"I knew Bush would abuse the power given him under the IWR. Why didn't Congress?"

[Bucky]

I marched and burned candles in the park and emailed my Democratic congresswoman (who opposed the IWR anyway) because I just knew in my gut the Bushies wanted to go to war back in 2002 and I wasn't sure even rejecting the IWR could've stopped them. I'm not claiming to be smart, mind you; it's just that as a life long Texan (and frankly as someone who's worked professionally with the victims of domestic and alcohol abuse) I knew to be deeply deeply mistrustful of everything Bush said or did.

So when DUer "ItsTheMediaStupid" said in another thread "I knew Bush would abuse the power given him under the IWR. Why didn't Congress?" I thought, "Hey! Me too!"

Copycatting MediaStupid, I'm wondering how trustful you were of Mr Bush in 2002 when the Iraq War Resolution was shamefully passed. Did you know know he'd start a war or just kinda think he would... or was the actual descent into violence a surprise that woke you up.... or did only the mismanaged course of the war turn you against it?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[wake.up.america]

1. I hate to sound pompous, but I, a non American who does not live in the US, ...

said in 2000 that Bush would be a disaster for America. Why was it that I could see this and only now are millions of Americans beginning to see the light?

[northofdenali]

2. Sadly, wake.up, you and many, many others

saw disaster in the making. What many Americans thought they saw was a "good 'ole boy". I didn't, nor did anyone I associate with - but he appeared benign to way too many folks with just enough naivete and Xtianiaty to buy into the act.

On to the Hague!

[calimary]

5. Proud member of the "We Tried to Warn You" club. Charter member.

Many of us here, on DU and elsewhere in Progressive America, knew this was a loser from the start. We read more than just the standard newspapers and magazines. We sought out other views (lots of 'em from the UK Guardian and elsewhere around the planet). We didn't confine our TV viewing only to the Pox Noise Channel. We didn't put our brains on numb and listen to limbaugh and other bush-bots on the radio. We sought out other and more detailed information on the net. We didn't accept the handouts, or drink the Kool-aid. We tried to seek out the truth. We found it. We knew enough, and never had the privilege of those much-vaunted Presidential Daily Briefs. We had what we could search out via the seats of our pants. And we found enough. PLENTY enough - to make informed decisions about this war during the run-up. Many of us knew enough to go out and hoist protest signs and join marches and sign petitions. And call our reps and beg and plead and email and fax and nag. Only difference is, NOW, people are starting to listen to us without scoffing or calling us names (at least the ones whose souls CAN be saved).

And I'm with Robert Redford. I agree with him that we are ALL owed a HUGE apology. We were called every name and adjective in the book. The only thing we weren't called, and which was the only correct label possible, was "correct." We were right all along. We've been proven correct, by the passage of time and the expanding collections of facts.

We saw what it all was. We saw what and who bush was. We weren't fooled. And we weren't taken in, for one minute, by his crawfishin' and good ol' boy schtick and oily, scheming "charm offensive." And I think we deserve a great deal of credit for that.

In fact, when I saw him accepting "victory" in the 2000 election, after the Supremes had stabbed America in the heart, and he made this big deal about being introduced by the Democratic head of the Texas legislature to show how broadminded and inclusive and bipartisan he was, I got this cold chill. I remember thinking "uh-oh... here's trouble." Didn't know why I was feeling that way, and certainly couldn't have imagined what hell-on-earth he would bring upon us. All I remember is that I DID feel that way. Huge sense of foreboding. I'll never forget that.

[northofdenali]

6. calimary, I have never been more sick

than I was the day I woke up and found out the Court had given away our country. The sense of foreboding you mention? I had it from the day I found out IT was running for president, knowing the money and power behind the name.

I fear for my country, even now, even after our 2006 victory. I'm running scared.

[calimary]

10. I know what you mean.

I just will never be able to shake the memory of that feeling - that "uh-oh... here's trouble," and that gnawing feeling of acid buildup that started rising in the pit of my stomach.

Strangely, I feel a lot less fear for my country at this point. Not sure why, and I've certainly been off-base many times before. But I'm now steeped in this weird sense of - well, what I've come to refer to as "the realm of the possible." Things just seem a whole lot more possible now. Things I want to see happen. We HAVE reached critical mass. The tide has shifted and the momentum is indeed in OUR favor. Stay strong! We all certainly have each other for help getting through this. Good LORD am I grateful for DU!

[northofdenali]

12. I think I'm more than a little grateful for DU, as well -

I think DU has, almost literally, saved my life. I'm usually pretty upbeat, but the last several years have been a fight with fear and depression. Without DU, and my wonderful husband, I would have needed intervention.

Which is definitely something the White House could use - a STRONG intervention, including mandatory hospitalization and strong meds!!

[Kahuna]

3. Basically, installing TWO oilmen in the Whitehouse was very

STUPID. I tried to convince as many as I could in 2000 that it would lead to disaster. Anybody with half a brain could realize that.

[rainy]

9. Because our media is so bad. We have a governement/corporate partnership

here that allows the government to spew whatever it wants and the lapdog media goes along. The journalists don't want to lose their jobs. They have to tow the bosses' lines and stay in the mainstream (gov. is good) mentality.

We don't see much of the real news that you see. Even our own CNN gives us different stories then they give overseas.

[RestoreGore]

Congress knew, they just cared more about themselves...

And some had presidential ambitions and thought it might look good on their resumes and poll numbers to have "won in iraq." I am almost positive of that. Others , well, either they were simply stupid, or they just didn't care about the repercussions, or they are partyliners who vote for anything no matter how it hurts this country... unfortunately, we have those on both sides and I don't think that will ever change.

I knew he was a snake in the grass the moment I laid eyes on him, so for the life of me I try to comprehend how this country has lost so much with supposedly such "intelligent" Senators in the Congress...especially those there long enough to know what a farce the first Gulf War was in regards to the "PR" surrounding selling it. I guess the people are seeing all too clearly now as well that it isn't only Bush who wears the Emperor's clothes, but others as well who have enabled this tragedy and so much more.

But humans are basically creatures who don't do anything about the train wreck coming until it crashes...and the same thing is happening regarding global warming now. They won't really give a damn until half of Greenland falls in the ocean and their beach front property is damaged or no longer there... when it hits home is only when it seems people care. Then it's always the cry, 'Oh, we should have listened!' Anyway, the only way I will now believe people are seeing the light, is when I see Bush and his cohorts brought out of the White House in handcuffs and orange jumpsuits.

[RestoreGore]

4. Congress knew, they just cared more about themselves...

And some had presidential ambitions and thought it might look good on their resumes and poll numbers to have "won in iraq." I am almost positive of that. Others , well, either they were simply stupid, or they just didn't care about the repercussions, or they are partyliners who vote for anything no matter how it hurts this country... unfortunately, we have those on both sides and I don't think that will ever change.

I knew he was a snake in the grass the moment I laid eyes on him, so for the life of me I try to comprehend how this country has lost so much with supposedly such "intelligent" Senators in the Congress...especially those there long enough to know what a farce the first Gulf War was in regards to the "PR" surrounding selling it. I guess the people are seeing all too clearly now as well that it isn't only Bush who wears the Emperor's clothes, but others as well who have enabled this tragedy and so much more.

But humans are basically creatures who don't do anything about the train wreck coming until it crashes...and the same thing is happening regarding global warming now. They won't really give a damn until half of Greenland falls in the ocean and their beach front property is damaged or no longer there... when it hits home is only when it seems people care. Then it's always the cry, 'Oh, we should have listened!' Anyway, the only way I will now believe people are seeing the light, is when I see Bush and his cohorts brought out of the White House in handcuffs and orange jumpsuits.

[Avalux]

7. I endured his governorship here in Texas - I knew too.

I think Congress knew but as usual, erred on the side of politics, only thinking about themselves instead of the good of the country. I still believe if 9/11 had never happened, Bush's first term would have been a small blip and he'd never have been reelected (although he didn't get elected in the first place). Al Qaeda's the best thing that ever happened to him.

[rainy]

8. Robert Byrd did warn about it but of course we do remember how empty

the chambers were when ever he was talking about the Iraq war. He warned that if the President so deemed it that Iran was involved with Iraq then he could take this war to that nation as well. In fact Byrd said if it could be connected to the war in Iraq then we were giving the President power to do what ever he wanted to do like a king.

[ms liberty]

11. I knew it, too...

If I - here in the back of beyond (meaning very rural NC) - knew that Iraq was not a threat, and that the Decider would use the IWR as permission to go to war, then damn straight the Congress should have known. They were just afraid of being portrayed as treasonous and cowardly, particularly in their next election cycle. They didn't want to give the GOP or the so-called liberal media that ammunition.

[Bucky]

13. I think I'm starting to see a trend among DUers from these poll results

But maybe it's too early to draw conclusions