Sens. Kerry, Clinton Get a Liberal Earful

The fissures inside the Democratic Party over the war in Iraq were on vivid display here Tuesday during rare back-to-back speeches before a crowd of liberal activists whose cheers -- and jeers -- underscored the challenges facing the party in this midterm congressional election year and beyond.

“It is important that we recognize the real dangers we face,” said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who renewed her opposition to setting a date for U.S. troop withdrawal. “Sometimes this is a difficult conversation, in part because this administration has made our world more dangerous than it should have been.”

The senator talked over moments of heckling, hissing and booing from a Democratic audience as she sought to explain why she believed it would not be a “smart strategy” to create a specific timeline to leave Iraq. But Clinton said Iraqis must ultimately assume responsibility for their own security, saying: “That is not the job of the American military.”

As she left the stage, signing a few autographs on her way, a chorus of cries began to swell: “Bring the troops home! Bring the troops home! Bring the troops home!”

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who is proposing a Senate amendment to a defense bill calling for most troops to be withdrawn by the end of the year, captivated the same crowd only minutes later with an impassioned criticism of the war. He restated his regret for initially supporting the Iraq war and chastised other politicians, not mentioning Clinton by name, for failing to follow suit.

“It’s not enough to argue with the logistics or to argue about the details or the manner of the conflict’s execution or the failures of competence, as great as they are,” Kerry said. “It is essential to acknowledge that the war itself was a mistake.”

To great applause, he added: “We cannot have it both ways.”

The disagreements over an Iraq exit strategy come as Democrats are fighting to take control of the House and Senate from Republicans. A debate over Iraq is scheduled to take place Thursday in the House, with Republicans hoping to shore up support for the Iraq war by casting it as the focal point in the fight against terrorism. In doing so, they hope to force Democrats to state their objections in an on-the-record vote that could be used against them this fall.

Hundreds of progressive activists were on hand Tuesday at a convention called “Campaign for America’s Future: Take Back America.” On domestic concerns, the conference featured a united upbraiding of the Bush administration, but sentiments were far from unified when talk turned to foreign policy.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who also addressed the group, called for an urgent new direction regarding the Iraq war. She drew an ovation as she renewed her plea for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to resign.