Must Read: Open Letter to Howard Dean

In an "Open Letter to Howard Dean," The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel passes on some eloquent advice from Tom Hayden to DNC Chair Howard Dean on the Democratic Party's stance on the Iraq War. The entire online article is definitely worth a read:

https://www.thenation.com/edcut/index.mhtml?pid=2356

A few excerpts:

. . . the national Democratic Party is either committed to the Iraq War, or to avoiding blame for losing the Iraq War, at the expense of the social programs for which it historically stands. The Democrats' stance on the war cannot be separated from the Democrats' stance on health care, social security, inner city investment, and education, all programs gradually being defunded by a war which costs $100 billion yearly, billed to future generations.
[. . .]
I appeal to you, Mr. Chairman, not to take the anti-war majority of this Party for granted. May I suggest that you initiate a serious reappraisal of how the Democratic Party has become trapped in the illusions which you yourself questioned so cogently when you ran for president. I believe that an immediate commencement of dialogue is necessary to fix the credibility gap in the Party's position on the Iraq War. Surely if the war was a mistake based on a fabrication, there is a better approach than simply becoming accessories to the perpetrators of the deceit. And surely there is a greater role for Party leadership than permanently squandering the immense good will, grass roots funding, and new volunteer energy that was generated by your visionary campaign.

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(Note: Click to sign a Progressive Democrats of America petition to the DNC and Howard Dean urging withdrawal from Iraq.)