Chairman Howard Dean, MD
DNC
340 South Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Norwich, November 6, 2005
Dear Chairman Dean,
In your recent “Enough is Enough” mailing, you ask me to support the Democratic Party to put an end to all the misdeeds of this Republican administration. You provide an extensive list of reasons why (from tax breaks to wing-nuttery); you argue that the DNC is “working to harness the growing dissatisfaction with Republican’s misrule to win big in the 2006 elections.” You ask me to give financial support and to promote your agenda by advertising for your cause.
And yet nowhere in your lengthy writ do you so much as mention the war in Iraq. Not with a single word do you point out that over 2,000 Americans have been killed because of a war based on lies. Nowhere do you make it clear that the Democratic Party is firmly against the war in Iraq (even though Democratic representatives who voted for this, that, and the other aspect of the war have some ‘splainin’ to do). This cannot simply be an oversight. Clearly, you felt Iraq was better left unmentioned.
As a fellow Vermonter, I was impressed when you took a courageous stand against the war early in the primaries. It was the right thing to do, and it was the one thing that made you stand out in a not particularly impressive group of wanna-bes. It appeared, then, that you had the courage of your convictions, which is more than can be said about the Democratic Party as a whole at the time.
Very recently, Senator Reid showed some sorely missed genuine courage of that same flavor when he used the floor of the senate to highlight the unacceptable actions (and inactions) of this administration in connection with the use and abuse of Iraq pre-war intelligence. My potential support of the Democratic Party depends on the party as a whole showing a similar degree of courage to stand up and speak out and denounce the course of events that led to and everything that has since transpired in Iraq.
A majority of Americans have now, finally, come to realize what the Democratic Party apparently continues to fail to appreciate and declare: the invasion and occupation of Iraq was wrong, based on lies and false premises, and it needs to be ended swiftly and condemned as an affront to the Constitution and the American people. I don’t know which PR hack from the “School of Lost Elections” convinced you that leaving Iraq out of your appeal would play better with potential Democratic supporters, but keeping him on payroll is at least as big a mistake as failing to address Iraq candidly with people whose support you’re trying to obtain.
Better luck with future fund drives and the 2006 elections; I’m dividing my generous donation among a couple of deserving online writers who continue to do what the Democratic Party should be doing much more vociferously: speaking truth to power and constructively criticizing the many ways in which this administration (and the all-too-many Democrats who have at various times chosen to support its agenda) has betrayed the American people. Enough is indeed Enough. We’ll do something about it, but you may or may not be involved. Because if you’re still not ready to talk about the war, then it remains to be seen if the Democratic Party fully appreciates what the American people wants as an alternative to the current kleptocratic theocracy.
Sincerely,
