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TechnoratiImpeachment, Like Spring, is in the Air
It's time for impeachment to come out of the deep freeze.
For a year now, Democratic leaders like Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Rep. Nancy Pelosi D-CA), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and DNC head Howard Dean have been working to tamp down the pressures to hold the president accountable for his crimes and abuses of power by way of impeachment.
House Speaker Pelosi for her part made it clear after the Democrats won the House that she would tolerate no talk of impeachment, even reportedly threatening one-time impeachment advocate Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) with the denial of his cherished position as chair of the House Judiciary Committee if he pushed ahead with or accepted bills of impeachment from other House members.
House leaders and Democratic Party leaders also worked behind the scenes to kill off grassroots attempts to follow Thomas Jefferson's alternative route to impeachment by getting state legislatures to pass bicameral impeachment resolutions. They strong-armed legislative leaders in the senates of both Washington State and New Mexico to block efforts to put such resolutions to a floor debate and vote in those two states, and have been working mightily to block a similar grassroots campaign in Vermont.
But the Democratic Party's efforts to tamp down impeachment efforts are coming unraveled, courtesy of the ongoing criminality of the Bush administration, which seems hell-bent on aggrandizing as much executive power as it possibly can before the clock runs out on Bush¹s second term of office.
Democratic state committees, the top party organizations at the state level, in both Oregon and Vermont, have overwhelmingly passed resolutions calling on the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings. In Vermont, 38 towns--roughly a third of those holding annual town meetings this past month--voted impeachment resolutions (only six were rejected), and an effort continues to move forward in both houses of that state's legislature to introduce and pass a Jeffersonian impeachment resolution to send to the House in Washington. Other efforts are underway in New Jersey and Maine.
Republican Senator and presidential dark horse Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has publicly stated that impeachment is a possibility, given the president's arrogant rejection of public or congressional accountability with regard to the war in Iraq and other issues.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has openly talked of submitting a bill of impeachment.
What's missing in all this has been media attention. In fact, until lately, the media have pretty much only reported about impeachment in the negative, running stories when an impeachment resolution gets blocked by a state legislature, but not when it gets backed by a legislative committee, or by a Democratic state party organization.
There has not been a scientific poll asking about impeachment sentiment since last October, when Newsweek Magazine published a poll showing that an astonishing 51 percent of Americans favored impeachment--half of those people even saying it should be a priority for Congress. Now things may be starting to change. Sen. Hagel's comments on the possibility of impeachment, first made in a Vanity Fair magazine profile, were reported on ABC, and impeachment advocate John Nichols was interviewed about impeachment and Hagel's comment on MSNBC. CNN also ran a story.
That's not much, but it's an indication that the ground is shifting.
With the White House pushing forward with a new war-marketing campaign--this time against Iran--and given mounting evidence of new White House crimes, from the political firing of federal prosecutors and the abusive use of national security letters by the FBI to spy on tens of thousands of Americans, to the disaster of the show trials in Guantanamo, to the lying by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, to evidence of both President Bush's and Vice President Cheney's involvement in the outing of and obstruction of justice into the investigation into the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, to the escalation of the war in Iraq and to the lying about and enforced manipulation of government evidence on global warming, the American people are getting completely fed up with the Bush administration.
A recent poll found that as lame as it has been in challenging the Bush agenda over the last six years, the Democratic Party has now become the favored choice of 50 percent of Americans, while support for the Republican Party has fallen to only 35 percent‹barely higher than the paltry 30 percent who still cling to their support of the president himself.
It would seem to be only a matter of time before Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic Party leadership will be forced to open the floodgates and permit the filing of impeachment bills.
The arguments made against impeachment--that it would be 'divisive,' that it would interfere with more 'pressing matters' in Congress, that it would mean making the almost universally loathed Cheney president, and that it would 'hurt Democrats' in 2008--are all looking increasingly shop-warn and contrived.
In fact, as the Bush crimes against the public, the Republic, the law and Constitution mount, the Democratic defenders of the president against impeachment are increasingly looking simply cynical and ridiculous.
There is a kind of seesaw effect at work here, where the weight of presidential power and prestige, combined with Democratic cowardice, has kept one side firmly planted on the ground, while critics of Bush crimes and constitutional abuses have remained stranded up in the air. But as the weight of the evidence of Bush administration criminality, arrogance and unconstitutional actions have mounted, and as more and more citizens have lost faith in the government, the beam has been tilting. It won't be long before it is the administration and the Democratic Party leadership who find themselves dangling and without support.
At that point, Pelosi and the DNC will have to surrender to the will of the grassroots, and step aside for the ensuing stampede of impeachment bills.
Impeachment, like spring, is in the air.
DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based investigative journalist and columnist. His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net and www.counterpunch.org. His most recent book, co-authored with Barbara Olshansky, is "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office" (St. Martin's Press, 2006).
25 Comments so far
Show AllThey better do it real soon. Charges and arrests need to be made to remove these thugs from office before they attack Iran becuase after that it will be too late — and they know it.
Vince L... I commend your efforts... I, too, nearly went crosseyed emailing congressmen before I discovered it was all in vain... I hate to see you waste so much valuable time emailing or wed-form mailing the politicians... most of their 'mail' is on Auto-Response, which means nobody ever actually reads any of it. USPO letters go through Homeland "security" and nobody ever sees those either. Ph calls are for the large part only taken by jr-assistants to some jr filing clerk, but USUALLY when you call their 'home offices' you WILL get to talk to some staff person... who may or may not relay your message. Don't count on it though. Politicians today have NO CLUE that they are supposed to be OUR "public Servants" :-(
You could have perhaps gathered a heck of a lot of signatures on an Impeachment Petition in 8 hours, though... if you have any steam left, perhaps you can try that next?
http://PledgeToImpeach.org is trying to dig up copies of ALL the petitions possible to take to DC on May 1st where they have arranged to have them presented all at once to Congress!
see Dave Lindorff's article for more info regarding that http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_dave_lin_070409_rep__danny_davis_to_.htm
Yes, impeachment must happen. My own most recent argument for it, "Note to U.S.: Impeach or Die," is at http://www.ericlarsen.net/foodforthought9.1.0.2007.html
The emergency is greater than I ever thought it might become. The very republic lies in the balance, not to mention stability of the world. And time is running out.
Eric Larsen
http://www.ericlarsen.net
I am sick of being sick of being sick at heart for these past six years. The nation laments the dead sacrificed to a war that was promoted as some kind of political football game our side would win because the other side was evil. An oil rig is the superbowl trophy that cheney and bush believed could be had in five short months of a glorious battle in Iraq for the energy security of the U.S. and Britain. Secure supplies of petroleum and all the benefits we derive from these products is sound policy for sound leaders. Today the worst fears and predictions of the coming international struggle for energy supremacy have been realized in the use of military force in the mideast for a pre-emptive invasion of a nation which had done nothing substantive to destroy America beyond lying clumsily to the U.N. Sick at heart for the lost chance of peace in the mideast, for the integrity of nationwide elections here at home, and to have my precious democratic republic become a heartless, cynical market transaction sold to the highest bidder. IMPEACH, PROSECUTE, SENTENCE!
sigh, see...
IF WE IMPEACH, THE ENTIRE KIT AND KABOODLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE NEEDS TO GO. THE IMPEACHMENT OF BUSH, CHENEY, RICE, AND OTHERS WHO HAVE VIOLATED OUR CONSTITUTION NEEDS TO OCCUR SIMULTANEOUSLY. THESE SCOUNDRELS HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT THEY "WORK FOR US", THEY ARE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SERVING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE (NOT THEIR OWN SELF INTERESTS). MAY GOD IN HEAVEN HELP US IN WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE! AND IT NEEDS TO OCCUR SOON BEFORE THEY SET THEMSELVES UP AS KINGS AND DECLARE MARTIAL LAW.
I was just listening to a PBS interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski. He's apparently given Bush an "F" for doing something no other president has done: mislead the world. The consequence, a world political awakening, where all are watching, expecting for the 21st century a shifted paradigm toward political fairness and equality across peoples and nations. So he talks of an opportunity, a "second chance." Only it's a window of opportunity, which could go either way. For example, the troop escalation or some other unfortunate event could trigger a regional expansion of the war. Or, as many others have, he talks of changing course.
That's what impeachment/removal is to me, the essence and grand spectacle of a people changing course: the symbol to usher in that new paradigm of world consciousness.
Whatever convictions and punishments might follow should be left to (restored) due processes of justice. To focus too much on that now is in the unsavory realm of vengeance. So there's time, for it matters little when he's removed, even to the last day (though we must try to contain his mischief in the meantime). What matters is that it is done; the symbolism is that important.
Ohhh, spring cleaning, sooo difficult to start… Ahhh, but it feels so good once done.
Impeach them ALL
Hey Kids!
Since Dave said for us all to encourage Kucinich to bring Articles of Impeachment, I decided to e-mail him (cc'd David Sirsota) and see if we can get a national web-campaign to do just that. Let's see if Act For Change, Common Cause, and the Progressive States Network can co-ordinate an effort to actually make impeachment happen.
IMPEACH NOW!!!
Impeachment is the least these thugs deserve.
Tom Ashbrook, on NPR's On Point had a show devoted mostly to Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson'd clarion call for Bush and Cheney's impeachment and made a lucid and powerful case---I was cheering in my kitchen to hear it being said so forcefully and isn't it about time? What the hell else do these thugs have to do before the American people hit the streets en masse???
Since it's obvious the Democrats are not going to be successful in stopping the war, there is no excuse for not starting impeachment proceedings as soon as possible.
Be sure and call Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and tell him it's time to file a Bill of Impeachment. Hamlet like, he's debating whether it's time, and is looking for support for the idea.
We don't need a Hamlet right now. We need a Rambo.
I signed up for unlimited long distance minutes with Verizon. Now I can enjoy personal calls to my congressional employees while creating reams of interesting data for the U.S. spys listening in.
Our congresspeople can delete emails, but it's against their nature to let the phones ring unanswered.
Impeach or get out of the way !!!
Hot off the presses: "Bush to Hold Democrats 'Responsible' on Iraq Pullout"
There's your reward for taking impeachment off the table, Nancy.
BTW, debate the Iraq pullout with every republican friend you have, and don't let the debate go anywhere but "83% of Shiites and 97% of Sunni Arabs oppose the presence of coalition forces in Iraq. By a margin of more than 3 to 1, Iraqis say the presence of U.S. forces is making the security situation worse."
Even if we impeach this loser and his cronie minions, what about the pardons? With Ford and Bush Sr., we know that republicians don't believe in accoutability for their own kind. We could be just spinning our wheels with this impeachment talk.
Good for you Vince Lawrence. I haven't emailed all of them yet but I have been sending emails to several of them for month's.These thug's must be impeached now before they attack Iran as other's have stated.
Just do it.
The people need to impeach every lawmaker who resists justice, repugnant/demofrat alike.
Cheney first, then Bush, then Gonzalez!
I just spent 8 hours messaging every sitting Senator in Congress, my U.S. Representative, and Ms. Pelosi to begin impeachment proceedings. While so involved, the one thought I had was "I sure hope everyone who visits here is doing the same." Maybe its a quixotic endeavor but what other options are left for us? "Legally" speaking, of course. Other remedies may yet become necessary.
Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution states:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
So, impeachment is not limited to Cheney and Bush. They could impeach Gonzales, Rove, any 'civil officer' of this secretive and aloof government.
'High crimes and misdemeanors' does NOT mean only the most serious crimes, like Treason. It means crimes that can only be performed by high officials, like Gonzales (firing an Attorney General to stop investigating corruption that is leading the the Vice President's office, for one quick example).
Impeachment is like indictment, it only needs a simple majority vote in the House. Then the 'trial' happens in the Senate.
This can get around all the subpoena-ignoring that the White House threatens.
If the U.S. of A. is supposed to be a Constitutional Government of Checks and Balances, Congress better assert itself in this struggle, before the USA is an 'elected monarchy'.
Impeach to assure investigation. Play hardball. Don't bring a knife to a gunfight.
see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States
If 'Impeachment' is in the air like spring.. then I am hoping for a good storm. We have watched and listened to this long enough. Unfortunately we may have waited too long. The Iran war is looming and this is where we hesitated too long.
They better do it real soon. Charges and arrests need to be made to remove these thugs from office before they attack Iran becuase after that it will be too late -- and they know it.
Let's do it.