Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) last night hosted an hour of debate on the House floor for Democrats to speak out on the fourth anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
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Hinchey Delivers Remarks on Fourth Anniversary of the Invasion & Occupation of Iraq |
 It is a privilege and our great good fortune - to be members of your constituency. Your courage and conviction regarding basic human and democratic issues are inspiring and heartening, as expressed in your great letter of March 19. With your leadership we dare to hope and believe: we and those cherished principles will survive. Thank you! Keep up the good work. I appreciate your honesty, integrity and courage. Thanks for your work for peace! Thank you for being one of the few congressmen to speak out against this illegal and criminal war. Thank you for having the courage to vote against this invasion. Your stance in opposition to this war, to the attack on our civil liberties, and the other acts of the Bush administration that you have outlined, make us feel truly represented. We are horrified that this Congress has surrendered its prerogatives and powers. We are proud that you have had the courage to support our constitution, our democracy and have opposed "preemptive" war. Thank you for your tireless efforts to unseat Bush and bring back sanity and responsibility to the White House. Help us reverse the course the President has chosen. It is such a relief to hear from a politician what we know to be true of the Bush administration. Please, please continue to speak the truth in these dark days. We need you. I can barely express the relief I feel in the midst of a government turning inside out - to have my very own representative who behaves like an educated man and understands something of the chaos the administration has invited the whole world to share. Thank you. Thanks for your outstanding position on the war! This gift is a direct consequence of Mr. Hinchey's courageous stand against Bush's dirty little war in Iraq. You are one of the few voices of reason in this world of chaos - Please shout if that is what it takes to be heard. It was wonderfully refreshing to hear you speak out against the recent policies of the Bush Administration. It is a message that needs to go out to the entire public. Thank you for your courage. Please continue speaking out. Hinchey Rocks! The letter enclosed is truly masterful. I'm sending it to many people - it sums up what should have been done and what we must do in the future to prevent further destruction of what our country has always stood for. Best of luck to all of us. Thanks for saying, "Dissent is the Essence of Democracy"!!! Keep up your great work. You are a beacon of hope and light in these most difficult and dark days. You display tremendous courage speaking out against the madness of this war, and your voice rings out on behalf of working families who want peace. Thank you for your letter of the 19th of March. It expresses exactly my opinion. Our invasion of Iraq, without endorsement by the UN is contrary to International Law and has created widespread hate against the U.S. among many nations. But in spite of my opposition to this policy, I also fully support our men and women in the field. In this depressing and alarming time, it gives us hope to read a letter from our representative that we wholeheartedly support. Please keep up your strong and courageous work. I feel relief that there is at least one voice of sanity in Congress - someone who cares about our country, our civil rights, our responsibilities as citizens of the world. It is hard and depressing to see our government controlled by bullies who appear to care only about power and increased wealth for their cronies. May you succeed in your public service. Congratulations on your courageous critique of Bush's war in Iraq and his administration's misplaced domestic priorities. Thank you for being one of the few elected officials who has maintained his integrity! Thank you Maurice for being brave and honest enough to take a stand on Bush's destruction of environmental, economic and global diplomacy policies that have served Americans well - until now. I received a copy of your March 19 letter from my daughter. Although I am not a constituent, it is a joy to make a contribution to the campaign treasury. Please add my name to your mailing list. How on earth did the American public have their attention switched from Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 alleged mastermind, to Saddam Hussain? It is one of the greatest scams ever pulled on a people, it is disturbing to see so many fell for this stunt. Thank you for keeping some sanity in this conflict. I'm proud to support a legislator like you. Bush and his administration is destroying our international relations, our environment and our economy. You have a tough job but fight on and encourage your fellow congressmen to do the same. Thank you for standing up and speaking out when so few do. Please keep me on your mailing list. Thank you for your correct and courageous stand against the U.S. attack on Iraq. We have no right or legitimate reason to invade and conquer. Bravo for the action that you took in the House of Representatives. I am hopeful that the president will take the recommendation seriously. Good work, Maurice. Thank you! Maurice is my hero. THANK YOU, MAURICE! Thank you, Congressman, you have always kept faith with the Constitution. BRAVO Maurice! Well, let me tell you something. This is the first step of a new majority in this Congress taking the right kind of action on the basis of our obligations and responsibilities under the Constitution to stand up to the actions of this administration and to put this country back on the right track. Not just in the case of what is going on in Iraq, even though that is so terribly disastrous, but the consequences here in our own country, the intimidation of people, the internal spying, the elimination of habeas corpus, all of the impingements on the American Constitution, based upon the culture of fear cultivated purposely by this administration for their own personal and political objectives. No one in the previous leadership, no one in the previous majority, stood up to this administration in any kind of a constructive way. I am proud to call you my Representative. I have not heard any national politician to date publicly state the case for the Iraq tragedy as boldly and honestly as you did tonight. Although I have heard you speak about Iraq often here in the Hudson Valley, seeing and hearing you speak about Iraq on the floor of the House gave it much more importance and prominence. You summed up by emphasizing that this resolution of no confidence was only a first step in bringing this terribly misbegotten military adventure to an end. Please continue to use your position and influence to bring as wise and early an end to this war as possible. By now, I am no longer surprised at the incisiveness and clarity with which Congressman Hinchey tackles the awesome problems facing our nation. His hearkening back to Bush's infamous State of the Union address which propelled us into this gruesome war stimulated the following version of the old miners' song, "Sixteen Tons": He spoke sixteen words and what did we get? A war in Iraq and deeper in debt. St. Peter, don't you call me -- I've still got work -- Gotta rid TV of that self-satisfied smirk. Henry Foner Both Sally Luther and I are thrilled with Maurice's wonderful work he is doing in Congress. Thanks, Maurice, for continuing to stand up to the evil in the White House. Thank you, Rep. Hinchey for speaking out about this. We are fortunate to have you as our Representative in Congress! Hinchey for President |
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