At least 2-3 people from Raising Kaine attended last night's Murtha-Moran Iraq war forum in Arlington. I was not one of them, but I look forward to hearing the others' reports. One RK'er, Teddy Goodson, tried to make it but...
The meeting hall was jam packed, over capacity, and they turned dozens, maybe hundreds away, telling us it would be on TV at "the Jefferson" but it turned out the Jefferson was packed, too.It was close to a riot outside the building with everything from neo-con "Cut and Run" complainers to the usual LaRouche true believers to angry antiwar activisits. I saw Arlington police cars, and they may have needed the police. I am not joking. Anyway, I gave up and came home.
According to the Washington Post, Teddy's description is accurate, with "a crowd of about 600 people that spilled out of the auditorium and into an overflow room and the street." Wow, 600 people on a Thursday night? And it wasn't a free buffalo wings and $1 Corona happy hour special? Amazing, but then again, the Iraq War is an incredibly explosive, hot-button issue at this point. Also, according to the Post:
...with the invitation to Murtha, the meeting gained national attention on the Internet. The Web site http://www.freerepublic.com urged supporters of staying the course in Iraq to go out and protest, and groups such as MoveOn.org sent e-mails to opponents of the war urging them to attend.
And then there's the Moran angle:
Moran, who attributed the high turnout to growing public concern about the war, has long been vocal in his opposition to the war. At a forum in 2003, Moran's comments about the Jewish community's support for the war were widely criticized and brought accusations of anti-Semitism from some Jewish leaders. Moran apologized and has long insisted that his views were taken out of context.
All in all, sounds like a wild night in Arlington!
P.S. Please feel free to use this as an open thread on Iraq, and specifically, what we should do now.