Criticize the war and praise the warmonger

Jackie Speier was sworn in as Tom Lantos's replacement in the House of Representatives, and she gave a speech severely criticizing the Iraq war. A group of whiny Republicans who couldn't handle the existence of anti-war language on the House floor walked out (which makes me wonder just how common it is to hear strong anti-war language in that venue.)

But here's the irony. According to the article in the SF Chronicle, she began that same speech "by praising her predecessor, Lantos, who died in February of esophageal cancer after serving in Congress for 27 years." She went on about how irreplaceable he was. How interesting. Lantos was one of the biggest warmongers in the House. Not only did he favor the current Iraq war, but he was also a key factor in the first Iraq war in 199o. He was the chief Congressional promoter of the false allegations of Iraqi soldiers ripping Kuwaiti babies from their incubators. It was precisely this lie that Lantos had spread that convinced enough people in Congress to vote in favor of authorizing the first Gulf war. Would there have been a second Iraq war without the first one? One can thus draw a straight line from Lantos to the current mess in Iraq.

Partisian politics is funny that way. Speier and Lantos are fellow Democrats. Far be it for her to criticize Lantos for his complicity in the very war that she turned around and blasted. She is part of the same party machine that Lantos was, and she knows that principle only goes so far; she will not bite the hand that feeds her.