Ten progressive congressional candidates have just launched “A Responsible Plan To End The War In Iraq.” It’s being called our version of the “Contract With America.”

The Plan is a two-pronged strategy. First and foremost, it is a comprehensive set of ideas and concrete policy proposals to get America out of Iraq quickly, safely, and responsibly. It draws heavily from the mostly ignored Iraq Study Group Report and it points to specific bills in Congress that can be passed today to end the war in the right way.

As I’ve argued before, we need a progressive plan for Iraq that avoids the false choice presented to us by conservatives, the false choice that says we can either stay in Iraq until it is a “shining beacon of democracy” in the Middle East - a prospect that seems extremely unlikely - or we can leave Iraqis to their violent, chaotic fate - one that we created. Instead, I argue we can use our power to both leave Iraq quickly and prevent a failed state in the region.

The Plan refuses the false choice as well, and it addresses the Iraq issue in two ways. First, it strives to use all the tools at America’s disposal to bring the war to a close quickly and quietly. This means setting a firm timeline for a speedy withdrawal, leaving no residual troops behind, and engaging diplomatically with every country surrounding Iraq - including Iran and Syria.

Second, the Plan puts forward a set of proposals to ensure we never enter another war like Iraq ever again. These proposals include getting rid of signing statements, ending warrantless wiretapping, restoring habeas corpus, disavowing torture, and building an energy economy built on alternative sources and not oil.

The problem with all such plans, of course, is the implementation. Look what happened in 2006. Citizens across America voted for “anti-war” candidates, and they were elected in droves. For the first time in decades, Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, and the people believed they were elected on a mandate to end the war.

We all know what happened. These individual members, each committed to the anti-war goal on the campaign trail, were quickly co-opted by the Washington establishment. As individual members entering as freshman Representatives and Senators, there was pressure to “go along to get along,” to compromise with more established members. Lacking any formal organization and possessing only a loose mandate from voters to “end the war,” failure in the face of a well organized and cohesive establishment majority was almost inevitable.

And so Democrats across the board caved. And caved. And caved again.

“The Responsible Plan To End The War In Iraq” is not only good policy, it’s good strategy too. With 10 candidates all signed on to one specific plan (and hopefully with more to come), you have the beginnings of a real anti-war voting block in Congress. If these members get elected while promoting this plan vocally and visibly, they will have an unimpeachable mandate when they get to Washington. Because this plan involves more than one candidate, there will be stronger pressure not to cave or compromise when the tough votes come up on the floor.

These candidates are being bold. In a political climate where leading Presidential candidates won’t put a timeline on the war or commit to bringing every single troop home, the candidates who’ve signed onto the Plan - all challengers, not incumbents - are sticking their necks out to deliver the kinds of policy proposals we have been waiting for. They are trying to get elected on a mandate that has broad public approval. They are being the leaders we’ve called for since the gains of 2006 turned out to be illusionary.

These people are sticking up for us. They deserve our support.

UPDATE: As the website does not seem to be live yet, I’ve uploaded a PDF of the Plan. You can check it up here.

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