Nice letter from my Congressman re:Bush* censure

[hobbes159]

Jim McGovern (D-MA) -- great guy. Here's his reply to the censure petition that MoveOn is working on:

I want to thank you for your recent letter calling on the U.S. Congress to censure President Bush for misleading the American people about the reasons for why the United States needed to go to war with Iraq. I share your outrage and dismay over the president's frequently changing rationales for the war in Iraq, and I appreciate hearing from you on this serious matter.

You may already be aware that I did not vote for the authorization for the use of force in Iraq: I felt strongly that the Bush Administration had failed to make its case for war; that the Congress had failed in its duty to closely examine and question the intelligence and other information provided in support of going to war, especially regarding the presence of weapons of mass destruction; and that the return of the United Nations weapons inspections teams should be given adequate time to make an assessment as to the nature of the threat posed by Iraq to the international community. I firmly believed then, as I do today, that the United States should never place our sons and daughters in deadly peril when other options remain to be fully explored or exploited, or in the absence of a broadly-supported international mandate for the use of military force to protect U.S. and/or international security, or to protect innocent civilian lives from imminent slaughter. Nor do I support the president's policy of pre-emptive strike, which runs counter to two centuries of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. Even the State Department's chief of international protocol, Margaret Tutwiler, concedes that it will take years for the United States to regain its credibility on foreign affairs with our allies and other nations.

Since before the war began, I have supported congressional initiatives to investigate the intelligence and Bush Administration actions and assertions leading up to and immediately following the start of military operations - both inside the Congress and by an independent investigating commission. While I welcome the president's appointment of an independent commission, I fear this action was undertaken more to deflect attention away from the Administration's policy failures, rather than to fully investigate why the Bush Administration was so compelled to take our country to war in Iraq, especially since the commission's mandate is limited to reviewing intelligence agency actions rather than the Bush Administration as a whole, including the White House and the Office of the Vice President.

In my opinion, there is no hope whatsoever that the Republican leadership, who control both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, will initiate an inquiry leading to a motion to censure the president on Iraq. Regardless, in nine short months, in the most genuine demonstration of American democracy, the American people themselves will have the opportunity to censure President Bush, should they so desire, by deciding whether he, his Administration and his policies should continue in office. I hope you continue to remain as engaged in November on these issues as you are today.

Once again, thank you for contacting me on this very serious matter.


Sincerely,

James P. McGovern

[GCP]

1. He always contacts me after a moveon petition - he's great. n/t

[RebelOne]

2. I signed the petition, too.

But I won't get a letter like that. I'm in Georgia and my Congressman is a Repug.

[Palacsinta]

4. Ha! I won't get a letter either.....

From my PA Repub rep, Joe "The Pitts" Pitts........he's too busy trying to stop a reality TV show about the Amish to concern himself with our petition.

[ComerPerro]

3. Wow

That is pretty cool

[hobbes159]

6. I ALWAYS get a reply back from McGovern on every issue

He's really great about that. I met him once last year when he was touring the district; he goes around to local coffee shops and stuff to meet with consituents. I spent about 10 minutes talking with him one-on-one about the Patriot Act and a few other things (he was one of the few to vote against it) and came away really impressed. I've watched his voting record every since, and I've been really happy with it (well, ok, he voted for the flag-burning amendment, but I'm willing to let that go -- it ain't going to happen any time soon anyway.)

He was unopposed last year, hopefully he will be again this year.

[rasputin1952]

5. I signed the petition as well...

but my Rep, Doug Bereuter is a GOP boot shiner. Fortunately, he's not running this year; he's thrown in the towel.

I have the honor of being the only person 'escorted out' of a Town Meeting w/Bereuter after I called him a liar in the meeting. I left to the applause of the rest of the room, virtually everyone of them GOP. (I think I am the only Dem in Norfolk NE).

on edit: Both of my Sen's Hagel & Nelson, almost always reply to my letters/e-,ails. I have gotten to the point where most from Nelson have his actual signature, not the facsimile!

O8)