Muhammad Idrees Ahmad

In recent years many have wondered why the so called ‘Left’ in the US has been unable to put up any meaningful challenge to the eminently incompetent and widely detested Cheney-neocon junta. For the answer, you only have to look so far as two of the prominent ‘Left’ publications: The Progressive and The Nation. The former only produces tame and tepid journalism which rarely strays beyond the parameters of acceptable debate in the US mainstream, and the only rare occassion where it showed missionary zeal was in smearing Norman Finkelstein, the fallout from which may have played its part in the denial of his tenure.

The Nation on the other hand is slightly more responsible, and at times produces excellent journalism. While it provides column space to Israel Lobby war and smear-mongers such as Marc Coooper, it is also home to legendary journalists like Alexander Cockburn (who is great, so long as he is not speaking about climate change). Its avowed Left-wing stance does not prevent it however from carrying adverts for anti-Arab propaganda organizations like MEMRI and openly racist ads from lobby groups such as FLAME. Its coverage of the Middle East in particular has been less than exemplary as As’ad AbuKhalil has pointed out (part 1; part 2).  

Liberals’ War on Cindy Sheehan

American liberals have a poor record when it comes to challenging their adversaries on the right. Mosty because, other than on issues such as gay marriage and abortion, there is little they disagree on. Their venom instead is reserved for anyone who dares to point up this indistinguishable and undistinguished political record. Ralph Nader was subjected to the kind of vicious, vituperative attacks which one never sees directed at the Republicans. Now Cindy Sheehan has become US liberals’ new punching bag for repeating Nader’s folly. Ever since she announced her challenge to the incumbent AIPAC-favorite Nancy Pelosi, Sheehan has been ejected from the liberal DailyKos blog, has been subjected to below-the-belt attacks like these, and even had the Left-liberal Democrat John Conyers have her arrested. There is no reason then that The Nation magazine should not join the fun. So here we have a post from its star columnist Katha Pollitt advising Cindy Sheehan against challenging a Democrat which is symptomatic of all the reasons why the US Left is so irrelevant.

First of all, should impeachment really be a litmus test? … But it’s not going to happen–the numbers in Congress and Senate aren’t there , and I don’t care how many people sign petitions and call their congressperson, that is not going to change. Despise the Democrats for caving in — on war funding, on FISA, on abstinence-only education. Pressure them, confront them, make them feel your wrath. But to insist that they work themselves into a lather for what is essentially a symbolic gesture with no chance of success? I don’t see the point of that.

Second, Sheehan’s run is futile… But let me go out on a limb here: Sheehan has no chance of defeating her, and still less chance of moving into an open seat because the impeachment of Bush and Cheney has moved Speaker Pelosi, next in line, into the White House…

Still, the place for symbolic protest is in protest movements. Elections are about something else and are played by different rules. There, symbolic figures are mostly wasting their time, and tend to emerge smaller than they went in.