You've seen Armando/BTD Spout Off on Iraq: Now Hear Him Roar!

Say what you will about former DailyKos frontpager Armando/Big Tent Democrat, you cannot dispute that he he has a razor-sharp intellect, an acute understanding of Democrats need to do to win important political battles, and an outsize personality not afraid to mix it up with those who disagree with him.

What many in the progressive blogosphere may not know is that, in the wake of the kerfuffle that led to his 2nd departure from Daily Kos, he has been doing outstanding work on Iraq, Libby and a host of other issues over at TalkLeft. Together with fellow contributors and attorneys John Wesley Hall and T. Christopher Kelly, Armando has been scathing in his coverage of GOP criminal and moral malfeasance, and of the weak-kneed Democratic enablers who fail to adequately stand up to it.

And today you have the opportunity to listen to him spout off on my and clammyc's radio show On Topic at Political Nexus. The show will begin tonight at 5pm PST--those who wish to listen live can do so at the "On Topic" BlogTalkRadio page (the only show currently listed is the one we did with MSOC on abortion; it will appear when the show goes live.) Otherwise, you can access the archives of the show either at Political Nexus or at the BlogTalkRadio On Topic page.

Among the topics we'll be discussing during the half-hour show include:

• What was the Democratic strategy on the Iraq Supplemental going in? Was the capitulation always in the works, or was it the product of an inability to secure enough votes from conservative Democrats?


• Regardless of the actual consequences for Iraq and our troops, why was the capitulation bill such a bad move politically?


• Democrats are currently banking on the "helpless bystander" theory that the Congress has no power to curb the Executive on Iraq. Will this fly with the American Public? If not, why not?


• If we could force the Democrats to vote any way you wanted, would we have them simply defund the Occupation?


• Where do we go from here? What should the Democrats do come September--and what do we expect them to do?


• How will the Republicans handle all of this? Can they get out in front of Democrats to oppose Bush on Iraq? Will they even try?

So feel free to join us for what promises to be a fascinating discussion on the most important political topic of the 2008 election. I'll close this piece today with a quote from BTD himself:

Certainly pinning Bush on the GOP helps the Democrats, but political grandstanding alone will not cut it for the Dems now. They control the Congress. They can end the Iraq Debacle. And if they do not, the GOP will try and neuter them on Iraq by saying they did not - Dems were all partisan bluster and no action. And the GOP would be right.

As Greg Sargent points out, Dems hold a 20 point polling edge on Bush on Iraq, 54-34. But if Dems do not do anything about ending the Iraq Debacle, then why SHOULD the American People trust Democrats on Iraq? snip

Come 2008 -- when faced with the question "What did a Democratic Congress do to end the Iraq Debacle?", when the answer is nothing, what do you think the voters are going to say?

Spineless Dems ALWAYS lose. Always.

I still think that. More than ever.

Amen, my friend. Amen. Keep roaring, and hopefully the world will begin to listen.