They were basing their vote on the lies and cooked intel presented to them by Bush's handlers Ms. Gegonos. They were voting for the POTUS to have the authority to invade Iraq IF Sadaam did not disarm. It was a show of support for the POTUS in a time of grave national trauma. Once Sadaam submitted the 12,000 page dossier to the UN Security Council that in great detail showed how and when Iraq had disposed of its' chem/bio/nuclear programs and stockpiles and then Sadaam invited the UNSCOM weapons inspectors back into the country to verify that information any thought of conducting a pre-emptive war should have been shelved. The UNSCOM inspectors arrived back in Iraq in October of 2002 and scoured the nation using any intel we had as well as anything given them from any other country. They found nothing over the next five months and that should have been the end of the AUMF since it was clear that Iraq had indeed disarmed. Bush commenced his illegal war of choice anyway.