Brian Baird Finds a New Friend

I don't know if Congressman Brian Baird is a fan of the Grateful Dead however he must feel that the lyric "what a long strange trip its been" must sum up the last month and a half of his life quite nicely. For years he was a fairly obscure, fairly safe, fairly down the line liberal Congressman for the Seattle suburbs. He voted against the Iraq war initially in 2002 and continued to maintain his opposition throughout. Then, in August, he took a visit to Iraq, and what he saw there must have made in impression.He came back and wrote this article...

The invasion of Iraq may be one of the worst foreign-policy mistakes in the history of our nation. As tragic and costly as that mistake has been, a precipitous or premature withdrawal of our forces now has the potential to turn the initial errors into an even greater problem just as success looks possible.

As a Democrat who voted against the war from the outset and who has been frankly critical of the administration and the post-invasion strategy, I am convinced by the evidence that the situation has at long last begun to change substantially for the better. I believe Iraq could have a positive future. Our diplomatic and military leaders in Iraq, their current strategy, and most importantly, our troops and the Iraqi people themselves, deserve our continued support and more time to succeed.

I understand the desire of many of our citizens and my colleagues inCongress to bring the troops home as soon as possible. The costs have beenhorrific for our soldiers, their families, the Iraqi people and the economy. Ifwe keep our troops on the ground we will lose more lives, continue to spendbillions each week, and, given the history and complex interests of the region,there is no certainty that our efforts will succeed in the long run. We must beabsolutely honest about these costs and risks and I am both profoundly saddenedand angry that we are where we are."...

Instantly, he went from being obscure liberal Congressman to hero of the pro war effort and scourge of the far left. In the immediate aftermath of this article immediately he was excoriated by his constituency"

Baird took this unpopular message to a packed Vancouver high-schoolauditorium on
Monday night, August 27, during one of his regular town meetings.(He's done 220 so far.) Baird said that the war was authorized through ourdemocratic system, and that we now have"a moral responsibility... not to leave [the Iraqi people] at the mercy of people who cut off people's heads and bomb schools because girls go there.... AlQaeda was not a problem in Iraq before the invasion. Iran was not a problem inIraq before the invasion. I agree with that. I absolutely agree with that. Butthey are a problem now. They're a problem for Iraqis.

The choice has become: Dowe stay a little bit longer"—to which audience members shouted out a sharp roundof "No!"—"because there is some chance that in so doing we will help Iraq have amore safe society and become more stable? If we withdraw now, I am confident itwill be catastrophic."The crowd inside Fort Vancouver High School—easily 500 people, with othersturned away for lack of space—was hostile and loud: booing; shouting "Troops outnow!"; and holding up signs saying things like, "Be a Man for the People" and"Only a Corrupt Congress Is for War-Making." Activists stood outside tellingpeople to call Baird's office in the morning and ask for his resignation."One constituent said it best, "We don’t care what your convictions are,” said Jan Lustig of Vancouver. “You are here to represent us

After hearing it from the crowd, a whole host of the usual suspects began attacking him in the media and on the internet...

A week and a half ago, the term 'Bush Dog Democrat' did not exist. Today,there
are just under nine hundred results when you search for "BushDog Democrats". Left inAlabama, Calitics, Booman, HowieKlein, MNCampaign Report, Archpundit,
andthe SideTrack have all profiled or helped to profile members. We've had positiveprofiles of Tim Walz, aggressive criticisms of Collin Peterson, and an analysis of the geographical distribution of the Bush Dogs from noted political scientist TomSchaller.The campaign was covered in USA Today, on Fox News, the Politico,
and in theNew York Observer. Anonymous Democratic strategists are attacking me with the straw man argument that criticism will jeopardize Democratic seats,wingnut sare flipping out, and some local Democrats are very veryangry. I've heard of possible primary challenges in several districts where Bush Dog Democrats are in power.

It's really amazing what a little criticism from a few of us can do."...Do I mean that Baird has gone irretrievablyover to the dark side when I say that? No. I mean that Baird has discovered what, for Lieberman, proved to be the "gateway drug" -- media stardom for being the Democrat who will go on record to provide the coveted Dems
DividedTMstoryline.Best reaction to this so far?Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., told Congressional Quarterly: "I'll give Brian agun and let him go to Iraq and shoot whoever he wants."Unfortunately, it seems Baird's been aiming squarely at Democratic feet. Andloving it."

The far left has set their sights on Baird and are making it priority one to defeat him in the primaries. Moveon.org has already spent $20K in his district, peanuts, and they will spend much more if necessary. Not toeing their line is inexcusable and they will give him the Lieberman treatment. Baird and others like him have already been labeled with a new far left term, Bush Democrats.



The thing about political courage is that it is almost always not productive. The people you tick off, your constituency, almost never forgive you or appreciate your courage, and your new allies aren't really allies but merely allies of convenience and they will dump you the minute you take a stand counter to them. Despite what we all claim, what most of us really want is an exact replica of ourselves not a person of principle.

Still, I was heartened to find this article recognizing his principle and courage...

It was painful watching U.S. Rep. Brian Baird defend himself against disgruntled supporters at an Aug. 27 town hall meeting. I caught the spectacle -which came just short of a public flogging - on television. The crowd gatheredat Fort Vancouver High School didn't want so much to hear why the charismaticDemocrat is supporting continued troop strength in Iraq, but to tell him he iswrong. Unelectable wrong. Dead-in-the-political-waters wrong.Go-find-new-sign-wavers wrong. And Baird, though trying to be gracious, clearlygot a bit peeved.I don't blame him. Most questions from the audience started as comments.Several people mentioned their past support for the representative beforelaunching into tired statements about the situation in Iraq, which receivedreliable applause from fellow sheep.

Some people said they felt betrayed by the congressman.When Baird tried to explain that a recent visit to Iraq, faith in currentcommanders and private discussions with Iraqi, Iranian and Jordanian leaderschanged his position on withdrawal, it was as if he were holding an "I loveBush" sign. People were booing, laughing and eye-rolling. Baird pleaded forunderstanding or patience, only to be met with scowls and scoffs. With friends like that, who needs Republicans?

As recently as May, Baird supported a troop withdrawal bill. But a funny thing sometimes happens when you do first-hand research on an issue everyone else is Monday-morning quarterbacking: Your perspective can change. Right or wrong, goodfor Baird for being honest about his views and willing to take some heavy hits and possible political payback.

Baird remains critical of the Iraq invasion. That hasn't changed. He stillbelieves the Bush administration erred in starting the war. But he believes itwould be dangerous to pull out of Iraq right now. He says his support of theBush administration's troop surge is driven by a moral responsibility to theIraqi people and his hope that soldiers will be able to stabilize the country ifallowed to stay longer under the command
of Army Gen. DavidPetraeus.

Independent thought discouraged. But as Baird is finding out, any agreement with Bush is seen as blasphemy.Any independent thought outside of the Democratic Party preference on Iraq isunacceptable. More than peeved that night, Baird looked hurt. I hope he was ableto maintain the perspective he had before the meeting in Southwest Washingtonbegan. He told reporters before the town hall, "Somebody said to me, 'Oh man,you're going to get killed tonight.' I said, 'No, they get killed in Iraq. I'mgoing to get criticized.' "Perhaps more disturbing than the audience members' rude behavior
and mistreatment of Baird was their belief that they owned the congressman and
his views because they once waved a Baird sign, hosted a fundraiser, donated to
thecongressman's campaign or wore a button.

People in attendance seemed to suggest Baird was their representative, and as such, he had to do what they said and thought he should do.That's amusing. When George W. Bush became president of a divided nation(twice), Democrats demanded that he reach out. They said he had to become auniter, not a divider. After all, they argued, Bush was representing allAmericans now, not just the ones who voted for him. His ideas and attitudesshould reflect that, they said.Baird represents all Southwest Washingtonians, those who voted for him...

By the way, anyone that recognizes his courage and principle please visit his office here