"There you go, Hillary, John, Joe -- there's your "out" door"

[understandinglife]

3rd Year Anniversary of Bush Lies in Cincinnati

by Steve Cobble

October 6, 2005

Tomorrow (10/7/05) marks the 3-year anniversary of George W. Bush's mendacious speech to the VFW in Cincinnati. This was the speech that ratcheted up the hype to such a level that half the Senate Democrats and 2/5 of the House Democrats blithely handed over their Constitutional obligation to declare war to a President who had been itching to invade Iraq since he was Governor of Texas.

<clip>

Let's walk through some of the hype of that speech. (If you want a meticulous deconstruction of the Bush Administration propaganda and lies that led us to war, I suggest the brilliant book Hood-winked by John Prados. He takes each bit of pre-war propaganda and rips it apart, line by line. He does, in short, the job we wish the MSM would do. The specific exaggerations and falsehoods from the Cincinnati speech are laid out between pages 124-138 of Hood-winked.)

<clip>

Quote: "I have asked the Congress to authorize the use of America's military, if it proves necessary, to enforce U.N. Security Council demands. Approving the resolution does not mean that military action is imminent or unavoidable."

Comment: (There you go, Hillary, John, Joe--there's your "out" door--why don't you take it? We all knew he was lying, but he did say it, and the Downing Street Minutes show he surely didn't mean it. So "fix" the blame on George, say you made a mistake by voting for the war and by trusting him, and apologize. Then move on.)

There you have it. A Michael Gerson special. A speech that preceded the key Congressional vote by only a few days, and was so important that, as Prados says, "The White House put out the word that Bush's Cincinnati VFW speech would be the definitive presentation of the Iraqi threat to America." A well-crafted pack of lies, leading a supine press, a cowed Congress, and an abused and ignored (and too often, eye-averting) public to war.

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-cobble/3rd-year-anniversary-of-b_b_8446.html

John, Hilary, Joe and the others could do an enormous service to America and humanity if tomorrow, October 7, 2005, they stood together on the steps of the US Capitol and apologized for their dereliction of duty and urged Congressman Conyers to step forward and lead the Republic to cleanse itself of Bush and the neoconsters and do what it takes to repair our Republic and our standing as a legitimate and lawful member of the world community of Nations.

No more business as usual. No more politics as usual. Our Republic is being killed from within by a delusional tyrant and a gang of war criminals, liars and thieves.

Peace.

[redqueen]

1. Has anyone called them yet and suggested they do so?

I think I will.

[understandinglife]

2. I am in the process of sending the request to each of them. Hope others ..

.... do the same.

Thank you.


Peace.

[Mass]

5. Why is Biden out of this?

(I assume Joe is Lieberman).

[understandinglife]

7. Actually, I don't think any of them are excluded ... write all of them!

Peace.

[Mass]

9. Can I chose somebody else than Conyers?

Gore has been elected president.

[understandinglife]

12. I'm a staunch supporter of the 1st Amendment ...

.... I admire Vice President Gore, enormously.

It is my opinion, nothing more, that the person most qualified to lead us to overcome the crisis the Republic is embroiled is Congressman Conyers.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

8. My message:

Dear Senator _________,

Steve Cobble just posted an analysis of Mr. Bush's infamous October 7, 2002 VFW speech:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-cobble/3rd-year-anniversary-of-b_b_8446.html

I urge you to read it.

But, more importantly, I request you read the following and take action, as recommended:

You and your colleagues in the Senate and the House could do an enormous service to America and humanity if tomorrow, October 7, 2005, you stand together on the steps of the US Capitol, apologize for your dereliction of Constitutional duty, and urge Congressman Conyers to step forward and lead the Republic to cleanse itself of Bush and the neoconsters, and do what it takes, together, to repair our Republic and restore our standing as a legitimate and lawful member of the world community of Nations.

No more business as usual.

No more politics as usual.

Our Republic is being killed from within by a delusional tyrant and a gang of war criminals, liars and thieves.

The whole world is not merely watching, the whole world knows the truth.

What side of history are you on, Senator?

Peace,

Peace.

[Mass]

3. Everybody are entitled to their opinions, that is all they are: opinions.

The sad thing is that Conyers would probably disagree with this person.

[bleever]

4. I have been seething about this "war is the last resort" lie ever since

he began saying it, over and over, when anyone who could spell PNAC knew it was a lie, and anyone paying attention could see that the administration was going to great lengths (including spying on our allies) to head off any possibility of a diplomatic solution.

I agree: Dem leaders should admit that they were misled, that they believed the president, and that their votes were a mistake that they regret.

Then move forward.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Don't hold your breath. Courage and ethics aren't "practical politics".

Their DLC masters would never approve.

[LittleClarkie]

10. How many times am I going to have to reference "The Trial of John Kerry"

before someone actually reads the fucking thing.

Hang on. Don't get up. I'll be right back.

(google, google)

Okay, here it is, in answer to "John, Hilary, Joe and the others could do an enormous service to America and humanity if tomorrow, October 7, 2005, they stood together on the steps of the US Capitol and apologized for their dereliction of duty"

"This was the hardest vote I have ever had to cast in my entire career," Kerry said. "I voted for the resolution to get the inspectors in there, period. Remember, for seven and a half years we were destroying weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In fact, we found more stuff there than we thought we would. After that came those four years when there was no intelligence available about what was happening over there. I believed we needed to get the weapons inspectors back in. I believed Bush needed this resolution in order to get the U.N. to put the inspectors back in there. The only way to get the inspectors back in was to present Bush with the ability to threaten force legitimately. That's what I voted for."

"The way Powell, Eagleberger, Scowcroft, and the others were talking at the time," continued Kerry, "I felt confident that Bush would work with the international community. I took the President at his word. We were told that any course would lead through the United Nations, and that war would be an absolute last resort. Many people I am close with, both Democrats and Republicans, who are also close to Bush told me unequivocally that no decisions had been made about the course of action. Bush hadn't yet been hijacked by Wolfowitz, Perle, Cheney and that whole crew. Did I think Bush was going to charge unilaterally into war? No. Did I think he would make such an incredible mess of the situation? No. Am I angry about it? You're God damned right I am. I chose to believe the President of the United States. That was a terrible mistake.""

and

" The most revealing moment of the entire event came as it was breaking up. Kerry was slowly working towards the door when he was collared by Art Spiegelman. Though Kerry towered over him, Spiegelman appeared to grow with the intensity of his passion. "Senator," he said, "the best thing you could do is to is to just come out and say that you were wrong to trust Bush. Say that you though he would keep his promises, but that you gave him more credit than he deserved. Say that you're sorry, and then turn the debate towards what is best for the country in 2004."

Kerry nodded, bowed his head, and said, "You're right. I was wrong to trust him. I'm sorry I did." And then he was gone.

As far as the rest of your last paragraph, aside from feeling like I'm supposed to salute, I'm not sure what you're asking. Lead the Republic? Hrrr? Are we electing Rep. Conyers to something?

Specifically, what are you looking for Rep. Conyers to do that he's not already doing? Exactly what are you asking for?

[Mass]

11. It is useless to hope this type of things.

Attention span is as short on DU than elsewhere, and RW smears repeated as often.

:spank: :spank::argh:

[understandinglife]

13. I can quote what you posted in my sleep. And, I'm probably one of ...

... a few hundred folk who can.


I've been explicit as to what I am requesting in several posts on this topic.

I am requesting the Congressman call for Bush and Cheney to resign and to make their impeachment, if they do not resign, a unified campaign objective for every Democratic candidate in the 2006 election.

I am requesting the Congressman declare that he will be a candidate for President in 2008 and that between now and then he will continue to do all he has been doing to rectify the corrupt election system in this Nation, bring people to justice who were responsible for lying the Nation into an illegal and un-Constitutional war, and bring people to justice who are responsible for America becoming a State that sponsors torture.

And, I'm requesting that those members of both chambers of Congress who have any regard for the law and for basic human decency join in supporting Congressman Conyers in his efforts.

Thank you for asking for clarification.


Peace.

[LittleClarkie]

15. So, if you can quote it in your sleep, why were you calling for it again

apology-wise?

As for your specific requests, thank you for illuminating your original post. However, what you're essentially calling for is "Conyers 2008!"

As with any "blankety blank in 2008" thread, it's a bit early. And I'm pretty certain that several of the possible candidates are not going to suddenly give up their campaigns because you like Conyers better.

Draft him, let him enter the race, and let democracy happen. If he needs for the front runners to get out of his way before he has a chance, I'm not sure how he'd do in the general election. The leading Republicans will not be heeding your call to stand back, I'm sure.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I kinda like him where he is. He has the freedom to put teeth into what he says, as his seat is safe.

I don't think you'd like a Conyers running for president, as you'd see him moderate more than you would like.

[understandinglife]

16. Good of you to tell me what I would really like ... it is interesting ...

... for me to have folk tell me what I'd really like because it tells me that I need to be even more explicit.

Thus, I assure you I have stated exactly what I would like and what I intend to continue trying to motivate others to support.

And, no, I'm not "essentially" proposing "Conyers 2008."

I am specifically stating a request that Congressman Conyers lead an effort to unify all Democratic candidates for 2006 positions in the Senate and the House to have as a common goal the resignation, and if not that, then impeachment (House) and conviction (Senate) of Bush and Cheney after the Democrats regain control of both chambers in Jan 2007.

And, based on his then wide name recognition among American voters, I am urging that he run for President in 2008.

And, the message to Senator Kerry and every other Democratic member of the House and the Senate, is to create a forum in which every person has the opportunity to see and hear an unambiguous statement of accountability from all of them, and an unambiguous statement that they are going to hold Bush, Cheney and all the neoconsters responsible for lying to the Congress and the American people and the UN.

October 7, 2005 is an opportune moment to crystallize all of Bush's deceit and to then never allow that deceit to be avoided until it is legally rectified.


Peace.

[jillan]

14. Thank you for being the one to post this today!

Everyday, it seems as if someone has to explain WHY Kerry voted the way he did.

When will it be posted enough times that everyone on DU will have read it?