Matt Yglesias comments on the "Why don't American liberals care about reform in Iran?" attack that goes around despite American liberals' genuine and well-documented interest in improving conditions in Iran. (The AFL-CIO and the Feminist Majority Foundation are among the groups Matt cites.) We're at a disadvantage here because our solutions are a lot quieter than conservative solutions. It's a lot easier to get noticed when you're calling for war than when you want something as wonkish and mild-mannered as the offer of an economic recovery package contingent on improvements in women's rights, or closely directed political pressure on some little-known Iranian figure. Also, any of our proposals to work with reformist groups in Iran have to be communicated subtly -- we don't want to undermine the reformers by making them look like American puppets. So we can't yell as loud as the pro-war people do.
