Virtual Democratic Town Hall Meeting

Virtual Democratic Town Hall Meeting multiple updates below

Air America and MoveOn.org are hosting a great event. It starts at 7:15 eastern
– 4:15 pacific today. You can listen here.

* MoveOn.Org and Air America will be co-hosting three “Virtual Town Halls” with the major Democratic presidential candidates, with the first one entirely about Iraq today, Tuesday, April 10. Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, Biden, Dodd and Kucinich will be answering questions from MoveOn members — we’ll be streaming it live 7:15-8:45 EST and rebroadcasting it to all our affiliates on Wednesday, 8-10pm EST. When you combine MoveOn’s 3.2 million members and Air America’s 2 1/2 million listeners – and add to that the topic of Iraq — we expect an historic night in what promises to be a defining election. Mark Green

Should be interesting. Again, you
can listen here.

Oh, and by the way, MoveOn.org invited Rudy, McCain, Brownback and Huckabee, but they all declined.

UPDATE: Here are the views on Iraq from two candidates, which I received via email: Clinton and Edwards. The full videos/YouTubes and comments from all the candidates are now available at MoveOn.org.

Some notes on the event, but I won’t be live blogging all of it. Also, this is my interpretation of what was said and not verbatim. Check out the re-broadcast tomorrow (as shown above) to hear the full town hall. Also, since I didn’t get all of the candidates, check MoveOn.org for the entire presentation, including videos, which will be up later.

John Edwards was the first up…

What is the best and fastest way to get out of Iraq? I voted for this war, I was wrong and I take responsibility for that. We don’t need more debate or abstract goals we need binding requirements. Congress should use its funding powers to end the war. Since he voted against the $87 billion 100,000 troop cap; immediate withdrawal of 50,000 troops; no replacement troops to Iraq that aren’t equipped and trained. Engage Syrians and Iranians to help in Iraq. We should not be talking hypothetically. Edwards credited progressive efforts in changing the power in Congress. This is “not a game of chicken” or “keeping Joe Lieberman happy.” If Bush vetoes this bill he’s the one standing in the way of funding. Every time Bush vetos these funding bills Congress should send another. What about war profiteering? I will end war profiteering in Iraq. Should Murtha’s bill on troop training be in the final bill? Yes. They should stand up to Bush’s veto threat. “Political courage” should stand up to “political calculation.” Where will Congress find the courage to stand up to Bush and the Rove pr machine? In your courage and letters. Immediate action to end this war is needed and we can do it together.

Joe Biden was next…

There’s no military solution to Iraq; we need a political solution. After we pull our troops out, then what? The Biden-Gelb plan is the answer. You must decentralize Iraq. You have to make Iraq the world’s problem. Call for an international conference in Iraq, imposing on the regional powers to get involved in Iraq. What about the permanent army bases and embassy buildings? I’m against permanent military bases. Biden introduced a bill against these bases. We should make it clear that oil and other natural resources is not the province of the U.S. The Iraq Study Report talked about the Iraqi police being involved in ethnic cleansing, which we are funding. What should we do about it? Stop training the Iraqi police who are involved in ethnic cleansing. He talked about the police being “sectarian thugs.” Local control in their own regions must have control over the local police. “There is room for a national army, but not a national police force.” Biden thanked Moveon.Org for the opportunity. There is a better choice than leaving or staying, because we must leave, but you must answe the question, What next? His son in the National Guard is a concern of his, but he’s concerned that no one else has a “political plan.” Then he plugged his website.

After the intermission Hillary Clinton led it off…

Clinton thanked Eli and MoveOn members. There are 2 different ways of thinking about this: what we can do while Bush is in office; and what I’ll do when I’m in president. Happy talk won’t do it. Begin redeployment in 90 days. The bill would cap the number of troops and prohibit sending more troops to continue a failed strategy. If we can’t convince the president of what the people want, her bill for the troops would keep them from being deployed. If the Iraqis don’t do their part we’d quit funding them. We also need to convene an international conference and engage Iran and Syria. I applaud Speaker Pelosi for going to the region, as I applaud the Republicans that went there as well. The president has threatened a veto recently; I challenge the president to withdraw the veto threat immediately. We have to get Republicans to support the change in course. If Bush doesn’t end the war I will as president. It’s time once and for all to end our involvement in the Iraq war. You talked about a “continuing presence in Iraq,” so what does that mean and how many troops will it take; what “vital interests” are they protecting? How long will they be in Iraq? My goal is to end the war in Iraq when I’m president. We do envision a vastly reduced and limited force in Iraq. This does not mean we would have a “permanent force” or “permanent bases.” There may be some “continuing missions” and support the Iraqi government. We will begin redeploying our troops “as soon as I am president” in as “expeditious way as possible.” If there are remaining security needs in 2009, we will do it with as few troops as possible and “no permanent bases.” Will you oppose any bill that lacks a timeline We shouldn’t tell Bush what we will do if he vetoes the bill. We need to keep the pressure on. We have to do everything we can to keep pressure on the president, so he knows he has to reverse course. It is Bush who is rejecting the funding. If Bush can be held responsible for vetoing the funding it puts “tremendous pressure” on 2008 Rep. candidates. I don’t want to foreclose any options. I won’t concede either choice. She encouraged people to go to her site and sign the petition against Bush’s veto. He is the one who is vetoing funding for the troops. She thanked MoveOn and being such “lively participants” in our democracy. “I’m grateful for your work,” then said she knows some members are surprised with that statement from her. Her entire closing statement was in praise of the movement online and what MoveOn members have done to hold everyone in office accountable when politicians don’t live up to expectations.

Chris Dodd was next…

We need to end the war tonight. “I’m a supporter of Feingold-Reid.” Begin this evening with an end date. A surge in diplomacy in the region, plus focus on energy independence. … On Iran, Dodd believes the president, beyond an emergency situation, must go to Congress to get the authority to wage war. Even after an emergency, a president must go back to Congress for support. His closing statement dealt with the reality beyond the moment where we are out of Iraq, thus the “surge in diplomacy.” We must condemn torture, not condone it. Reassert the role of the U.S. in a positive way. The rest you can hear tomorrow, so see the top of this post for the time. .. …

Barack Obama was the closer of the event…

I opposed this war from the start. If we gave open ended support in 2002 we would end up with an open ended occupation we have right now. The idea that the situation is improving is not credible and not reflected in the facts. Fourteen people were killed today, the deadliest single attack also, as well as many Americans killed. Our troops have done all they’ve been asked, but our military can’t end this. Extending the tour of 15,000 troops, with National Guard begin called up is only putting more people in the line of fire. On May 1st of this year we must begin a phased withdrawal; 50+ sponsors so far, with the end being next March, and we’ll have to keep this up. Bush will veto any timetable; but we must ratchet up the pressure and get some way to make him stop the deployment of troops. We must get involved in the region diplomatically. How do we get a non-hostile gov. in Iraq? I’ve been saying for a year that the entire Middle East has a stake in the outcome of Iraq, which includes a dialogue with both Syria and Iran. But these countries don’t want to see a destabilized Iraq. In concert with my phased withdrawal proposal, we must talk to both countries and get them to play a more constructive role. Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union the evil empire but he still talked with them. Power without diplomacy doesn’t work. Combining a phased withdrawal, plus diplomacy, we have a chance for a political opening. Timeline on Iraq, will you commit to supporting only legislation that has a timeline? I am committed to putting as much pressure as possible on the president, in a responsible manner. If it happens, I am committed to finding the 67 votes to override the veto. And if we can’t, I will put more pressure in the next bill presented. This is the first step in a continuing process to make the president responsible, also for our troops. The president doesn’t deserve more of a carte blanche than he’s already received. History is not going to judge the architects of this war lightly. A timeline was unimaginable a few months ago. So many people, like MoveOn, have mobilized. If this president thinks he can ignore the American people and the Congress he is badly mistaken. With your help we can bring our troops home and refocus on the war against terror. I look forward to working with you to make it happen.

–end–