Opportunity for a Sister Soulja Moment

On the Boston Globe Op Ed page, Peter D. Feaver writes an essay entitled “MoveOn’s McCarthy moment” about MoveOn.org’s preemptive political attack on General Petraeus in the NY Times:

Precisely because it is so vicious, so public, and so deliberate, the attack on Petraeus cannot be ignored by either side in the Iraq debate. Supporters of the war are duty-bound, like Joseph Welch, to rise and ask of war opponents, "Have you left no sense of decency?" Antiwar members of Congress, like Senator McCarthy's allies, are obliged to answer.

Don’t hold your breath.

This is a defining moment for the antiwar faction. They can continue on the path on to which they have veered, repeating some of the worst mistakes in American history. Or they can make a clean break with the past, police their own ranks, and promote a healthy, critical, public debate about the best way forward in Iraq.

This is not 1968 all over again. MoveOn.org is not the reincarnation of the party’s anti-war campaign against LBJ. MoveOn is the reincarnation of Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, but this time as a very well-funded part of the party’s power structure.

The Bush administration and Karl Rove have made their bed with Focus on the Family and have been widely criticized as “Christianist” by libertarian conservatives. The Democratic opposition has made their bed with MoveOn.org, and no Democrat (save Lieberman) has publicly criticized them.

Which group is more likely to help carry Ohio in the 2008 election?

Feaver is right. This is an opportunity for a Sister Soulja moment. Will any Democratic candidate dare to seize it?