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1) I see you right wing bloggers who are demanding a loyalty oath as virtually goose-stepping through the internet. I am gobsmacked. I am filled with heart-ache.
Huh? Are there any questions?
2) What is the purpose of the pledge?
It is not a loyalty oath. Nothing like it. The pledge rests on the premise that Republicans who are supporting the anti-surge resolution are doing so as a craven political play. The pledge is merely a way of showing them that it is an extremely poor political play. And since political advantage is the coin of their realm, we think it may serve to change their hearts and minds.
3) But isn’t it somehow unseemly to demand that these people sign a petition to show their loyalty to the White House?
Again, as is so often the case, you completely miss the point. We’re not asking the Senators to sign the pledge. We’re asking people who will move any Republican who votes for the resolution to the head of their s**t list to sign the petition. The pledge is merely a way for the grassroots to communicate their feelings to the Republican Party.
4) Have you taken the pledge?
Yes. Enthusiastically.
5) What about the notion that this whole exercise is the equivalent of summoning a circular firing squad?
There’s nothing circular about it. This petition is directed at a handful of Republican Senators who, the petition’s signers feel, are willing to weaken the war effort to serve their own political agendas. To elaborate on your firing squad analogy, we’ve got over 10,000 signatures. 10,000 people firing at four or five Senators does not a circular firing squad make.
6) Will these Senators or the Republican Party care about the signers? After all, about 120 million people voted in the presidential election. What’s the big deal about 10,000 people signing a petition?
It’s a huge deal. Bloggers and blog readers are much better informed than the typical citizen. Their collective opinion can serve as an early warning sign for politicians who might be curious how something will play with the larger audience. In other words, the reaction of the blogosphere and the growth of the petition is a leading indicator of how the wider conservative public will view the resolution vote. For an excellent discussion on this topic, read the chapter on mavens in Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point.” (Reading the whole book wouldn’t be a bad idea – it’s a fine work.)
7) Isn’t it a bit unseemly that you’re trying to enforce loyalty in this manner?
No. And for what it’s worth, we’re not asking anyone to violate their principles. This entire exercise is premised on the view that the Republican Senators who will support the resolution will do so not out of any sort of conviction but due to political expediency.
8) But what of those that really feel in their core of cores that the surge is a mistake?
They have a right to speak their mind. Or let’s put it this way – they had Petraeus there and had every right to engage him over what they obviously consider to be his shoddy tactical analysis. But now that day is past. The only constructive thing that can come out of an anti-surge resolution is that a bunch of Senators can cover their tushees if the surge doesn’t work. The price we’ll pay for the Senate covering its collective derriere is too high.
9) What is that price?
Showing the enemy that we’re not united. Showing the enemy that the majority of our government is so desperate to get out of Iraq, it is willing to pronounce defeat even before the most serious fighting has begun.
10) But what if the Senators feel we’ve already lost?
Then they should say so. If they really want to go for the political courage full Monty, they could even propose a way forward in the war against Radical Islam. But I haven’t heard a single Republican Senator say we’ve lost, including the ones who are planning on supporting the resolution.
11) So where do I go to sign the petition and buck up our faltering solons?
Right here. Do it.
Compliments? Complaints? Contact me at Soxblog@aol.com
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