Brazile: Time to complete 'our mission' in Iraq

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(CNN) -- Donna Brazile says it is time for the Bush administration to work with Democrats and the Iraq Study Group so the United States can "complete our mission" and "begin a phased redeployment as soon as possible."

The CNN political commentator and former campaign adviser for Al Gore answered CNN.com user questions as part of an online extra for the network's "Broken Government" series. Here are her responses:

Why is Congress more concerned about their "war chest" rather than doing their job?
Brenda WulfElSayed, Hudson, New Hampshire

BRAZILE: It is estimated that an average member of Congress, in a competitive race, must raise upwards of $2 million to just stay afloat. From the time they arrive in Washington, they must raise close to $4,000 a day. Just imagine what it takes for a challenger to come up with the kind of money it requires to wage an effective campaign?

Many incumbents like to build their war chests to ward off potential opponents, but I believe there is another way -- a more democratic way.

But voters bear some responsibility for this, as well. If our citizenry were more informed, if voters actively sought information from reliable, balanced sources and were unswayed by 30-second political spots in the middle of prime-time TV, money would become less important to the political process. If we stopped allowing our votes to be purchased by flashy ad campaigns, war chests wouldn't be quite so essential.

What are [Democrats] suggesting we do, if we do leave [Iraq], and things start to go south?
Jerry Okumara, Kula, Hawaii

BRAZILE: Last week, House and Senate Democratic leaders wrote President Bush strongly encouraging him to act urgently to forge a political solution in Iraq and to more clearly inform the Iraqis that our commitment is not unlimited.

The Democrats also stated that "Iraq continues a rapid descent into full-scale civil war, with our troops increasingly caught in the middle. Over 200 U.S. troops were killed in the last 90 days, including 70 in the first two-and-one-half weeks of October, and on average 100 Iraqis are killed each day. The growing militia groups are beyond the government's control and have reportedly infiltrated the ranks of government security forces."

This week, the White House responded by stating they will no longer refer to their Iraq policy as "stay the course." Further, Gen. George Casey [top U.S. commander in Iraq] asserted in a news conference that it will be another 12 to 18 months before the Iraqis will be able to provide security for their country.

Democrats believe it's time to accelerate the timeline to complete our mission, train Iraqi security forces and to pressure the new government to dismantle the militias and to find a political solution to their problems. We also believe it's time the Bush administration call in the Iraq Study Group and review the options available to complete our mission and to begin a phased redeployment as soon as possible.

Democrats are prepared to work with this administration to find a solution to the problem and not a slogan to win a difficult election here at home. From the start of this war, the Bush administration made a huge mistake in valuing consistency above results.

"Staying the course" is nothing to be proud of when that course has led to an increase in sectarian violence and brought the Iraqi people closer to an all-out civil war -- putting our courageous soldiers in harm's way, as well as contributing to and nurturing a breeding ground for future terrorists.

Read Bill Bennett's responses to CNN.com users.

What is wrong with the voters? Why are we sending corrupt, immoral, ... lying cowards to Washington?
G.R. Raab, Highlands Ranch, Colorado

BRAZILE: For starters, I don't believe anything is "wrong" with voters. The problem lies in the current political climate where members of Congress believe they are entitled to certain privileges or "perks" because they are called Representative or Senator.

As voters, we can take action by spending time (reading the newspaper and going online to CNN.com) to learn more about what is at stake and where local congressional representatives stand on the issues. Learn about their voting record, look up their list of donors.

How often are your representatives and your senators in your district or state? How often do they communicate with you or ask for your advice? When is the last time you wrote your member of Congress or senator? There are many online tools to help you navigate the political world, but the time to act, to speak up and to send a message is on Election Day.

We must never forget that when it comes to running the country, we're in charge. We're the boss and on Election Day, we can hold every member of Congress, every elected official, accountable and if they have failed to do their jobs, I suggest you fire them.

The great Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, "The greatest title in our democracy is citizen." It's our responsibility to learn as much as we can from various sources and seek out information away from the mainstream. Join forces with your friends and pool your time and research resources.

Many Americans are so preoccupied with family and financial responsibilities that they cannot take the time to do the basic research on all of the issues that affect them most. By assigning issues to be researched within a select group and sharing information gleaned, you and your community members can become sufficiently informed to make effective choices at the ballot box.

What will be wrong in Washington if the Democrats get control of Congress?
Gene Booth, Pleasanton, California

BRAZILE: There is a certain amount of political spin circulating in and around the country today that if Democrats win, the terrorists will attack the United States and your taxes will be raised. Just the other day, Vice President [Dick] Cheney told conservative radio talk show host Sean Hannity that if Democrats win control of Congress, America will be less safe because the "Democratic Party that has not been supportive of and does not believe in a really robust, aggressive prosecution of the global war on terror."

None of this could be further from the truth and I encourage you to beware of the "fear and smear" ads or statements coming out of the White House that will once again distort the Democrats' positions on the issues.

Democrats have offered America a new direction -- both at home and abroad.

How can [voters] urge these supposedly professional officeholders and candidates to address the issues -- to stop the partisan blame game and work with each other?
Jane, Washington, D.C.

BRAZILE: Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has promised, if the minority party regains power, to run the House of Representatives in a bipartisan fashion. Ms. Pelosi has stated that "a strong America must be based on bipartisanship; it must be based on working together. Politics must stop at the water's edge to protect the American people. It must also be based on civility and not ever imply that there is any lack of patriotism or, resolve to defeat terrorism. It has to have bipartisanship, civility, and truth and trust."

Do you really think we can "fix" our current government or should we seek to replace/reinvent our government?
Mike Barrett, Bishop, California

BRAZILE: As the saying goes, "There's nothing wrong with America that what's right with America can't fix." Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years. The president is elected every four years and senators every six. That means that we have the chance to replace and reinvent our government at least every six years.

What's right with America is that every election is a chance to fix what is wrong. You don't like what your elected officials are doing in office? Vote them out. It truly is that simple. Now, if you are in the minority, you may not get what you want, but that doesn't mean the system is broken. You have two options: Sit back and wait for the rest of the country to realize what you know, or start fighting to change minds.

Isn't it time there is a strong third party?
Keith Berkner, Macon, Georgia

BRAZILE: There's a theory in political science that says the number of parties is always one more than the number elected to any given office, meaning that if you have a proportional representation system, for example, where 10 legislators are elected to a council to represent an area, there will be no more than 11 strong parties.

If you have a winner-take-all system like we do, meaning that the individual who receives the most votes gets the office, then there will be only two strong parties. For that reason, I do not believe that the United States will ever have a third party that can compete with the Democratic or Republican parties on a nationwide level, unless we shift to a system of proportional representation.

That being said, politics should include everyone, and if there are people disengaging because they do not feel comfortable under either the "Republican" or "Democratic" umbrella, that is a net-loss for democracy. If those people would return and engage if a third party rose to national prominence, I believe that would be a good thing.

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