Ghost of McGovern haunts Democratic Party foreign policy 2028 will be the 16th presidential election in my 81 years. The only true antiwar Democratic presidential nominee in my lifetime was George McGovern in 1972. He ran against pro Vietnam War president Richard Nixon, who claimed America could achieve peace with honor there. McGovern said ‘Bunk’ and pledged to end the war without, as Nixon’s policy guaranteed, getting hundreds of thousands more Vietnamese, and tens of thousands more U.S. soldiers killed. Result? The U.S. electorate rejected McGovern’s vision overwhelmingly, giving Nixon 49 states and a 23.2% vote margin. Democrats, traditionally less militaristic than Republicans, learned a hard lesson: never campaign for peace over war. In the 14 presidential elections since, including two years ago, Democrats dared not champion peace against war loving Republicans. In 2004, former Vietnam peace advocate John Kerry had the chance to call out George W. Bush for his illegal, immoral, criminal Iraq war. Instead he bailed, campaigning on winning the war, which was in tatters, by fighting it more intelligently than stupid Bush. In 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama hinted at withdrawing from senseless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Once in office, he not only didn’t fully end them, he added to America’s Wars of Shame, intervening in Libya, Yemen and Syria; helping turn them into failed states, with hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of refugees. Trump also campaigned against America’s forever wars in 2016, then dropped more bombs than Obama, assassinated a high ranking Iranian general, and nearly started massive wars against both Iran and North Korea. But rather than call out and campaign against this military bellicosity, Joe Biden campaigned for more military spending, more confrontation with China and Russia, adversaries he called “near peer powers”. Biden got off to a good start by quickly ending America’s disastrous 20 year war in Afghanistan. Then he doubled, tripled quadrupled down on other perpetual warfare thruout his first term. He provoked and enabled the Russian war in Ukraine, then sabotaged every effort to end it early on. Ukraine is now on US, NATO life support near collapse as the US Trojan House against Russia that came up lame. Hundreds of thousands are unnecessarily dead and injured. Millions have evacuated to safer climes. Biden expanded provocative rhetoric and military exercises against North Korea and China in the Far East. Worst of all he enabled and supported Israel’s grotesque genocide of Palestinians in Gaza following Hamas’ attack Kamala Harris, Biden’s Vice President and nominee successor in July 2024 when his mental decline could no longer be contained, followed the pro war Biden script perfectly. Not a word against his support of Israeli genocide and the utterly failed US proxy war destroying Ukraine. Result? Over 6 million 2020 Biden voters abandoned Harris They voted third party, some even for peace promising Trump, or simply stayed home. Biggest reason? Democratic war policies. Trump immediately pivoted from his peace pledge, going war crazy upon re-election. He’s bombed 7 countries including Somalia over 125 times. He continued suppling Israel with billions in weapons to obliterate Gaza, then ignored their daily ceasefire violations that have killed hundreds while denying the 2 million decimated survivors the necessities of life. He killed over 200 by bombing small boats off Venezuela, then invading outright to kidnap its president. He nearly triggered a Middle East regional war by bombing Iran in June. He’s also bombed Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and Iraq. Tragically for peace, the Democratic Party responded by ignoring the message that peace loving Democrats delivered the Party in November. Aside from independent Bernie Sanders who is unwelcome by party elites, no prominent Democrat calls out Trump’s deranged war mongering worldwide. Peace in the upcoming party platform. Not a chance. Democrats have clearly learned the lesson of 1972. In their warped view of good governance, promoting peace will not promote electoral success this November or in 2028. They’re helped by mainstream media which has largely banished US worldwide warfare criticism from their editorial pages. The Democratic Party will not give peace a chance, believing peace doesn’t sell with a war obsessed government and military fueled by companies selling hundreds of billions in weapons of mass civilian destruction. They continue to foster a clueless, compliant and complicit electorate. And astride Democrats’ shoulders, every blood drenched step of the way, is the ghost of George McGovern. Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition

 Ghost of McGovern haunts Democratic Party foreign policy

2028 will be the 16^th presidential election in my 81 years.

 

The only true antiwar Democratic presidential nominee in my lifetime was George McGovern in 1972. He ran against pro Vietnam War president Richard Nixon, who claimed America could achieve peace with honor there. McGovern said ‘Bunk’ and pledged to end the war without, as Nixon’s policy guaranteed, getting hundreds of thousands more Vietnamese, and tens of thousands more U.S. soldiers killed.

 

Result? The U.S. electorate rejected McGovern’s vision overwhelmingly, giving Nixon 49 states and a 23.2% vote margin. Democrats, traditionally less militaristic than Republicans, learned a hard lesson: never campaign for peace over war.

 

 

In the 14 presidential elections since, including two years ago, Democrats dared not champion peace against war loving Republicans. In 2004, former Vietnam peace advocate John Kerry had the chance to call out George W. Bush for his illegal, immoral, criminal Iraq war. Instead he bailed, campaigning on winning the war, which was in tatters, by fighting it more intelligently than stupid Bush.

 

In 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama hinted at withdrawing from senseless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Once in office, he not only didn’t fully end them, he added to America’s Wars of Shame, intervening in Libya, Yemen and Syria; helping turn them into failed states, with hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of refugees.

 

 

Trump also campaigned against America’s forever wars in 2016, then dropped more bombs than Obama, assassinated a high ranking Iranian general, and nearly started massive wars against both Iran and North Korea.

 

But rather than call out and campaign against this military bellicosity, Joe Biden campaigned for more military spending, more confrontation with China and Russia, adversaries he called “near peer powers”.

 

Biden got off to a good start by quickly ending America’s disastrous 20 year war in Afghanistan. Then he doubled, tripled quadrupled down on other perpetual warfare thruout his first term. He provoked and enabled the Russian war in Ukraine, then sabotaged  every effort to end it early on. Ukraine is now on US, NATO life support near collapse as the US Trojan House against Russia that came up lame. Hundreds of thousands are unnecessarily dead and injured. Millions have evacuated to safer climes.

 

Biden expanded provocative rhetoric and military exercises against North Korea and China in the Far East.

 

Worst of all he enabled and supported Israel’s grotesque genocide of Palestinians in Gaza following Hamas’ attack

 

Kamala Harris, Biden’s Vice President and nominee successor in July 2024 when his mental decline could no longer be contained, followed the pro war Biden script perfectly. Not a word against his support of Israeli genocide and the utterly failed US proxy war destroying Ukraine. Result? Over 6 million 2020 Biden voters abandoned Harris They voted third party, some even for peace promising Trump, or simply stayed home. Biggest reason? Democratic war policies.

 

Trump immediately pivoted from his peace pledge, going war crazy upon re-election. He’s bombed 7 countries including Somalia over 125 times. He continued suppling Israel with billions in weapons to obliterate Gaza, then ignored their daily ceasefire violations that have killed hundreds while denying the 2 million decimated survivors the necessities of life. He killed over 200 by bombing small boats off Venezuela, then invading outright to kidnap its president. He nearly triggered a Middle East regional war by bombing Iran in June. He’s also bombed Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and Iraq.

 

Tragically for peace, the Democratic Party responded by ignoring the message that peace loving Democrats delivered the Party in November. Aside from independent Bernie Sanders who is unwelcome by party elites, no prominent Democrat calls out Trump’s deranged war mongering worldwide. Peace in the upcoming party platform. Not a chance.

 

                                                                                                         

Democrats have clearly learned the lesson of 1972. In their warped view of good governance, promoting peace will not promote electoral success this November or in 2028. They’re helped by mainstream media which has largely banished US worldwide warfare criticism from their editorial pages.  

 

The Democratic Party will not give peace a chance, believing peace doesn’t sell with a war obsessed government and military fueled by companies selling hundreds of billions in weapons of mass civilian destruction. They continue to foster a clueless, compliant and complicit electorate.

 

And astride Democrats’ shoulders, every blood drenched step of the way, is the ghost of George McGovern.

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition