Dems Still In Love With Chickenhawks

One would have thought that the spectacular failure of the "pacifist war veteran" gimmick the Democrats employed last year in the candidacy of one John "Finger" Kerry would have persuaded that party's powers-that-be that another fusillade of attempts at trying to pass off their cowardly, seditious hordes as something they're not may not be, shall we say, advisable.

One would have been wrong:

Major Ladda (Tammy) Duckworth, an Iraqi war veteran who lost her legs when a rocket-propelled grenade struck her Black Hawk helicopter, invited Rahm Emanuel, the Democrats' "master strategist" in the House of Representatives, to Walter Reed Army Medical Center one day to meet some recovering vets from their home state of Illinois. "We were walking down the hall and you could see the incredible response to her and her leadership," Emanuel told Newsweek. "She goes to see other troops to keep their spirits up."

Duckworth recently returned home to Chicago's affluent suburbs to begin what looked like an unofficial campaign for the open congressional seat now held by retiring Republican Representative Henry Hyde. Still on active duty, Duckworth cannot declare her candidacy or talk politics to the media. But according to Democratic leaders, she's their preferred candidate, according to a report in the current issue of Newsweek.

Well, sounds like Major Duckworth has three major advantages over the former Lieutenant Kerry: two missing legs and a vagina. Now if she can only avoid magic hat anecdotes.

That's not meant as a swipe at her, but rather a cynical take on the utter superficiality of Democrat thinking. You can almost hear the clicking of Emmanuel's scheming thoughts: "A combat veteran...of the Iraq war...double-amputee...and a woman to, um, boot (No offense, Tammy)! We've hit the jackpot!" To which the proper response is, "Not unless she's also a lesbian..."

The demographic tokenism is as palpable as it is undisguised:

Duckworth is part of a new breed of macho Democrats, joining eight Iraq veterans who have already announced themselves as candidates in next year's congressional elections. (The party is also reaching out to veterans of wars in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Vietnam, as well as former CIA officers and FBI agents). These Democrats don't offer a unified strategy on how to leave Iraq. But they represent the most visible sign of the sea change in politics over the past year, report Senior White House Correspondent Richard Wolffe and Washington Correspondent Jonathan Darman in the Dececember 5th issue of Newsweek. Recent polls show Democrats running neck-and-neck with Republicans on terrorism and comfortably ahead on Iraq. [emphasis added]

Oh, these Democrats will offer a unified strategy on how to leave Iraq, alright - the same one as the rest of their party, as voiced by one of their now-prominent chickenhawks, John Murtha: immediate, pell-mell retreat. They'll have no choice if they want to get the level of financial backing they'll need from the party and, more importantly, its neoBolshevik base. And that will take care of the aforementioned, already dubious poll numbers, as well as these chickenhawks' chances of pulling off upsets. Just like their patron saint.

The Bush White House has said it best: it doesn't matter who the candidate is, because the Democrats cannot argue from a position of strength on the war given the depth of antiwar sentiment inside their base. And until that sentiment is purged, they will never convince a majority of Americans to entrust them with the ongoing defense of the country against its enemies.

The irony is that this retreaded strategy may well end up pre-empted by the unfolding of events. With a permant, constitutional Iraqi government to be elected in a couple of weeks, the accelerating progress of Iraqi security forces, the "devastation" of al Qaeda by Operation Steel Curtain, and the planned "redeployment" of as many as fifty thousand U.S. troops in the next year, these "macho" Dems' raison d'etere stands to be a great deal less relevant as the '06 mid-terms approach - to the extent that the war will influence them in any event.

The Democrats have, at the congressional level, a long propensity for peaking too early. Perhaps had the midterms been a few weeks ago, they might have made significant gains. Or not. But a year from now? Don't count on it.

Rather, count on this squadron of chickenhawks turning into so many more Chicken Littles instead.

UPDATE: D'ya wonder if "Mastermind" Emmanuel has seen these poll results?

Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale — with 44% saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55% believe criticism hurts morale, while 21% say it helps morale...

Their poll also indicates many Americans are skeptical of Democratic complaints about the war. Just three of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they believe this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority believes the motive is really to "gain a partisan political advantage."...

A plurality, 49%, believe that troops should come home only when the Iraqi government can provide for its own security, while 16% support immediate withdrawal, regardless of the circumstances.

So much for Newsweek's "sea change in politics." Deploying uniformed Cindy Sheehans ain't gonna work.

Something tells me the Emmanuelian ilk will be a tougher sell, though - even after their next scheduled drubbing a year from now.

[HT: TKS, with Sister Toldjah at B4B also bearing witness]

UPDATE II: Here were some comments from another combat veteran/ex-Vietnam POW member of Congress. See if you can guess from whom, and which party, they came:

"Pulling our troops out of Iraq now is unconscionable and irresponsible.We’ve got to support our troops to the hilt and see this mission through.

I bet Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is high-fiving his buddies and praising Allah after hearing these news reports. Immediate withdrawal- and the conflict sparked by this debate - is just what al-Zarqawi wants.

I was just in Iraq and our troops told me that they are motivated to spread democracy. They’re fighting for freedom and they mean business.

We need to get the job done in support of freedom and to eliminate Al-Qaeda terrorists around the world.

In case people have forgotten, this is the same thing that happened in Vietnam. Peaceniks and people in Congress – and America - started saying bad things about what was going on over there. Let me tell you what it did for troop morale. It’s a real downer.

I just pray our troops and their families can block this noise out and know that I will fight like mad to make sure our troops have everything they need - for as long as they need - to win the global war on terrorism.

Give up? Really? You can't figure this out? Sure you can - Sam Johnson (R-TX) uttered the above quote. Think the Starship Troopers paradigm will be applied to him? Will the Left and its Extreme Media outlets allocate Johnson's comments disproportionate weight because he's a decorated soldier?

Heck, other than at Generation Why, where have you heard about what Congressman Johnson had to say before now?

When it comes to advice and counsel on the conduct of the war, it would seem that as far as the libs are concerned, only chickenhawks need apply.