Washblog

On the one hand we have conservative Blue Dog Democrats like Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) saying that `Democrats should concentrate on oversight hearings on Iraq policy, while refraining from binding legislation on the war' in response to what Democrats might do to stop Bush's impending escalation of the Iraq occupation; this in the face of a pending move by Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) to attach stringent restrictions on Bush's ability to send more troops to Iraq as an amendment to the upcoming Iraq supplemental spending bill.

On the other hand, according to Postman, we have this from Senator Patty Murray and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-1stCD) to State Senate Majority Leader, Lisa Brown and State Senator Darlene Fairley (D-Shoreline):

"Murray spokeswoman Alex Glass confirmed that Murray told Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown last week that the (Oemig)impeachment resolution was a bad idea:
"Senator Murray's message was, 'I have two words for anyone who wants to impeach the President: Dick Cheney.'"

"Jay called and he said, 'Darlene, don't do this,'" said Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park. She is chairwoman of the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee, which is scheduled to hold a hearing on two measures Thursday..."

In addition to the Oemig bill calling for Congressional investigations of Bush and Cheney, Fairley's committee will be hearing Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles' bill expressing the legislature's disapproval of the Bush "surge."

Murray and Inslee are of the opinion that all of the "hoopla" in THIS Washington could distract from their efforts in THAT Washington; and they are not alone. In a "town hall meeting" in Everett on Saturday, 2nd CD Rep. Rick Larsen essentially said the same thing when he was asked if he would support impeachment proceedings if they were introduced in the US House. Larsen's answer started out in the same vein as Murray and Inslee in saying that such proceedings would be a distraction from the real work they had ahead of them in the next couple of years. However, the next part of his answer left me completely cold. Larsen said that he felt there should be a "very high standard for impeachment." He said that, just because the Republicans had lowered the standard with their impeachment of Bill Clinton, "...we should not return the favor." I'm not real sure where Larsen sets his "standards bar" but, I think that illegal wiretapping of US Citizens, ordering the kidnapping and torture of "enemy combatants" without access to due process (Extraordinary Renditions), and lying to Congress via the willful manipulation of intelligence; charges that have been leveled by one member of Congress or another over the past four years - all mount up to a pretty high level on the "high crimes and misdemeanor" scale.

Well, recess is over and it's time for our DC Delegation to get back to the important work we sent them back there to do. I wish them all the best in those endeavors. In the meantime, Lisa Brown and Darlene Fairley have made it know that the people in THIS Washington will at least have a chance to make their voices heard on these vital issues on Thursday, March 1st. Make no mistake though, it is going to take many voices in THIS Washington to be anything more than just "hoopla" to those in THAT Washington.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue