by Lesley Clark

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Robert Wexler is taking on the Bush administration -- in cyberspace.

The Florida Democrat has launched a Web site -- www.wexlerwantshearings.com -- and is gathering signatures calling for impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney.

"Our constitution mandates that the House of Representatives hold presidents and vice presidents accountable when they commit high crimes," Wexler says in a video on the site, which suggests, among other things, that Cheney manipulated intelligence to boost the case for war against Iraq and was involved in the revealing of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.

On Tuesday, the site said it had nearly 133,500 signatures. Wexler's goal is 250,000.

Though the push is, as Wexler acknowledges, a "huge uphill battle" because House leaders haven't been interested, the quest has made him a favorite of left-leaning activists.

Wexler, a veteran member of the House Judiciary Committee, hopes to deliver the signatures to the committee in January, when Congress returns to Washington.

Democratic House leaders, however, have sought to quash earlier efforts, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying before Democrats even took control of Congress that impeachment was "off the table."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat and presidential candidate, introduced a resolution this year calling for Cheney's impeachment. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee.

Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said the vice president "is focused on the serious issues facing this country."
© 2007 McClatchy