I gotta say: the fact that so many citizens of our country can overlook over 140 school children being killed by a bomb hitting their school AND that so many overlook the 3 decades of school shootings shows that a vast number of people have no compassion for children's lives anywhere in the world. Last month my *3 year old* granddaughter had to go through a Shelter In Place drill at her preK. How is this possible? What are the priorities in our government???
This is my thought whenever it turns out a large plurality of my countrymen support the horrible things that we do. I know Dan phrased it as "only" 40% support the war but...that's a massive chunk of the country? Wouldn't that basically be the same situation we've been in this whole time where as long as overwhelming majority of his base supports something it doesn't matter to the rest of us? I don't know why we would expect Republicans to change policy on something their voters agree with when we can't even get our party's representatives to side with the majority of their voters on cutting arms to Israel for their atrocities
I am certainly no poll expert, but if it helps the way you feel, some portion of that 40% give their support reflexively because it’s “Trump’s War”, and they are determined to support him on all fronts.
Small comfort, but it reduces the number of people who truly support the war.
I maintain Democrats must rephrase the issue and seize control of the narrative. It’s not a binary question of whether they support the troops or not. It’s about reality.
Democrats can point to the obscene amount of funds already allocated to the Pentagon and ICE, as well as tax breaks to the billionaires, all part of the Big Ugly. Add in cuts to social safety net programs. There’s money available to make sure the military is supplied and the troops protected. And if the moronic Trumpsters can make the case that more is actually needed, then the rich need to pony up.
It's moments like this which make one despair of Democrats. Dan's points are obvious. The dim-wittedness of any Dem who would give Trump cover on Iran by voting to fund Trump's latest crime is also obvious.
I agree. You have identified one of our problems. We have elected too many dimwits ( of both parties) who have no knowledge of history, little practical sense, and not a lot of backbone.
Dan is usually on point, but this post is especially so. I would echo though that the prospect that Democrats need to be cajoled to take the position that they know is correct and also happens to be the most politically advantageous.. is beyond frustrating. But I guess that’s why their brand is their brand.
Also, seems like if 40% of respondents claim to support this war, that number actually includes all the ‘supporting Trump no matter what’ crowd which doesn’t actually signify true support and also those that simply refuse to admit to a pollster that they made the mistake of supporting Trump (similar but different category). Which means, the actual support for this war is likely far lower than 40%. And once the higher gas prices are around for a while and we start to feel the pinch of a global recession, even that whisper of support falls off a cliff.
But some Dems will insist they deserve a cookie for the nuanced position—opposing the war but supporting the troops—which exactly zero voters will give them credit for.
This may sound like nit-picking, but Bush did not go through the necessary legal steps to get us into his Iraq adventure. The congressional authorization was expressly contingent on Iraq's refusal to provide meaningful inspections of alleged WMD. To Bush-Cheney's chagrin, Iraq allowed those inspections and no WMD were found. This gave the administration no option but to claim mendaciously that Iraq was hiding its weapons from the inspectors. We should never let the monstrousness of Trump obscure the evil of Cheney and his little pal, W.
Another great article by Dan but if anything he is underselling how politically damaging this could be for Dems. On social media there are countless posts about the lives lost, the daily cost of this war and images of destruction. Young people are generally anti war, a lot of them don't trust Democrats already, many are seeing hundreds of images of destruction daily.
Along with daily death content are the suspicions that Dems really don't care, that they don't want to fund single payer health care, or stop climate change, tax billionaires, build more housing, etc. And we're treated to a lot of justification for why we can't have nice things or why the money isn't there. Meanwhile there are some in the party nearly giddy when an opportunity to bomb more children comes along. There's never funding for human services or an emergency to fund 50 billion in food assistance but always money for war. Voters are tired of this, young people won't vote for this.
There is not better way for Dems to demoralize the base and a lot of potential swing voters than to confirm everyone's deepest fears about the Dems and this potential vote will do that.
'It’s not enough for Democratic leaders to sit back and see where the wind blows.’
Seeing as polling has remained very much against this illegal war, they already know which way the wind is blowing. As mentioned, there are a lot of MAGA voters that they cannot persuade and should stop pretending they can.
Democrats have to get over their fears if what Republicans will say in any given situation since they will call them anti military (or whatever) regardless and take a stand for what they believe.
Giving bipartisan cover to whatever is coming will be a grave mistake.
Another argument while calling your elected officials.
Karim Sadjadpour noted that Iran’s population is extremely young, and most people have no lived memory of the formative U.S.–Iran conflicts:
• the 1953 Iranian coup d’état
• the Iran hostage crisis
• even the Iran–Iraq War
Analysts often describe Iranian youth as comparatively pro-Western or at least not instinctively anti-American.
He noted that young Iranians are “connected online, see what the world looks like,” and are frustrated by repression and isolation. 
This stupid a war risks re-creating the anti-American generation that didn’t previously exist.
Why has the US abandoned the very successful strategy put forth in 1947 by George F. Kennan in how to deal with the Soviet Union? It said: “The main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
It worked. We did NOT start stupid wars every few years with the Soviets or their satellites. And make those civilian populations regard us as equally cruel and inhuman as their dictatorial masters.
Can we please start electing intelligent people who have some exposure and experience in the world? Before we conduct OJT while they have command of a greatly over-sized military? Can we go back to JFK’s healthy skepticism about military leaders as thinkers beyond their own very complex world?
Decisions have become “Can we win?” Instead of “Should we fight?”
Could there be a way to connect this lovely sentiment to the "billions for war instead of food and healthcare for Americans" message? :
"People living in poverty are just not that experienced at navigating the real world." - Jon Husted, Ohio Senator up in 2026
Regardless, what a revealing statement. Plaster that everywhere.
One other point I feel like has been dropped by the media on the war is the complete failure to anticipate and protect Americans all through the middle east, military and civilian. No strategic planning and anticipation whatsoever. Every official should be hammered on that at press conferences, instead of the blather that we're all subjected to. Just the complete, unsurpassed incompetence is breathtaking. We can't hammer that enough.
While I would agree that Democrats should refuse to vote to fund the war (where does this leave the partial shutdown on DHS funding?), the tone of this piece seems to imply that if even one Democrat votes in favor, the entire Democratic caucus is to blame for Trump’s war. This is wrong, the Republicans control both chambers and are responsible for funding Trump’s wars.
Hi Susan, you raise some good questions, here is some additional context.
In the Senate 60 votes are needed for this emergency funding so 6 Democrats would need to vote with Republicans & Fetterman for the funding. Otherwise it is blocked. Many Senate Dems have already expressed interest in providing the funding.
In the House you are correct, Republicans can just pass this. However Jeffries could put in the effort to make this toxic for Republicans to pass and make thos vote hurt them. He has said he won't work to whip votes against this funding request.
Always follow the money with this bunch. Trump said that Kushner advised him to strike now. Kushner, who has received huge investment and receives money from the Saudis in fees, is massively conflicted.
Yep. Yep, yep, yep. Any dem who votes to support this is essentially defecting to. MAGA and should be primaried. The time to give Trump the benefit of the doubt ended 1/6/2021. He does nothing in the interest of the US and everything gin the interest of himself.
Prolonging the war would give him validation. Retaliation will already likely occur from this illegal war , which will prompt the “state of emergency” he so desperately seeks before the midterms. Dem support for this war (and the likely retaliation) would simply make it that much harder to combat any lawless domestic military action he is already planning. He has been planning a police state in search of a pretext since he took office. Dem votes in favor of funding would put lipstick on that pig.
It's simple. Trump and his oligarch lords and ladies have the Devine Rights of Kings to all the world's wealth. So, get out of our way or get bombed, decapitated, imprisoned, deported and so forth. We are mighty. You are weak. You MUST learn to be happy to make personal sacrifices for our enrichment.
I gotta say: the fact that so many citizens of our country can overlook over 140 school children being killed by a bomb hitting their school AND that so many overlook the 3 decades of school shootings shows that a vast number of people have no compassion for children's lives anywhere in the world. Last month my *3 year old* granddaughter had to go through a Shelter In Place drill at her preK. How is this possible? What are the priorities in our government???
This is my thought whenever it turns out a large plurality of my countrymen support the horrible things that we do. I know Dan phrased it as "only" 40% support the war but...that's a massive chunk of the country? Wouldn't that basically be the same situation we've been in this whole time where as long as overwhelming majority of his base supports something it doesn't matter to the rest of us? I don't know why we would expect Republicans to change policy on something their voters agree with when we can't even get our party's representatives to side with the majority of their voters on cutting arms to Israel for their atrocities
I am certainly no poll expert, but if it helps the way you feel, some portion of that 40% give their support reflexively because it’s “Trump’s War”, and they are determined to support him on all fronts.
Small comfort, but it reduces the number of people who truly support the war.
I maintain Democrats must rephrase the issue and seize control of the narrative. It’s not a binary question of whether they support the troops or not. It’s about reality.
Democrats can point to the obscene amount of funds already allocated to the Pentagon and ICE, as well as tax breaks to the billionaires, all part of the Big Ugly. Add in cuts to social safety net programs. There’s money available to make sure the military is supplied and the troops protected. And if the moronic Trumpsters can make the case that more is actually needed, then the rich need to pony up.
It's moments like this which make one despair of Democrats. Dan's points are obvious. The dim-wittedness of any Dem who would give Trump cover on Iran by voting to fund Trump's latest crime is also obvious.
I agree. You have identified one of our problems. We have elected too many dimwits ( of both parties) who have no knowledge of history, little practical sense, and not a lot of backbone.
And support their interests rather than those that elected them.
Dan is usually on point, but this post is especially so. I would echo though that the prospect that Democrats need to be cajoled to take the position that they know is correct and also happens to be the most politically advantageous.. is beyond frustrating. But I guess that’s why their brand is their brand.
Also, seems like if 40% of respondents claim to support this war, that number actually includes all the ‘supporting Trump no matter what’ crowd which doesn’t actually signify true support and also those that simply refuse to admit to a pollster that they made the mistake of supporting Trump (similar but different category). Which means, the actual support for this war is likely far lower than 40%. And once the higher gas prices are around for a while and we start to feel the pinch of a global recession, even that whisper of support falls off a cliff.
But some Dems will insist they deserve a cookie for the nuanced position—opposing the war but supporting the troops—which exactly zero voters will give them credit for.
Chris Murphy had a great response to the ridiculous support the troops argument. You best support the troops by ending this war.
Yes. Democrats need to frame it as that because it is true.
The “support the troops” argument makes no sense. This is an off-shore Naval war. If they have no money to continue, they steam away. No more war.
Hi Dan, is there some way this post could be sent to every relevant Dem lawmaker in the country?
This may sound like nit-picking, but Bush did not go through the necessary legal steps to get us into his Iraq adventure. The congressional authorization was expressly contingent on Iraq's refusal to provide meaningful inspections of alleged WMD. To Bush-Cheney's chagrin, Iraq allowed those inspections and no WMD were found. This gave the administration no option but to claim mendaciously that Iraq was hiding its weapons from the inspectors. We should never let the monstrousness of Trump obscure the evil of Cheney and his little pal, W.
Another great article by Dan but if anything he is underselling how politically damaging this could be for Dems. On social media there are countless posts about the lives lost, the daily cost of this war and images of destruction. Young people are generally anti war, a lot of them don't trust Democrats already, many are seeing hundreds of images of destruction daily.
Along with daily death content are the suspicions that Dems really don't care, that they don't want to fund single payer health care, or stop climate change, tax billionaires, build more housing, etc. And we're treated to a lot of justification for why we can't have nice things or why the money isn't there. Meanwhile there are some in the party nearly giddy when an opportunity to bomb more children comes along. There's never funding for human services or an emergency to fund 50 billion in food assistance but always money for war. Voters are tired of this, young people won't vote for this.
There is not better way for Dems to demoralize the base and a lot of potential swing voters than to confirm everyone's deepest fears about the Dems and this potential vote will do that.
Also because a lot of the “talking points “ are similar to Gaza and funding Israel for their interests rather than- not ours.
Voting NO is an extremely important brand element that helps reposition the Dem Party. This is us and that is them.
'It’s not enough for Democratic leaders to sit back and see where the wind blows.’
Seeing as polling has remained very much against this illegal war, they already know which way the wind is blowing. As mentioned, there are a lot of MAGA voters that they cannot persuade and should stop pretending they can.
Democrats have to get over their fears if what Republicans will say in any given situation since they will call them anti military (or whatever) regardless and take a stand for what they believe.
Giving bipartisan cover to whatever is coming will be a grave mistake.
Another argument while calling your elected officials.
Karim Sadjadpour noted that Iran’s population is extremely young, and most people have no lived memory of the formative U.S.–Iran conflicts:
• the 1953 Iranian coup d’état
• the Iran hostage crisis
• even the Iran–Iraq War
Analysts often describe Iranian youth as comparatively pro-Western or at least not instinctively anti-American.
He noted that young Iranians are “connected online, see what the world looks like,” and are frustrated by repression and isolation. 
This stupid a war risks re-creating the anti-American generation that didn’t previously exist.
Why has the US abandoned the very successful strategy put forth in 1947 by George F. Kennan in how to deal with the Soviet Union? It said: “The main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
It worked. We did NOT start stupid wars every few years with the Soviets or their satellites. And make those civilian populations regard us as equally cruel and inhuman as their dictatorial masters.
Can we please start electing intelligent people who have some exposure and experience in the world? Before we conduct OJT while they have command of a greatly over-sized military? Can we go back to JFK’s healthy skepticism about military leaders as thinkers beyond their own very complex world?
Decisions have become “Can we win?” Instead of “Should we fight?”
Could there be a way to connect this lovely sentiment to the "billions for war instead of food and healthcare for Americans" message? :
"People living in poverty are just not that experienced at navigating the real world." - Jon Husted, Ohio Senator up in 2026
Regardless, what a revealing statement. Plaster that everywhere.
One other point I feel like has been dropped by the media on the war is the complete failure to anticipate and protect Americans all through the middle east, military and civilian. No strategic planning and anticipation whatsoever. Every official should be hammered on that at press conferences, instead of the blather that we're all subjected to. Just the complete, unsurpassed incompetence is breathtaking. We can't hammer that enough.
While I would agree that Democrats should refuse to vote to fund the war (where does this leave the partial shutdown on DHS funding?), the tone of this piece seems to imply that if even one Democrat votes in favor, the entire Democratic caucus is to blame for Trump’s war. This is wrong, the Republicans control both chambers and are responsible for funding Trump’s wars.
Hi Susan, you raise some good questions, here is some additional context.
In the Senate 60 votes are needed for this emergency funding so 6 Democrats would need to vote with Republicans & Fetterman for the funding. Otherwise it is blocked. Many Senate Dems have already expressed interest in providing the funding.
In the House you are correct, Republicans can just pass this. However Jeffries could put in the effort to make this toxic for Republicans to pass and make thos vote hurt them. He has said he won't work to whip votes against this funding request.
Then let’s campaign against him
Then let’s campaign against him
Contact your senators and congressman! No funding for this war!!
Always follow the money with this bunch. Trump said that Kushner advised him to strike now. Kushner, who has received huge investment and receives money from the Saudis in fees, is massively conflicted.
Yep. Yep, yep, yep. Any dem who votes to support this is essentially defecting to. MAGA and should be primaried. The time to give Trump the benefit of the doubt ended 1/6/2021. He does nothing in the interest of the US and everything gin the interest of himself.
Prolonging the war would give him validation. Retaliation will already likely occur from this illegal war , which will prompt the “state of emergency” he so desperately seeks before the midterms. Dem support for this war (and the likely retaliation) would simply make it that much harder to combat any lawless domestic military action he is already planning. He has been planning a police state in search of a pretext since he took office. Dem votes in favor of funding would put lipstick on that pig.
It's simple. Trump and his oligarch lords and ladies have the Devine Rights of Kings to all the world's wealth. So, get out of our way or get bombed, decapitated, imprisoned, deported and so forth. We are mighty. You are weak. You MUST learn to be happy to make personal sacrifices for our enrichment.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!