By Carl Davidson

More than 10,000 people took part in 300 rallies across the country yesterday, May 2, to protest President George W. Bush's veto of a Congressional bill that included language setting a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

The protests were coordinated nationally mainly by MoveOn.org and Citizen Action, but a wide range of antiwar groups took part in each local city.

In Chicago, about 200 protesters gathered at Federal Plaza at 5pm with banners and noisemakers to protest Bush's decision.

"This war was wrong from the beginning," said Alderman Joe Moore. 'It's not only killing the people of Iraq unjustly, it's also taking it's toll in this city, with lives lost to cutbacks in health care, all connected to the cost of the war." Moore was one of several Aldermen who spearheaded the Chicago City Council's vote against the war before it started, and a second vote for withdrawal after the war was well underway.

Marilyn Katz, co-chair of Chicagoans Against War and Injustice (CAWI), explained that the measure Bush vetoed was not what the antiwar movement had hoped for, but his action, nonetheless was really an attack on the majority of the country that has come to oppose the war.

"People have seen through Bush's lies,' said Ra Chaka of the African American Alliance for Peace and Justice. "We have had enough of it. The people of Iraq have had enough lies. It's past time to get out and bring the troops home."

Speakers from World Can't Wait, which also called for protesting the veto, tied Bush and the war to an overall drift toward a fascist danger, and called for Bush's impeachment. David Orr, Cook County Clerk, also addressed the rally, calling on volunteers to democratically expand the electorate by registering all high school seniors to vote in a drive over the next three weeks. Several veterans were also on the platform.

"Part of the terrible toll of this war," explained Ray Parrish of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, 'is the ongoing suicides among soldiers who have returned. I see it all the time, and the only way to stop it is to stop the war."

Wrapping up the rally, CAWI stressed the importance of everyone's talking to their state representatives to pass HR0173, a resolution introduced into the Illinois legislature by Rep Lou Lang of Skokie, calling for 'immediately beginning an orderly and rapid withdrawal' from Iraq.

Following are links to two video of the Chicago rally, plus some news reports from other rallies around Illinois:

video.nbc5.com/player/

www.youtube.com/watch


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WMBD/WYZZ TV
BLOOMINGTON, IL

More than 300 rallies occurred all over the US tonight, organized by the group moveon.org . They were protesting the Presidents veto of the Iraq Spending Bill. Dozens protested in the Twin Cities tonight.

They stand together: Against the war, against the president, against the veto.

"To stand up and be counted, to make sure the politicians in Washington know people are unhappy with this war," Protester Rick Heiser said.

Just hours before the rally, House Democrats failed to override the veto, something these protesters suspected all day. "I think it's just time to start bringing the troops home," Protester Linda Unterman said.

Congressman Ray LaHood voted to maintain the president's veto. "This was just an opportunity for the democrats to try and stick it to the president," he told us by telephone.

LaHood says if he was present at this rally, he'd tell people to...."be patient - give this new strategy a chance to work." Protester Joan Schuetz disagrees. "Have patience in a bunch of nincompoops? That's ridiculous!” she said.

We asked him why he felt setting benchmarks or establishing a timetable is a bad idea. "If you want to use the analogy of a sporting event.... telling the opposition team at a certain point you're going to walk off the court," he said.

LaHood reminds us this is a very competitive war. He believes putting a circle on a certain date would have given "the enemy" free reign to do whatever it wanted to. He says we do need a plan, but we also need to fund troops' efforts. "We honor those who've been in Iraq and doing the hard work by finishing the job,” he said, “by not leaving."

LaHood says we are making progress in Iraq. He says there are now more peaceful places in Iraq then violent areas.

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The Edwardsville Intelligencer
Edwardsville, IL
May 3, 2007

Voters thought they sent a message to Washington in November by putting a majority of Democrats in Congress.

But now, they are sending another one.

An effort is under way locally to protest President George Bush's veto of the Iraq Spending Bill -- legislation that calls for American troops to begin pulling out of Iraq by Oct. 1.

The Metro-East Council of Operation Democracy, a group affiliated with MoveOn.org., conducted a rally at the city park on Wednesday.

Wednesday's wet weather didn't help the turnout, but it didn't stop it either.

The bill was passed by both the U.S. House and Senate and was then vetoed by Bush on Tuesday.

Bush said he vetoed the bill for several reasons during a nationally broadcast statement from the White House on Tuesday.

He said the bill creates a "rigid and artificial deadline" to withdraw the troops from Iraq.

He said this deadline would hinder troops left behind during the withdrawal and aid the enemy.

"It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing. All the terrorists would have to do is mark their calendars and gather their strength -- and begin plotting how to overthrow the government and take control of the country of Iraq."

In addition, Bush said the bill included billions of dollars in non-emergency spending that is not related to fighting the war on terror.

However, Democrats would like to see a time line for troop withdrawal.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "This legislation respects the wishes of the American people to end the Iraq War."

Chairman of the Metro-East Council Pamella Gronemeyer said local residents will rally peacefully to show the president that they are against his veto.

"I think President Bush did not hear the November election and the opinion on the Iraq War in the polls," Gronemeyer said.

She said this is a democracy and people need to express their opinion.

"We are trying to voice our opinion," she said.

The rally is just one of many to be conducted throughout the country, she said.