General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Thank you Senators Byrd, Kennedy, Leahy, Jeffords and all those who voted against the IWR [View all]bigtree
(85,977 posts). . . I watched carefully and have a different position than yours. Lashing out at me with charges of 'revisionism' and 'hubris' is just an invitation to engage in the type of divisive back and forth that you obviously crave. that's what this post of yours is all about, isn't it? It's not an invitation to a debate, it's an invitation to a mauling for anyone who dares hold a different point of view.
You really believe that Senators didn't hear Bush declare before the vote that he intended to invade, no matter what they did? You really believe that every 'no' vote wasn't (knowing Bush's intentions) politically motivated.
Some Senators knew what Bush intended, saw Byrd's amendment fail, and concluded they might be able to direct bush back to the UN and allow inspectors to continue. That's what they stated and you can either believe them or not. You can call that wrongheaded, naive, or anything you want, but when you start calling folks liars . . .that's your own burden of proof.
I did what I could to explain how I viewed that vote. I paid as close attention as ANYONE, and I take a backseat to no one here in my opposition to what Bush ultimately did.
I think it's just amazing that you can burn about Iraq and not say ONE word of blame for Bush's push past Congress and the American people to invade. Much more of a deafening silence about the subsequent votes to fund the occupation (which are the most defining actions Congress can take to restrain a president from the use of military force).