02/27/06 Kohl wrongly echoes Bush, by John Nichols
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl handled the interruption of his re-election announcement by anti-war protesters with his usual grace. But he lost an opportunity to do the right thing.
A small group of activists confronted the Milwaukee Democrat as he was taking the stage at Madison's Orpheum Theatre Wednesday night to launch his campaign for a fourth term.
"We all now know that the war in Iraq was based on lies," the Rev. Jim Murphy, a Catholic priest from Portage, told the state's senior senator and a stunned crowd of Kohl supporters. "Too many innocent lives have been lost and too many dollars have been spent. We are here tonight to appeal to your conscience and ask you to sign a pledge."
The pledge was not a radical statement. Rather, it was a commitment to back a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, along the lines of the one that Kohl's colleague, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has been pushing since August. As one of the anti-war activists, Bonita Sitter, whose stepson is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq next month, explained, "We support our troops by ending this illegal and immoral war and bringing them home."
Members of the group also asked Kohl to vote against supplemental funding for the war, as several Wisconsin representatives - including Madison Democrat Tammy Baldwin, Wausau Democrat Dave Obey and Fond du Lac Republican Tom Petri - have when similar requests have come before the Congress since the occupation of Iraq began in 2003.
On one level, Kohl handled the interruption of an otherwise carefully scripted campaign event well. The senator listened attentively as the protesters made brief statements from the stage on which he was supposed to be speaking. When they had had their say, he asked them to relinquish the microphone, saying, "You have had your say and you should move away. I believe you are diminishing the effectiveness of what you are trying to convey."
Kohl's point was well taken, and well communicated. And the activists stepped off.
On a more meaningful level, however, Kohl missed a chance to be the sort of leader that is needed at a point when a disastrous war is spiraling deeper into chaos.
The senator refused to sign the pledge, which was his right. But, after criticizing President Bush for misusing the authority given him by Congress to pressure Iraq and for mishandling the war itself, Kohl essentially echoed the administration's line on staying the course.
"My own position is we ought to do much more to encourage, if not insist, that the Iraqi government, the leadership, come together in a unified manner so that they can, number one, govern their country and, number two, take over security," Kohl said. "That will enable the U.S. to draw down and then hopefully phase out of the occupation."
By any meaningful measure, those words are indistinguishable from the talking points of a White House that Kohl admits has misused its authority and mishandled one of the most important responsibilities given any president - that of sending the sons and daughters of this country into combat.
Herb Kohl is a decent man, and in many ways a fine senator. But on the issue of a war that is surely the most pressing matter of the moment, the senator needs to listen a little less to the White House and a lot more to Russ Feingold and the people of Wisconsin.
John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times, Wisconsin's progressive daily news source. E-mail: jnichols@madison.com <mailto:jnichols@madison.com>
Published: February 27, 2006