Conyers rises to take on Bush (DetFP frontpage with big pic)

[Bozita]

http://www.freep.com/news/nw/conyers10e_20050910.htm

Conyers rises to take on Bush


Congressman seizes upon Iraq war memos

September 10, 2005


BY RUBY L. BAILEY
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF



WASHINGTON -- At age 76, U.S. Rep. John Conyers -- long a hero to civil rights activists -- has grabbed a new torch: darling of the antiwar, anti-Bush far left.


Conyers, arguably President George W. Bush's harshest congressional critic on Iraq policy, openly proclaims that his goal is nothing short of impeaching the president.


That kind of rhetoric is fueled by his embrace of the Downing Street memos -- the eight British intelligence reports that activists from Rochester Hills to London believe are the smoking gun that proves Bush misled Congress about the case for war against Iraq.


Conyers, who is expected to speak outside the White House at a Sept. 24 antiwar rally, has had his staff feverishly working to complete a comprehensive report about the memos -- something he knows many of his colleagues won't read.

more, lots more...

[babylonsister]

1. Go, Mr. Conyers! He's my hero! nt

[calimary]

6. No shit - mine, too!!!

I love John Conyers! Brave, courageous and bold. And determined to seek IMPEACHMENT, too? Be still my heart!!!

I called his office yesterday. I suspect more than a few others of us here did, too - and a lot more than those here.

We need to make sure he knows we've got his back. AND we need to let OTHER Democratic congresspeople know that same thing, so THEY, in turn, will also support him.

And perhaps MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: We need to make sure republi-CON members of the House know this, too. That it's THEM, and NOT US, who are on the losing side now.

I suspect the momentum will only grow as
1) "loser stench" starts to stick to bush - look at those new poll nunmbers, will ya? THIRTY-EIGHT percent?!?!?!?
2) CNN won the tug-o-war on whether the media can show the bodies in New Orleans - that freedom of the press was perhaps the single-most critical factor in turning the public against the Vietnam war and which has been the single-most critical factor in keeping the public apathetic, uninvolved, and asleep about the horrors and true costs of Iraq (hmmm... apathetic, uninvolved, asleep - just like "our president!").
And compound that with
3) Cindy Sheehan will be back in the news. There's a HUGE anti-war gathering in Washington later THIS month - September 24th, and I'm betting there will be legions and legions more people joining in, outraged over the criminal negligence of this White House toward New Orleans.

It's just gonna get better and better, folks.

Better and better.

Get the popcorn.

I truly believe this.

The momentum has switched to OUR side. Critical mass has been reached. We have seen at the tipping point, and it is HERE. NOW.

Oh yes, and there's a 4) here, too - Fitzgerald's Plame investigationn is about to wrap up and produce results of some kind.

PLUS: a 5) There's open speculation, in the "Washington Times" of all newspapers, that George Tenet may be about to turn because he's decided he's not gonna be the fall guy on the 9/11 intel fiasco anymore. Apparently, congressional investigators want to take him to task, fingering him as the main culprit, while he'd assumed he wouldn't be scapegoated because of a wink-and-nod deal with bush that was sealed by his receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom - which the White House evidently is no longer interested in doing.

Fasten your seat belts, bushies. It's gonna be a bumpy night.

And I, for one, couldn't be MORE delighted!!!

[mod mom]

14. John Conyers has enough stamina and integrity for all of us to share!

(And btw, I had his picture as my avatar before it was popular.)

[longship]

2. I am not far left.

It is the country which has gone far right.

On edit: I am a proud liberal.

[acmejack]

7. "Out here on the middle,

They broke into you car last night
Took the stereo
Now you say you don?t know why
You even live there anymore
The garage man didn't see a thing
So you guess it was an inside job

You made a reservation
Table for three
Said you had to wait
Somebody must?ve bribed the maitre d
The boss got mad
And he blamed it all on you
The food was bad
And the deal fell through

Out here in the middle
You can park it on the street
You step up to the counter
You nearly always get a seat
Nobody steals
Nobody cheats
Wish you were here, my love
Wish you were here, my love

We got tractor pulls and Red Man chew
Corporate relo-refugees that need love too
And we ain't seen Elvis
In a year or two

We got justification for wealth and greed
Amber waves of grain and bathtub speed
Now we even got Starbucks
What else you need

Out here in the middle
Where the centers on the right
And the ghost of William Jennings Bryan preaches every night
To save the lonely souls
In the dashboard light
Wish you were here, my love
Wish you were here, my love

Out here in the middle
Where the buffalo roam
We're puttin' up towers
For your cell phones
And we screen all applicants
With a fine-tooth comb
Wish you were here, my love
Wish you were here, my love
Wish you were here, my love



Robert Earl Keen Out Here In The Middle Lyrics

[IndyOp]

8. CORRECT - Since when has casting and counting votes fairly

been FAR LEFT?

:grr: :nuke: :grr: :nuke: :grr: :nuke:

[pberq]

29. Exactly.

And since when is someone who opposes a President lying to the American people about a war that has cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars far left?

I guess treason is the in thing these days and anyone who calls this administration on it is smeared as far left.

[fooj]

34. I'm so dizzy my head is spinning...

Spin. Spin. Spin. Counting votes= far left nut jobs

IMO, this article attempts to undermine his credibility.

The important thing to remember is Congressman Conyers is a man of integrity who honors truth. Can we help it if the truth is on our side? LOL!

Peace.:patriot:

[Pithy Cherub]

3. John Conyers speaks for me!

And the far left is much bigger these days because the right is in lemming cliff jumping mode!

I :loveya: John Conyers!

[I Have A Dream]

4. He would make such a great president. He has such heart and...

such a wonderful soul. Too bad that there's not a chance in hell that he'd win. :(

[calimary]

11. Now THERE is an idea whose time has come. John Conyers for President.

I'm not entirely sure that there's "not a chance in hell that he'd win."

Not anymore. With the way things are going now, with what America's been force-fed of the previously-unspoken tragedy of New Orleans (and, for that matter, of most of America's have-nots), now might just be the time. Now might just be the time.

If his national profile grows because of this, if the IMPEACHMENT movement gains more momentum, as it could with the confluence of events stacking up against bush and the republi-CONS, and the awakening of a justifiably outraged and activist black America - that now knows better - beyond ANY doubt - that they've got no business EVER voting republi-CON, I'm not sure it's so far beyond the realm of possibility anymore.

We'd need a governor to balance the ticket - how about the guy from Montana?

Visualize...

Visualize...

Why the hell not?

[CAcyclist]

16. I'll Third That

Conyers For President - someone start making bumper stickers.

[MelissaB]

17. It would be a dream come true for me.

:yourock: Mr. Conyers!

[eShirl]

5. "antiwar, anti-Bush far left"

more like mainstream

[me b zola]

9. I stand with Congressman Conyers!

I am so excited, I will hear him speak in DC!!!!

[Opusnone]

10. I Say YOu Go Mr. Conyers!The Country is so far right

Liberals are the conservatives now.
The right are neo-CON zionistas. We can give them all control, privatize everything and lock your doors.
Or we can rally round heroes like Congressman Conyers, Ron Paul, Al Gore, Dr. Marble and Jabbar Gibson (the amazing young man who commandeered a bus to take evacuees to Houston).

[calimary]

13. Welcome to DU! Glad you're here!

Now's NOT the time to slack off. WE NEED YOU to help transform this into REALITY!!!

I swear to Dearest Merciful God - the momentum has shifted. It's OURS now. And if we don't make use of it, we deserve what the bad guys are gonna try their damnedest to shove down our throats.

I stand with John Conyers. I think he's presidential material. Looking more and more like it, every day. When the pink tutu crowd finally grows a spine and comes around, he'll be one of the few in the front-row trenches who can say he was there from the beginning.

Mr. Conyers, I salute you! I now have my preferred candidate.

[yurbud]

12. When whites supported civil rights in the 60s, we did OURSELVES...

a favor.

The black congressional caucus has been the most consistent opposition to the Bush push toward a corporate one party state.

This probably sounds kind of pollyanna (which I hate) but when you do good for someone else, you aren't just giving something away, you can be doing something for yourself without even knowing it.

[EFerrari]

15. Amen. The BCC is the only group on the Hill that I trust. n/t

[Talismom]

23. I couldn't agree more! I can't imagine what we'd do without the CBC! n/t

[MaryBear]

41. OURSELVES is everyone!

I'm not meaning to say that the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's didn't benefit a particular group.

I'm saying that everyone benefits when anyone has civil rights. And we're probably not arguing here - and I'm not meaning to highjack this thread - but I wanted to say WE are US.

John Conyers for President! Right on! Who would be the VP candidate?

[yurbud]

42. your subject says it all. How would we treat people if there was no THEM?

[sarcasmo]

18. Nothing short of Impeachment. That is a classic statement.

[understandinglife]

19. A leader for all time - Congressman John Conyers.

Peace.

[JoFerret]

20. Conyers FREEPS Bush

.

[faithnotgreed]

21. now there is a leader - and he most definitely speaks for me

[Talismom]

22. Conyers/Feingold '08! n/t

[JNelson6563]

24. No, Conyers is too old

He'll be 79 in 08.

Julie

[Talismom]

25. He's got a lot of life in him! I'd vote for him with no hesitation.n/t

[Nickster]

30. Me too, in a fricking heartbeat.

[JNelson6563]

36. I highly doubt he'd consider running

and I doubt even more he'd be given the nomination due to just that fact. Too impractical.

If there's someone I could take 20 years off of, he's it. :toast:

Julie

[kestrel91316]

28. As much as I love JC, I have to agree. 79 in '08. Best we keep him

RIGHT WHERE HE IS. He is doing a very necessary job, and doing it superbly.

[Laelth]

33. Head of the Judiciary Committee

if the Dems. retake Congress. Conyers is exactly who I want screening and recommending federal judges at all levels.

:patriot:

-Laelth

[calimary]

40. Fuck it. Didn't stop Ronnie Raygun.

We need what we need. And you go to war with the army you have.

[SharonRB]

26. I'm in that picture with him

I'm standing to his left (right in the photo), holding the paper. We had a few people from DU there that day and I thought this would never be printed since it's been so long. I was shocked when I saw it this morning. They didn't identify me, although I gave the photographer my name.

[goforit]

27. Mr. Conyers...you have my support!!!

Got a website?

[shadowlight]

31. "far left"?? n/t

[fooj]

35. Welcome to DU!

It's called SPIN! They are masters at it. After a while, I guess it's just like anything else...old hat! LOL

Peace.

[IndyOp]

32. CHECK OUT THE PICTURE OF 'THE MAN' --

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2079950#2080029>

:bounce:

[Barkley]

37. He's right! Bush Must Go!

[Imagevision]

38. Mr Conyers meet us in DC. on Sept. 24th along with Cindy and

Katrina survivors...!


http://downingstreetmemo.com/

[ninkasi]

39. He's a great man

I wish every Democratic politician had his courage and ability to stand up for the citizens of this country. He is definitely a national treasure. Conyers would NEVER stand for wearing a pink tu-tu, unlike some of his colleagues.