It’s been over three years since President George Bush, as commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, ordered his international “Coalition of the Willing” into Iraq. Hell-bent on "democratizing" the middle-eastern country, the president ignored the warnings of the United Nations and the rest of the international community.
 
Surprisingly, he had, at the time, the support of the majority of Americans. But, that’s only because he’d led the country to falsely believe Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destructions and was a true threat to our security. Maybe that’s why so many Democratic congressmen also supported Bush’s tunnel vision and voted with Republicans to send troops into Iraq.
Whatever their reasons, they are now locked in a battle with anti-war voters who want to see the U.S. pull out of Iraq. And Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman is the first casualty.

Lieberman recently lost the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat he’s held for 18 years to Ned Lamont, a multi-millionaire cable TV exec, in the state’s primary elections. Lamont, also a Democrat, campaigned on one issue -- the war. New to the political game, he criticized Lieberman’s support of the war, calling him President Bush’s “lap dog.” It is no surprise voters responded to this approach, considering more than 60 percent of Americans say they oppose the war in Iraq. 

Connecticut Democrats turned out in larger than usual numbers for the election, and the message they sent is very clear: It is time for this war to end and any politician that supports it must go.

Since the war began, 2,592 Americans have died; more than 19,000 have been wounded, and the U.S., at current count, has spent more than $300 billion (Visit www.costofwar.com to see a running counter.). The president has promised to “bring our troops home” soon but, without an exit plan, this seems unlikely to happen in the near future.  With other pressing social issues -- education and healthcare among them -- many progressive Americans are growing increasingly upset with the resources that are being wasted on a war that many experts say the U.S. cannot win.

The Connecticut elections were a wake up call to war-supporting Democrats. To keep their current jobs and, in many cases, to climb up that political ladder, they’ll have to shift their priorities. Democrats must stand on principle and stop wavering in the wind, taking middle ground positions. For those who reportedly aspire to higher offices, like Senator Hillary Clinton, now is the time to move away from the center and take a definite anti-war stance.

Lieberman, a highly respected politician, learned his lesson the hard way. For their sakes, let’s hope more of these war-supporting Democrats turn things around, before it’s too late.

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Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.