If there’s one thing Americans love, it’s a good anti-war protest. With a tradition dating back to the Vietnam war, you barely have to hint at the idea that you might be considering firing a volley over somebody’s fence and you’ll have crowds of people taking to the streets singing old Beatles tunes. So now, with Barack Obama poised on the verge of launching an attack on Syria, our old friends are out there taking to the streets to give Obama an earful. Right? Right? Anyone? Beuller? How about Rick Moran?

Anti-war groups like Code Pink and Peace Action aren’t swarming the Mall in Washington to protest Barack Obama’s planned intervention in Syria because the economy is in the pits and the movement is a “shadow of its former self,” according to Medea Benjamin, founder of Code Pink.

From Buzzfeed:

“Well, the most incredibly depressing thing was that most of the groups that existed before don’t exist anymore,” said Medea Benjamin, the founder of Code Pink. “That’s the number one problem, is that the antiwar movement is a shadow of its former self under the Bush years.”

Benjamin pointed to groups like United for Peace and Justice, a Communist Party-connected group, as examples: “They’re down to a couple of volunteers,” she said.

Code Pink itself, despite being one of the most visible protest groups in the U.S. today, has felt the pinch.

“Even Code Pink, which had 300 local groups, just has a tiny portion still functioning,” Benjamin said. “So when something like this happens, we don’t have the infrastructure to rally people.”

Clearly times are hard all over and the Obama economy is even hitting the anti-war groups. It’s a tragedy I tell you, but could there be something more to this than simply a lack of cash? Rick has more:

Our pacifist friends have gotten lazy. Now that they have a liberal in the White House (who’s about to start his third war), they just can’t find the time to do the scut work necessary to drive thousands into the streets. Body counts are apparently more important to the “anti-war” crowd than the act of going to war itself, which is a curious position to hold for people who think of themselves as pacifists.

That part should be fairly obvious, and it goes without saying that there are historical examples of Republicans who seemed a bit more willing to sit on their hands regarding important issues – like spending – when a member of their own party was holding the reins. When it comes to groups like Code Pink, war is a terrible thing if there’s a Republican in the White House. (And make no mistake… war is a terrible thing.) But if it’s one of their own pulling the trigger and giving the Go Command, well… it’s kind of hot and humid out. Do you really want to go marching in this weather? And most of the Magic Markers are dried up and we’d have to go get more if we’re going to make protest signs. Maybe we should just send a nice e-mail to our Senator.

Way to stand firm on those principles, ladies.