrorists.” Similarly, this liberal blogger sounds just like the neocon blogosphere (note the illustration) during the worst of the Bush era.
So it happens that opponents of US military intervention who were once labeled Nixon-hating “hippies” of the“far left,” and typified as pacifistic “peaceniks,” are now characterized as Obama-hating “far right” reactionaries. The epithets may change, but the issue isn’t going to go away – no matter how vicious the smear campaign gets. Because both the left and the right are fast waking up to the fact that they’re being taken for a ride by the War Party – which profits from empire while the rest of us pay.
That’s why Come Home America – a new left-right antiwar initiative – is vitally important. I urge my readers to sign up and get actively involved: this is the one antiwar organization I can unreservedly endorse. Chapters are springing up across the nation, and now is the time to get actively involved. Because there never was a better time for the nation to hear its message loud and clear: America, won’t you please come home?
