I'm not going make a habit of jumping into Cafe debate very often-- my primary role here is that of facilitator, not contributer-- but Josh called me out so I'm obligated by the Code of Blogging to defend my good name.

His basic point is well-taken: anti-war sentiment has largely been successfully channeled into mainstream electoral politics in a way it simply wasn't in the late 60s and early 70s. Because of that, it hasn't been necessary to try to levitate the pentagon or confront the Democratic Party simply to be heard (and thank God for both). But, while every young lefty probably has pangs of "I was born a generation too late" once in a while, I think Josh's accusation of protest-fetishism misses the basis of my complaint. It's not about the protests, it's about the movement.

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Chalmers Johnson, the acclaimed author of Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, will be joining us next week to discuss his new book. In Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic, he argues that "America is saddled with an empire that is fatally undermining its republican government." We're excited to have him to joining us and hope you'll do the same.

His visit to the Coffee House is especially interesting in light of where last week's conversation ended about the New Left and the Netroots.

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