By Embracing Dick Cheney, the Democrats Have Become the Party of War

By Louis Conte, Headlines Editor, The Kennedy Beacon

Buried below news of the second assassination attempt of former President Trump, the latest election headlines, and more post-debate coverage, is the quiet truth that the Democratic Party has transformed from a party of peace to a party of war.

In the 1960s and 70s, it was Democrats, for the most part, who took to the streets to burn their draft cards and protest U.S. engagement in the Vietnam War. More recently, many resisted our nation’s disastrous wars in the Middle East, spurred on by the neocon military industrial complex, championed by former vice president Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Robert Kagan.

Democrats like me rightfully blamed these men for the deaths of thousands of Americans in the never-ending wars on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. We blamed them for the needless slaughter of hundreds of thousands of civilians. We blamed them for destabilizing the Middle East and for the anti-American hatred that now burns in the hearts of so many in the Arab world.

But the war machine is at it again and Democrats in powerful positions have not, for the most part, distinguished their policies from that of Republicans, even as young people across America protested against the slaughter of innocent people in Gaza. 

As we continue to arm Ukraine and fail in finding solutions in Gaza, the ongoing partnership between the neocons and the military industrial complex should be a source of national shame. Instead, powerful Democrats are part of an enduring cabal that exerts massive influence on our nation’s foreign policy.

The reason for their staying power is simple: There is too much money flowing in and out of the war machine. War is good for the bottom line of those entrenched in the web of the military industrial complex. 

But what happened to the party that wanted to end all wars?

That question lingers following Cheney’s endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris – and the “honor” she expressed upon receiving such an endorsement. 

What does this mean for the Democratic Party? Why aren’t more people, and the media, writing and thinking about it? 

By accepting Cheney’s endorsement, the party that was once the party of peace has mixed its DNA with the neocons, completing a metamorphosis into what Robert F. Kennedy calls the party of war.

During the September 10 presidential debate, former president Trump stated that he would seek a negotiated settlement of the conflict. Harris promptly cast him as pro-Putin.

For her part, Harris gave no indication of a plan to seek a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia. Does that mean money and arms will continue to flow to Ukraine, until there are no Ukrainians left? We just don’t know. 

It’s becoming more and more clear that Harris is a political opportunist. She’ll take money and support from whoever is offering, no matter their bloody past. So what if her donors now include neocons? So what if they are proud members of the military industrial complex?

In a recent interview, Kennedy pointed out that the word ‘democrat’ comes from the Greek word ‘demos’ – the common people. The common people are no longer the center of the Democratic Party. The metamorphosis is complete.

And the once proud party of peace has been bought off by those who profit from war.