Watch out — the democracy defenders are at it again.
Twenty years ago, the Cheneys, the Bushes, Nancy Pelosi, James Clapper, Tom Friedman, Anne Applebaum, Jeffrey Goldberg, and an army of other politicians, commentators, and bureaucrats deputized themselves as the defenders of democracy itself. Defending democracy back then meant launching a disastrous preemptive regime change war.
This fall, the same crew claims once again to be waging a righteous crusade against the forces of autocracy.
The loudest voices and chief architects of the Iraq War are lining up behind Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. Once again, they pooh-pooh any nuanced thinking and demean those dragging their feet. Once again, they say that you are either with them or you are with the enemies of America.
Considering the disastrous consequences of their previous crusade, we ought to balk at following their battle cries this year. They are certain today that they are on the right side of history, but they were just as certain when they propelled us into a war that helped sow chaos and terrorism throughout the region.
The Cheneys, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, are both widely respected Republicans supporting Harris. They have long records of public service, which include long records as some of the most hawkish voices in the foreign policy debate.
Dick Cheney was arguably the most important person in lobbying George W. Bush to launch his invasion of Iraq. Liz Cheney has long defended the war, despite everything, and remains one of the most hawkish voices in the GOP to this day.
Run down the list of elected Republicans-turned-Harris voters and you’ll be reading a roster of the most pro-war people in America.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger distinguished himself in his support of corporate welfare and wars of choice. Recently, Kinzinger tried to push the United States to go to war with Russia. Kinzinger, who doesn’t seem to think war with a nuclear power is a bad idea, was the earliest and loudest former Republican congressman to endorse Harris.
Former Rep. Charlie Dent, a serious Republican hawk in his days in Congress, has also endorsed Harris. Dent wasn’t in Congress to vote on going to war in Iraq, but he praised the “internationalist orientation of constructive global engagement” of Bush.
Dent joined Kinzinger in supporting former President Barack Obama’s drive-by regime change war in Libya. Within the GOP, for whatever reason, there is a serious overlap between reckless hawkishness and support for Harris.
Likewise, the generals who fought and championed the Iraq War are now the chief surrogates for the Harris campaign. Former President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly is here to warn voters that Trump is a threat to democracy, just as he believes the invasion of Iraq was the right thing to do. “We went there for the right reason. We fought the war honorably,” said Kelly, 10 years after the war. “As it’s Iraqi-good enough, it’ll still be better than what they had under Saddam.”
Gen. Stanley McChrystal famously said three weeks into the Iraq War, “I would anticipate that the major combat engagements are over.” In a New York Times op-ed this fall, he displayed the same sort of confidence: “Some deeply consequential decisions are starkly simple. That is how I view our upcoming presidential election. And that is why I have already cast my ballot for character — and voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Bush intelligence chief James Clapper, who still insists that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, necessitating extreme actions by the U.S., today declares that Trump is a serious threat, necessitating a vote for Harris.
Of course, the columnists who cheered on the Iraq War the most are also behind Harris this time. Goldberg, Applebaum, Friedman, Jonathan Chait, and David Remnick, all prominent Iraq hawks, are bullish on Harris. Most of them admitted they were wrong, but none adequately explained how they made the error and why we should trust them in the future. Goldberg, when called on in 2008 to account for his war cheerleading, wrote, “I didn’t realize how incompetent the Bush administration could be.” If Harris wins, we can expect the redux of this piece.
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The military-industrial complex is also rooting for Harris. The defense sector favors Harris 2-to-1 over Trump, judging by their campaign contributions. Data from OpenSecrets show that the Harris campaign and its outside groups have raised $2.4 million from the defense industry compared to Trump’s $1.1 million.
Twenty years ago, the self-proclaimed democracy defenders won in the realm of American politics, and then their project proved an abject failure. Somehow that doesn’t dim their certainty that the folks who elect Harris president will be greeted as liberators.