This was written to two conservative friends of mine. Here is a link to one of their replies and my response to that.
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I don't really expect either of you to read this or agree with the purpose of the event that is described in the attached email, but I would ask that you read it. It is not about Bush or whether he lied to us as a country, but about hundreds of thousands of Americans, just like you, that want to know the truth, and want our president held accountable if he did lie.
As you may remember in 1998, when the Congress impeached Clinton, there was not a popular surge for it. The American people did not rise up and sign petitions and ask the Congress to persue an impeachment process again Clinton for lying about having sex. It was the Republican National Commitee and the rabib, neo-conservative pitbulls that are running out country now that pursued it. And I might also add that, as far as I know, no one has died becuase of Clinton's lie. How many Americans have died in Iraq so that Bush could avenge his father and benifit his campaing's contributors? Over 500, that's how many, not to mention the over 4000 wounded and the 10s of thousands of Iraqis that are dead (not that they matter, right?)
Now, if the President did lie, and from the looks of it, there is no way to dismiss that possibility (unless you just have blind faith in this administration, and if that is the case, I hope there are not too many more, or we are truly lost as a country) then it needs to be investigated, and not by a handpicked panel of the Bush administration's choosing, but by an independent counsel.
Ok, you know my opinion. Now read the opinion of other American's like me, and the 538,000 people that also signed the petitions to have President Bush censured. Oh, and for the record, I felt strongly enough about this to deliever a petition packet to my Senator.
Your Friend,
David
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Schurman, MoveOn.org [mailto:moveon-help@list.moveon.org]
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2004 8:22 PM
To: David N Griswold
Subject: How it went
Dear MoveOn member,
Thanks so much for participating in our Walk-In. It was an incredible event -- nationwide, more than 4,000 of us took part. We've put our Senators on notice that we expect them to step up to their constitutional responsibility to act as a check on the President.
The events varied widely from state to state in terms of how many people walked in. Hundreds of people delivered petitions in New York and Los Angeles. In rural areas, our numbers were smaller. But even there, the events had a real impact on the national debate over censure.
I've pasted a great article from the Billings Gazette, below, describing how the event was received in Montana. Also below are a few of your reports on how it went.
Thank you, and congratulations on a great action.
- Peter Schurman
MoveOn.org
February 21, 2004
P.S: Here are just a few of the reports we've received:
Sen. Feinstein (D-CA): It went well. It was quite normal. I just
walked in and handed the receptionist the signatures through a
little hole in a big glass window and told her a few words. I met
the person who had gone in before me and the person following me.
... I felt proud to be an American for the five minutes that it
took me to deliver the petition and it really brightens up my day
in our otherwise troubling political times. Thank you to all of
you too! Let's keep it going!
Sen Hagel (R-NE): I handed my Petition to the young man at the
desk at 2:45pm. He said, "Oh! I've got a stack of these!" And
pointed to other petitions that had been delivered earlier!
Sen. Inhofe (R-OK): Just fine. I was polite ... wore my Naval
helicopter necklace and my Navy Mom charm bracelet, both gifts
from my Naval pilot son.... I was greeted warmly, but the smile
froze when the receptionist realized what I was saying. I
thanked her, she thanked me.
Sen. Voinovich (R-OH): It went well. The staff at Senator
Voinovich's office was very courteous. They were already familiar
with the petition and had seen other moveon members that day. I
didn't feel the need to say much, so the encounter was brief. I
think the fact that I made the effort to go downtown with my 2
small, but quiet, children sent the message that this was an
important issue for me and my family. Thank you for organizing
this!! I wouldn't have done it on my own.
Sen. Wyden (D-OR): Great - Senator Wyden was just leaving for
lunch when I arrived, and I spoke with him for a few minutes. He
totally shares MoveOn's perspective and promises to fight to
dislodge this Administration.
Sen. Smith (R-OR) ...When I got in and explained who I was and
why I was there, the lady I talked with was polite but curt and
rather dismissive. At least that is my interpretation.... As a
service connected disabled vet I am scared to death for my country.
If you need or desire anything else from me, me and my wheelchair
are ready, willing and able...
Sen. Wyden (D-OR): Showered and shaved, wore a tie and sport coat
with my Vietnam service medal on the jacket lapel. First time in
35 years since I took it off in disgust.... Left the signature
sheets with the receptionist who added my pages to a stack about
12 inches tall. She said Move On had done a good job.
Sen. Chafee (R-RI): great! as i approached the elevator (while
holding my 2 yr old daughter) i saw senator Chafee walk past me.
i approached him politely and he stopped, cordially acknowledged
me to continue speaking. i told him why i was on my way to his
office. he said there have been many others today. he smiled and
continued on his way....
Sen. Hutchison (R-TX): The visit went about as expected, only I got
the feeling that quite a few people had shown up before me which
was a surprise - after all, this is Texas! The door to Senator
Hutchison's office was locked, so I was forced to ring the doorbell
at which time the receptionist came out to greet me. I explained why
I was there, who I was, and asked her to deliver the petition to the
Senator. She agreed, gave me a big sigh, and walked away. I got a
sense that she had been going through that routine all day.
P.P.S: Here's that article from the Billings Gazette:
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/02/20/build/nation/30-moveon.inc
MoveOn.org petitions senators to censure Bush for WMD claims
By JIM GRANSBERY Of The Gazette Staff
Local activists took part Thursday in a national effort to get U.S. senators to censure President Bush for misleading the country about the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"The idea is, during the recess, to go to the offices where they might be to deliver the petitions," said Jennifer Bertsch, of Billings, who presented her petition packet from a group called MoveOn.org at Republican Sen. Conrad Burns' office in the Granite Towers about 10 a.m. Thursday.
Bertsch said petitions and signatures were being taken to the offices of all
100 U.S. senators. Congress is in its annual President's Day recess and most
are in their home states.
Burns, who flew into Billings Thursday evening, said "President Bush made
a wise choice, that he could not fight this war on our ground."
The senator described MoveOn.org as a "Democratic splinter group and this is an election year. Enough said."
"Maybe they want to censure the majority leader and the minority leader, too," Burns said. "I was not misled."
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., was in Great Falls and Helena Thursday. Baucus did not respond to an interview request about the proposed censure, but issued a one-paragraph statement Thursday evening: "I think it is unfortunate and embarrassing that the United States failed to gather accurate intelligence. It hurts our credibility, but it doesn't change the fact that we did the right thing by removing Saddam Hussein from power."
Six of the petitions were brought to Burns' Billings office.
Doug Sire, of Billings, said he presented one of the packets to Burns' office and "a letter of my own to Baucus' office."
At least one of the Montana petition packets was delivered to Baucus' Helena office, a Baucus aide said.
Sire said Bush should be held accountable.
"There is a real smoking gun that he misled the country," Sire said. "And without any real reason we attacked a sovereign nation."
As to whether the effort would accomplish anything, Sire responded, "Watergate began with a whimper."
The packet Bertsch delivered had the names of 130 residents of Montana including six military family members. In all, the censure petition was signed by 2,064 Montana residents that included 80 military families.
Among those signing the petition was Keith Cooksey of Manhattan, who wrote, "We impeached Clinton for his lies concerning his dalliance, but no one died because of his misinterpretation of the truth. WMD misrepresentations have caused the deaths of many of our military personnel and it's not over yet!"
The censure effort is organized through the Internet by MoveOn.org.
MoveOn.org was founded by computer entrepreneurs Wes Boyd and Joan Blades during the Clinton impeachment debate as an online petition urging Congress to censure him and move on to other business.
With six paid staff members and Boyd and Blades serving as full-time volunteers, MoveOn.org has applied some of the same Silicon Valley strategies that turned eBay and Google into powerhouses.
MoveOn.org now claims 2.3 million members whose energy has been channeled into advocacy and millions of dollars for anti-Bush ads, one which CBS refused to run during the recent Super Bowl.
Thursday's petition stated "Congress must censure President Bush for misleading the country about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction."
The cover letter to the senators said, "In an attempt to escape responsibility for the misleading statements that led the nation to war, President Bush has announced an independent inquiry to look into what went wrong. An inquiry would serve the Bush administration well: It would envelop the issue in a fog of uncertainty, deflect blame onto the intelligence services and push any political damage into 2005, after the upcoming election.
"But the facts need no clarification. Despite repeated warnings from the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency, President Bush and his administration hyped and distorted the threat Iraq posed.
"You have the power to censure the President - to formally reprimand him for his betrayal of the nation's trust. If you do not act, Congress risks losing its relevance as a check and balance on the presidency."
According to MoveOn.org, after two weeks in circulation on the Internet, more
than 538,000 people in every state have signed the petition, including thousands
of military veterans and families that have sons or daughters in the armed forces.
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