John Walsh: Has "The Nation" Mag Reneged on Its Pledge to Endorse Antiwar Candidates

Tweet "Where was The Nation in all of this? Perhaps I missed it, but there were no endorsements forthcoming, and no warnings about the hawkish Democrats. These Dem hawks hid their opinions on the war beneath a barrage of criticisms of Bush but without backing early withdrawal. In many cases there was mumbo jumbo about timelines (to be produced by Bush not the candidates) and the responsibility of the Iraqis – but no backing of either the Murtha bill for immediate redeployment or the McGovern bill calling for terminating all funding for the war on Iraq save for moneys needed to bring the troops home quickly and safely. And The Nation has not uttered a word of support for Green or independent antiwar candidates like Kevin Zeese, a colleague of Ralph Nader, who has won the endorsement of both Greens and Libertarians in his race for Senate in Maryland against a Dem and Republican candidates, both prowar. The Nation’s readers are largely in the dark about all this if they rely on The Nation for their information.

"Why has The Nation been silent? They are pretty secure and solvent these days and awash in new subs, the magazine’s readership having gone from 100,000 to 170,000 in the era of Bush. But compared to the attacks on the war by The American Conservative and Justin Raimondo’s libertarian Antiwar.com, The Nation’s stance is pathetically weak. I can only conclude that The Nation is to a large degree in thrall to the Democratic establishment, which in itself is controlled by the military contractors, the profiteers of war and empire and the Israeli lobby. Those are not the bedfellows we subscribers wish for the magazine we support. And this is not new. In 2004 The Nation vigorously endorsed the prowar (at that time) Kerry while the American Conservative refused to endorse Bush because of its opposition to the war. Again in January 2005 when Ted Kennedy defied the Dem establishment and called for immediate withdrawal, he got virtually no coverage in The Nation. The mainstream media and the Sunday talk shows gave Kennedy more coverage than The Nation. What shame!