June 16 AfterDowningStreet Rally

Picture from AfterDowningStreet.org

On Thursday, June 16, I drove from Sussex County, Delaware, in to Washington, D.C. listening to the After Downing Street Forum being held in the basement of the Capitol Building. I was able to hear the entire proceedings on C-Span Radio, for which I am very grateful. Broadcasting these proceedings was a real public service. They were riveting, to say the least. I hope many of our readers were able to either see or hear Conyers' witnesses and speakers Thursday afternoon. Cindy Sheehan's speech was extremely moving, and Ray McGovern's testimony was, IMO, extremely damning. The House members who attended the Hearing were impressed by what they heard, asked tough questions, and seem determined to do their best to see that some action is finally taken on determining how much deception was involved in the preemptive strike on Iraq. Maxine Waters, I have to say, is one kickass fearless human being. Her questions and remarks were powerful. You can read more about the Hearing from someone who was there here at Bob Fertik's blog at Democrats.com.

The rally in Lafayette Square Park after the Hearing was, I can't think of any other way to say this, most uplifting. It is always a shot in the arm to be with others who share one's strong political opinions, and the energy of a crowd is incomparable. Many of the speakers had also spoken at the Hearing, and I was glad to meet them in person. Their speeches were both moving and energizing, and can be accessed online at AfterDowningStreet. I haven't been able to get exact numbers on how many people were in attendance, people came and went during the hour and a half or so that the rally lasted. It was several hundred by all estimates. People had come from all over the country, both to speak and to attend. There was a flashback moment to my younger years and other protests when Tom Hayden unexpectedly showed up and took the podium for a moment. Hayden says he's "got a feeling." His history makes me hope that his "feelings" have some basis in reality or at least possibility.

The highlight of the rally was the moment when Rep. Conyers and the other reps at the rally went to the gate at the White House to hand over his letter and the massive stack of signatures obtained online in support of his letter requesting that the deception about our reasons for entering this war be investigated. This is all that is being requested, it is not impeachment, as I believe some have erroneously gathered. It is an enquiry into whether the President knowingly deceived Congress and the American people about the WMD and the threat to the U.S. posed by Saddam Hussein. With the real reins of power in the hands of a Republican Administration, Congress and Courts, I have some doubt that this effort will have much success. I believe it is up to us, American citizens who want to know the truth, to hold our Congressional representatives accountable. We cannot let this moment be spun, discounted, and ultimately disappeared, as so many previous moments of accountability have been. Keep up the pressure on your own reps, write your newspapers, talk to your friends, and if you have a few bucks to help those who are working fulltime to see a Resolution of Inquiry happen, go here and donate.

| +Save/Share | |