Feingold said that he believes enough time has passed that the Democratic Party has a chance to have a clean slate.

“Democrats are going to say, ’Look, this is a new era. We’ve got to get this right,’” he said, adding, “That, I think, is the best approach. I don’t think the Iraq War is going to be terribly important in 2020.”

“After 9/11, the consensus among party elites was that you had to be pro-war,” Matzzie, the MoveOn veteran, said. “That consensus is totally shattered. The consensus is now, for a Democrat, that you can’t be the super pro-war hawk or you’re in danger inside the Democratic Party.”

As Iraq has faded as an issue for the party, Democrats have largely returned to talking about domestic and economic issues. In part, it’s because the country is focused there, but it’s also because these are the areas where Democrats have traditionally felt the strongest.