Q: 'How did bush & cheney get away with it all'? A: We let them.

[Philosoraptor]

A lot of Americans find this difficult to accept, because a lot of us actually tried to stop them, but as long as the majority allows them to be above the law, that's where they will stay.

Now, will they get away with all their crimes Scott free? Only if we let them.

[lisa58]

1. Exactly!

[OwnedByFerrets]

2. How would you suggest WE stop them??

Seriously?

[Philosoraptor]

3. All serious discussion stops at this very point.

[rurallib]

4. Most of us here have tried to stop them

I think most of the blame lies at the feet of congress and more specifically Pelosi. Lord knows I have had conversations with my local congress critter.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Most Americans aren't paying attention

Sadly.

[lunatica]

6. If you're serious about having a discussion

And not just wanting to simplify it by accusing us of 'letting them' it would be a good idea to explain what 'letting them' means in our reality based estimation.

Sure some of us saw it coming, and some of us saw it happening and realized what was going on, and some of us did what we could about it. Just one example of what we were up against is this: We marched in peaceful anti war demonstrations more than once which we thought was the time honored way of communicating our objections, but WE WERE IGNORED. There was little to no media coverage, and when there was it was dismissive. We didn't 'let that happen'. But it happened. Bush said that those demonstrations, even after they were world wide were just a 'focus group'. He told us to go shopping. In this country we are no longer citizens. We are consumers. Everything has become a sales pitch.

Congress, the Senate and the Bush administration say one thing (the sales pitch) while doing the opposite. Most Americans believe them because the tv repeat the sales pitch and deliberately ignores the obvious inconsistencies that only a few of us see. The only reason we see anything resembling what's really happening is because we're political junkies and dig for the facts ourselves. I know I found DU because what I saw happening drove me to search for the truth.

And another old fashioned action that won't work anymore is the taking to the streets and rioting. The days when pitchfork rioting at the gates of the dictator were effective are over. One doesn't have to try it to realize it simply won't work. First of all anyone trying it will be dismissed as part of the lunatic fringe by the media which will largely ignore any reasons for the rioting at the behest of those in power. Even in the 60s when there was rioting in the streets it still took years and years to end the war. Now all those youthful rioters are in their 60s. Do you expect senior citizens to be seen as a physical threat by the Bush administration or by the media?

So it's pretty obvious that they're in power in spite of us and not because we allowed it. If we ever do bring them to justice it won't be in the historic way of marching or rioting.

Perhaps one solution is to stop being influenced by the 'sales pitch' they keep feeding us. If we stop buying the crap we stop giving them power over us. That may already be happening anyway, only not because we choose it, but because they created the economic catastrophe that's happening now. The problem is, we lose too.

[moondust]

7. The media deserve a lot of blame.

If they had reported Bushco's criminal acts honestly instead of playing them down and playing along as virtual collaborators, I think the public might have reacted with appropriate outrage and forced Congress to take action. Unfortunately, if the media don't set the right tone a lot of people won't get it on their own.