In March 2003, eight days before George W. Bush declared war on Iraq, Maines told a crowd in London that she was “ashamed” that Bush was also from Texas. Denunciation and death threats followed. They were dubbed traitors and “Saddam’s angels”. Local radio stations organized CD-burning protests and US conglomerates banned them from the airwaves, hobbling their career overnight. "It happened because she was a woman," Isbell said. "People didn't want to hear her opinion. And it gave them the opportunity to push another woman out of the entertainment business." By 2007, Bush’s lies about weapons of mass destruction were well established, his approval rating in tatters. The Chicks no longer considered themselves part of the country music industry. That year, they won all five of their Grammy nominations [three for "Not Ready to Make Nice"] – a moment of vindication. Maines wept backstage, the pressure finally dissipating. “I become a fighter when I’m going through something like that."
