Washblog || Why impeachment is not a distraction, for Congress and for Washington State legislators

Why impeachment is not a distraction, for Congress and for Washington State legislators

By ThinkerFeeler
Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 02:45:02 PM PST
Section: United States Topic: Impeachment

Millions of Americans are sickened with outrage over the failure of our lawmakers to hold the Bush Administration accountable for its many misdeeds.

Killing even just one person is a capital offense. So surely it's a High Crime to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians and nearly 4,000 US soldiers in a bungled, debilitating war based on lies.

Even as the Bush Administration beats the drums for another insane war, against Iran, our lawmakers stand by and wring their hands. Most Republicans continue to walk lock step behind the Administration, while the Democratic leadership warns against excessive partisanship.

For years the Republicans engaged in the dirtiest political tricks and the brashest rigging of elections. Why this undeserved and self-destructive bipartisanship on the part of the Democrats?

This Administration has tortured in violation of the Geneva Convention; lied about the reasons for attacking Iraq; lied about Iran's nuclear program; pursued an unjustified and disastrous war; ignored the real terrorists responsible for 9/11; committed the nation to years of expensive, debilitating conflict in Iraq; engaged in illegal wiretapping; held prisoners without trial; corrupted federal agencies; handed out no-bid contracts to politically connected companies; outed a CIA agent; politicized the Justice Department; suppressed inconvenient evidence; bungled the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort; used signing statements to circumvent the will of Congress; engaged in obsessive secrecy; obstructed investigations; increased media concentration; exploited fear, faith, and patriotism for cynical ends; bankrupted the country; transferred hundreds of billions of dollars to the super-rich; bungled foreign, energy and environmental policies; and ignored the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and oil dependence that are the ultimate causes of terrorism and war.

Given the Bush Administration's many offenses, and given Congress's failure to stop the craziness, it's no wonder that Congress' approval ratings are lower even than the President's. Indeed, many progressives are ready to abandon the Democratic Party. Likewise, many Republicans are fed up with their leadership and are supporting Ron Paul.

But there is hope that the Administration will be held accountable. Over two dozen House members have announced support for impeachment hearings against Vice-President Cheney (House Resolution 333). Closer to home, Washington State Senators Oemig, Regala, Kohl-Welles, Kline, Spanel, Fairley, Kauffman, Fraser, and Prentice have introduced State Joint Memorial 8016, a resolution to request impeachment hearings against both Bush and Cheney; this bill has passed out of the Senate Government and Operations Committee. Likewise, WA State Rep. Chase has introduced HJM 4027 on impeachment.

Some Democrats oppose impeachment because they think hearings would be a distraction from the issues that really matter. Doesn't lying about the reasons for going to war matter? Doesn't torture matter? Doesn't Iran matter? Don't stolen elections matter? Don't trillions of dollars of debt matter? Democrats have failed to end the war, failed to override the SCHIP veto, and failed to reverse the Administration's many regressive policies. About all they've "accomplished" is to condemn their ally MoveOn.org and earn themselves even lower support than the President.

Some Democrats argue that pursuing impeachment would generate sympathy for the administration, allowing the Republicans to win in November. But the Republican impeachment of Clinton led to the (contested) defeat of Gore in 2000. Moreover, the Bush Administration has been caught red-handed again and again for matters much more consequential than sex in the Oval Office. Administration culpability provides the Democrats with an opportunity to decimate support for the GOP.

Republicans too, if they can see beyond short term party loyalty, must realize that their party will suffer at the polls for its loyalty to the Administration.

In any case, such crass electoral calculations pale in comparison to the constitutional and ethical issues in question. Impeachment is simply not a partisan issue. Indeed, Bruce Fein, a prominent Republican jurist who pursued impeachment of Bill Clinton, has spoken powerfully of the need for all Americans to call this Administration into account and defend the rule of law.

Some opponents of impeachment argue that "the votes just aren't there." But once the lies and crimes are confirmed under oath, even Republicans will abandon the Administration. This is precisely what happened during the Watergate hearings.

Even if the U.S. Senate were unable to convict, investigations will expose the truth, weaken the Administration, and deter future administrations from similar shenanigans. If lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and Olympia give up without trying, they are being derelict in their highest duty, which is to defend the Constitution and hold even leaders accountable to the rule of law.

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Why impeachment is not a distraction, for Congress and for Washington State legislators | 5 comments (5 topical)

Hey, caucus goers!

Kucinich is the only candidate who has made accountability a campaign issue. He has filed HR 333/799 to impeach Cheney with (last I checked) 21 cosponsors.

BTW, Rep Wexler, who has recently called for hearings on impeachment, is NOT one of the cosponsors. When you sign his petition, you might ask him why not.

by eridani on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 01:34:22 PM PST

* 1 none 0 *

A failure to even attempt impeachment is very much

a failure to defend rule of law. That kind of failure won't be a legacy left be Republicans. Nope, just a legacy of timid rationalizing Democrats pretending they have more important things to accomplish. Well, accomplish isn't the right word ... cave would be more accurate.

Arthur
You sure you ain't staking too much on yer theories? Not enough common sense?

by Arthur Ruger on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 06:38:39 PM PST

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David Swanson checks in

Nadler is blocking impeachment
Excerpt:

The chief opponent of impeachment hearings was not Conyers. It was Nadler. Nadler argued strongly against any use of the I word. He argued that Congress should focus on passing bills, even though they will be vetoed, and then pass them again next year.
Arguing for keeping open the possibility of impeachment hearings developing out of the non-impeachment hearings was Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Daniel Ellsberg was also among those backing impeachment hearings.
Conyers and some subgroup plan to take their proposal for non-impeachment imperial abuse hearings to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to request her blessing. She is, of course, most likely to share Nadler's position. She may have given Nadler his position, or perhaps it originated with Hillary Clinton, but it sounds most likely that Nadler has simply been speaking for himself: he honestly opposes impeachment hearings, even for emperors.
Nadler's constituents have been among the most dedicated activists, many of them repeatedly sitting in at his office for impeachment and going to jail. One group has just set up a website solely to allow people all over the country to Email Nadler on this issue:
Nadler chairs the most relevant subcommittee and could open Cheney impeachment hearings in that subcommittee tomorrow if he chose to do so. The full House voted to send articles of impeachment on Cheney to the Judiciary Committee last November.
Wednesday's meeting was handicapped, of course, because no-one says aloud what the reasons are for opposing impeachment. That Cheney and Bush have committed impeachable offenses is universally understood. But the arguments against impeaching them (other priorities, bipartisanship, we don't have the votes, etc.) usually sound like lame cover for whatever the real reason is. I suspect the real reason is built into Nadler's plan of wasting a year in order to pass bills next year. He assumes that in 2009 there will be either a better Congress or a better president (he backs Hillary Clinton), or both.
Sadly, history says otherwise.

Arthur
You sure you ain't staking too much on yer theories? Not enough common sense?

by Arthur Ruger on Thu Jan 24, 2008 at 06:12:47 AM PST

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Pirate TV show about Iraq devestation

Forwarded: Hello Faithful Pirate TV Viewers: Sorry, I'm late with this information this week. You can still see this tomorrow, Friday at 2p.m. Also, it's streaming, so you can actually see it anytime on a computer with a fast connection. Please help me out by sending this information out to your friends and to as many people whom you think may be interested in watching on Channel 77 in Kent, Burien, Auburn, Renton, Seatac, and Tukwila. Also, we are streaming live at mms://207.101.236.30:1150

For podcasts go to this link: http://trms.pugetsoundaccess.org:5700/Cablecast/ Public/Main.aspx?ChannelID=1

Watch Pirate Television South End Edition on Puget Sound Access PSA Channel 77 For viewers in Renton, Burien, Kent, Auburn, Seatac, and Tukwila

This week's program is Dahr Jamail - Beyond the Green Zone Wednesday, Jan. 23rd at 8 p.m. and Friday, Jan. 25th at 2 p.m.

And online live at mms://207.101.236.30:1150 PST

Independent unembedded journalist Dahr Jamail is one of only a handful of reporters willing to take the risks to go outside the Green Zone and give us the real picture of what the U.S. occupation of Iraq is actually doing to that country. It's not a pretty picture. Dahr uses the most up-to-date statistics to reach the conclusion that "14 million people out of Iraq's 23 million people are either refugees, wounded, in need of emergency assistance, or dead. That is how catastrophic the situation has become. The entire country has been eviscerated by the U.S. led invasion and occupation." Republicans and their war-profiteering cronies loot the treasury to murder an entire country and Democrats play politics while the corporate media refuse to mention the Cheney impeachment resolution sent to John Conyers' Judicial Committee yesterday who says he is too busy to consider it. Somebody is obviously being threatened with something, but it's not news. This is the way democracy ends, not with a bang but a whimper. Stay tuned for the news. This is where it is.

Dahr's new book is "Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq." See also: http://dahrjamailiraq.com

Commentary contributed by Ed Mays and edited by C.I. Hawkes To provide feedback or to order copies of any of our programs contact

C.I. Hawkes, Producer Pirate Television South End Edition cihawkes@comcast. net

Puget Sound Access
www.pugetsoundaccess.org
22412 72nd Ave S Bldg C
Kent, WA 98032
253.479.0200

by ThinkerFeeler on Thu Jan 24, 2008 at 07:00:08 PM PST

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WHAT Legislation will Impeachment stop?

all the appeasement legislation for the f$$$ing fascists?

Could our pretty worthless congress be held in much lower contempt by the paying public?

jeesh.

rmm.

http://www.liemail.com/BambooGrassroots.html

by rmdSeaBos on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 07:46:21 PM PST

* 5 none 0 *

Why impeachment is not a distraction, for Congress and for Washington State legislators | 5 comments (5 topical)

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