Washblog

* Impeachment will never happen. The Republicans will block it.
Today's impossibility is tomorrow's reality. All we need is for a few Republican Congress members to realize that tying their political future to Bush reduces their chances of getting elected. Remember, one way or another, Bush is gone by 2009-- but members of Congress may retain their offices beyond that date. Bush's poll numbers are extremely low, and most Americans support impeachment. This is a bipartisan movement. This means that if we make the pressure unbearable for Members of Congress, they'll turn on him to keep their own seats (like they did with Nixon). It's already starting to happen. While many Members of Congress have behaved unethically in the last few years, it's important to understand that this is related to their warped view of what's in their self-interest. Let's wake them up to their true self-interest (impeaching the president), by showing them our support for impeachment now!

Finally, making sure you can look back and be proud of your opposition to this tyranny is priceless.

* If we impeach Bush, we'll get President Cheney!
Initiating the impeachment process would lead to an investigation that would implicate lots of people in the Bush administration who are guilty of committing crimes, including Cheney.

In addition, no matter who we get to replace Bush, we'll be showing those in power that anyone who breaks the law will be held accountable.

* We should wait to promote impeachment until after Democrats gain majority status after the November elections, or else we'll seem too "extreme."
The best way to get congress members in favor of impeachment elected is to shine a light on Bush's crimes and the Republican Party's (and many of the Democrats') complicity in them. Demanding impeachment is one effective way of doing that. (We need a majority in congress of people supporting impeachment in order to get subpoena power. This will allow us to finally investigate the crimes that this administration has been committing, which will lead, in turn, to impeachment.)

Secondly, demanding that crimes be investigated is NOT extreme.

Waiting until November, besides reducing the chances of getting impeachment friendly politicians elected, will also leave us complicit in any further crimes Bush commits. The Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated that the death toll from a "tactical" nuclear weapon of the kind Bush is contemplating using in Iran would be at minimum 3 million men, women, and children. The path of death would stretch across country boundaries into India.

Also, there's no guarantee that impeachment friendly politicians will gain majority status after the November elections. So our strategy shouldn't rely upon it.

* It hurts the democracy to go through a presidential impeachment.
Holding government officials accountable for their actions strengthens our democracy. Letting lawlessness stand weakens it.

* If we don't support our president, we aid the terrorists.
We support terrorism when we fail to deal with its root causes (poverty, lack of education, support of dictatorships, etc.). We also support it by enabling a president who creates breeding grounds for terrorists -- like Iraq has now become, thanks to our invasion and occupation.

Middle Eastern countries upset with the oppressive international policies of the past and current administration might think better of the U.S. if we appeared to learn from our mistakes by impeaching a president who has been so instrumental in that oppression.

* Impeachment is the wrong approach. Our government is tyrannical, and needs to be overthrown through a popular revolution.
If our government fell today, I wouldn't want the government that this population would create in it's place. Revolution only makes sense once the people understand the problem. The people don't (thanks to a complicit media). So, first we must help the majority to understand the situation we're in. We don't do that by pushing them away with what appears to be extremism. We must use skillful means to reveal the tyranny of this administration (or government in general). I believe the best way to do this is to make reasonable requests (investigations of likely wrong doing), and when we're denied, the people see that. Some do anyway, and more every time it happens (especially when we take to the streets each time). And slowly we get enough people onboard to EITHER reform the system, or replace it all together. Regardless of your goal (fixing the system or revolution), the path is the same. First, you try to CHANGE the system. When the system shows itself to be tyrannical, that influences the PEOPLE to move closer to revolution. IF the system changes instead, well, you just won a victory (and maybe the theory that the system is hopelessly tyrannical is flawed). Regardless, the path is the same. It's a process. We must have the resolve to see it through. We can't bend to the MTV generation pressures of needing perfection today. Because that isn't and can't be a reality. Ultimately, that attitude is just a cop-out for failing to do the real hard work of changing the system.

Side note:
Some Democratic Members of Congress have indicated that they're not currently pursuing Bush's impeachment. While this is upsetting, they percieve it to be in their (and the Democratic Party's) political best interest, at least until the political pressure builds. There are other reasons they're waiting as well, and one of those things is us. They (as well as Republican members) need us to legitimize their support for the process. Having millions of ImpeachForPeace.org's "Do-It-Yourself Impeachment" arrive at their door is one powerful tool toward making that happen.

Go to: http://impeachforpeace.org

by CausalCrunch on Sun Aug 20, 2006 at 10:22:01 PM PST

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I'm with Obama

by willisreed on Thu Aug 17, 2006 at 01:24:00 PM PST

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   I'll just get Republicans elected to stir this into the pot now.

Dave Gibney Pullman

by gibney on Thu Aug 17, 2006 at 02:01:16 PM PST

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by Belltowner on Thu Aug 17, 2006 at 04:04:46 PM PST

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