[Peace-discuss] the warmongers are having their way, despite our protests

[R. Brad Scott]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=578&u=/nm/20021104/ts_nm/usa_ships_iraq_dc&printer=1

Massive Military Cargo Ships Leave U.S. Ports - MSC

Three enormous U.S.-military owned cargo ships capable of carrying
tanks have left U.S. shores in recent days, a U.S. navy official said
on Monday, amid mounting evidence Washington is building up firepower
to attack Iraq. 
...

(And this, despite another article I just read yesterday at salon.com,
which establishes that a huge portion of the American public is
passionately against any war on Iraq.)

http://salon.com/politics/feature/2002/11/02/war/index_np.html

"Wellstone was right"
Politicians who voted against Bush's Iraq resolution were supposed to
pay a harsh political price. Instead, they're thriving on the campaign
trail.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Michelle Goldberg

Twenty-two senators and 133 congressmen voted against Bush's Iraq
resolution in October, authorizing the president to strike against
Saddam. And in not a single case, contrary to Washington's conventional
wisdom, does it appear to be hurting any of their chances for
reelection. It might actually be helping them.

The late Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., whose antiwar stance was
considered politically perilous given his close reelection fight
against Republican Norm Coleman, actually got a boost in the polls
after voting against the war. While he was trailing slightly before the
vote, a mid-October poll from the Minneapolis Star Tribune had him
running at 47 percent to Coleman's 41 percent. 
...

(The article goes on...):

...Congressional delegates from across the country who voted against
the resolution report unprecedented shows of support and thanks from
their constituents.

"I've been an elected official for 20 years," says Sen. Dick Durbin,
D-Ill. "I've cast thousands of votes, and I would put this as one of
the top votes when it comes to what I call street-corner reaction."
...
Durbin said. "I do train stations here [to meet] suburban commuters. I
must have seen 4,000 people, and exactly two came up and disagreed with
me on Iraq. I can't tell you how many people stopped in the rain and
took off their glove and said, 'I want to thank you for that vote on
Iraq.' It meant a lot." 

 "I was in church a couple of weeks ago right before the vote was
cast," Durbin continues. "I went up to take communion; I was kneeling
down and a guy stops next to me in the aisle and says, 'Senator Durbin,
stick with Senator [Robert] Byrd [D-W.V.] on Iraq.'"

Of course, all politicians claim their constituents' support, but
Durbin's comments are echoed by other antiwar politicians. And while
poll numbers for congressional races are harder to come by, most report
that their vote has only helped to shore up support. "It's been an
amazing response on the sidewalk," says Inslee. "On the ferryboats I
ride, there are people coming up to pat me on the back and telling me
they appreciate my vote. That hasn't happened in the last four years.
There's a very strong reaction from people who feel very strongly about
this issue."

"We had an unprecedented number of e-mails, phone calls and letters on
this issue," says Joel Barkin, spokesman for Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
"I would say that almost a thousand to one were against voting in
support of the resolution. The congressman believes that in fact this
country as a whole does not support this resolution."

How can that be? After all, the polls show that a majority of Americans
are behind Bush's Iraq policy. A Pew Research Center survey released
last week has 55 percent of the public supporting military action
against Saddam Hussein.

But while such polls roughly measure the drift of public sentiment,
they don't measure its intensity. "Polls are a reflection of breadth,"
says Wes Boyd, president of MoveOn. "We've seen polls on the Iraq
resolution and administration policy, and depending on how they're
worded, you get a lot of different readings." For example, in the Pew
poll, only 27 percent of respondents favor attacking Iraq without our
allies' support, and only 48 percent believe the president has
adequately explained his reasons for war. Such polls, says Boyd,
"indicate to us that the support the administration hoped was there is
paper-thin, that when you probe it a little bit, the view looks very
different. That's why we took up the campaign." 

 "I was in church a couple of weeks ago right before the vote was
cast," Durbin continues. "I went up to take communion; I was kneeling
down and a guy stops next to me in the aisle and says, 'Senator Durbin,
stick with Senator [Robert] Byrd [D-W.V.] on Iraq.'"

Of course, all politicians claim their constituents' support, but
Durbin's comments are echoed by other antiwar politicians. And while
poll numbers for congressional races are harder to come by, most report
that their vote has only helped to shore up support. "It's been an
amazing response on the sidewalk," says Inslee. "On the ferryboats I
ride, there are people coming up to pat me on the back and telling me
they appreciate my vote. That hasn't happened in the last four years.
There's a very strong reaction from people who feel very strongly about
this issue."

"We had an unprecedented number of e-mails, phone calls and letters on
this issue," says Joel Barkin, spokesman for Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
"I would say that almost a thousand to one were against voting in
support of the resolution. The congressman believes that in fact this
country as a whole does not support this resolution."

How can that be? After all, the polls show that a majority of Americans
are behind Bush's Iraq policy. A Pew Research Center survey released
last week has 55 percent of the public supporting military action
against Saddam Hussein.

But while such polls roughly measure the drift of public sentiment,
they don't measure its intensity. "Polls are a reflection of breadth,"
says Wes Boyd, president of MoveOn. "We've seen polls on the Iraq
resolution and administration policy, and depending on how they're
worded, you get a lot of different readings." For example, in the Pew
poll, only 27 percent of respondents favor attacking Iraq without our
allies' support, and only 48 percent believe the president has
adequately explained his reasons for war. Such polls, says Boyd,
"indicate to us that the support the administration hoped was there is
paper-thin, that when you probe it a little bit, the view looks very
different. That's why we took up the campaign." 



That article also included a link to this righteous org:

"Regime Change Begins at Home. Vote November 5th."
http://www.moveon.org/



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