In the whirlwind days of November and December 2004, with the taste of an obviously stolen presidential election fresh on many tongues, Congressman John Conyers looked like a Hero of Democracy, with his drive to find out What Went Wrong In Ohio, his support for the slowly emerging pro-democracy movement, and his seemingly determined quest to make impeachment happen.Since the midterm election of 2006, followed quickly by his announcement that "impeachment is off the table", I have been trying to forget all that, and trying especially hard to forget how I temporarily turned my blog into a billboard for the John Conyers Dog and Pony Show.
Since then I haven't said much about him, and that's been mostly a matter of respect, I suppose. In other words, I couldn't debase myself far enough to say what I really think about someone who suddenly forgot everything he seemed to stand for, and betrayed everyone who stood behind him.
Ray McGovern, who was arrested in Conyers' office along with Cindy Sheehan and many others on Monday, has solved a similar problem by showing the congressman more respect than he deserves:
I’ll give this to President Bush. He makes no pretence when he disses. He would not meet with Sheehan to define for her the “noble cause” for which her son Casey died or tell her why he had said it was “worth it.”I still can't lower myself to say what I really think, but you can read more from Ray McGovern at Bob Parry's Consortium News.
[John] Conyers, on the other hand, was dripping with pretence as he met with [Cindy] Sheehan, Rev. Lennox Yearwood and me Monday in his office in the Rayburn building. I have seldom been so disappointed with someone I had previously held in high esteem. And before leaving, I told him so.
Throwing salt in our wounds, he had us, and some 50 others in his anteroom arrested and taken out of action as the Capitol Police “processed” us for the next six hours.