Responsible Plan Update

If a candidate running in Idaho and a candidate running statewide in Montana, can support this supposedly dirty fuckin' hippie plan to end the war, then really anyone can. This is a common-sense document that recognizes the fundamental transition we need to make in foreign policy and national security.

Larry Grant, Democratic candidate for Congress in Idaho's 1st District, today joined a dozen other congressional candidates in backing a plan to end the War in Iraq.

"Given my feelings on the war, I have decided to join these congressional candidates to support the plan," Grant said.

"The plan incorporates many of the recommendations made over a year ago by the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton Commission. Most of those recommendations were never implemented.

"The plan may not be perfect but it's a good start to changing the current administration's disastrous policy on the war," Grant said. "It opens up discussion and provides a forum for debate. I applaud and support Darcy for her effort."

Ultimately, we should see hundreds of Democratic candidates supporting this view. So far, two Congressional candidates in New Jersey and both of Oregon's Senate challengers, Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick have endorsed as well. Goldy at Horse's Ass has a good roundup, but I want to circle back to Juan Melli's post to give an understanding of how courageous it was for Darcy Burner and her team to work on this:

This is not a press release that was cranked out in a few hours. It's a real plan that has been thoughtfully considered and developed over a period of months in consultation with respected military experts. It's the type of thing that eats into valuable fundraising time, which is why candidates are so strongly discouraged from doing it. Further, I can't speak for Darcy Burner specifically, but EMILY's list has a history of knee-capping female candidates on the issue of Iraq and military policy in general by insisting that they "talk tough." This counterproductive strategy sometimes leads candidates to end up fighting from weak defensive positions.

Darcy has sacrificed valuable fundraising time and probably overcome significant pressure to create this plan. She and the other 9 candidates who are endorsing the effort deserve our support to show that we value thoughtful, meaningful and substantive leadership. They are trying to build a caucus of challengers who will sweep into Congress with a mandate to change the course in Iraq.

Quite right. This is the definition of leadership, and I would hope my Democratic friends in California can see that endorsing this document will take a big step in that direction. There's no need to be timid about this.