The Impeachment Of Dick Cheney

Public perception can beat the shit out of political nuance. The Bush Republicans know this and they have abused it for their own nefarious ends. The Democrats, on the other hand, have somehow overlooked this very basic rule of 21st Century American politics, which is a shame since they would more often than not use it for the betterment of the nation.

After all, one year ago yesterday, we elected the Democrats in overwhelming numbers to amplify our screaming voices to a decibel loud enough to penetrate the unchecked corridors of power in Washington -- we hired this party to speak for us and to use this expressed authority to end the war and to hold this historically unpopular executive regime accountable.

To date and with the exception of some admirable investigations by a few standout lawmakers, the Democrats have done nothing to make good on their mandate from you and me.

It was yesterday, on the one year anniversary of the collapse of Karl Rove's thousand-year Reich, when the Democrats subjected themselves to both public embarrassment and public disgrace, and each within a few hours of the other.

The public disgrace was naturally Senator Schumer's and Senator Feinstein's votes to endorse the Bush administration's pro-torture policy. Make no mistake, despite their wet-bread excuses, that's what they did, say nothing of their endorsement of the regime's unitary executive theory. The reality of the committee vote -- the Democrats' failure to hold their voter-mandated high ground -- is what history will remember. Not the excuses.

As for the public embarrassment, I'm referring of course to the floor vote on whether to bury a resolution calling for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney. It was a one act tragic-comedy about how fucked up and bizarre our nation has become this decade -- all of it concentrated into a single hour of legislative insanity on C-SPAN.

Vice President Dick Cheney: the most subversive political villain of our time was let off the hook yesterday and the Democrats did all of the heavy lifting to make it happen. Dick Cheney: a man who has proudly committed innumerable high crimes, among them a trillion dollar fraud perpetrated upon the American people and the world -- a fraud which has resulted in nearly 30,000 American casualties and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties. And now he's trying it again with Iran.

Yet there was Steny Hoyer desperately trying to bury this thing; the Republicans, meantime, overwhelmingly voting in favor of the resolution -- daring the Democrats to make it real.

Sure, you and I understand the backwards strategy behind the political theater. The Republicans thought that a debate on the impeachment of Dick Cheney would embarrass the Democrats. Run away! Run away! They said it'll embarrass us, so I guess it will! Run away!

But this begs the question, what made them believe they'd be embarrassed by the clown-car party of Brownie, Mark Foley, Larry Craig and Alberto Gonzales? Easy. Congressman Boehner made them believe it when he strategically rallied enough GOP votes to force a debate. They literally and brazenly dared the Democrats to allow an impeachment debate on the House floor. See, the Republicans still hold a collection of Democratic balls inside a cryogenic flask hidden somewhere on the Mall.

If only the Democrats were attentive enough to the people to realize that a majority of Americans, including a majority of independent voters, support the impeachment of Dick Cheney, they would've treated the resolution with a little more respect. If they acknowledged their mandate and discarded their predictably impotent political habits, they would have had the mettle to at least debate the resolution and entered into the record their collective objections to the vice president's malfeasance, as well as forced into the record the Republican Party's inexplicable support for the man's attempt to undermine their authority. History demands this.

Instead, by engaging in such an awkwardly amateurish fire drill on the floor of the House, Hoyer managed to inject his misguided capitulation into the national debate. He might not know this, but there exists cable news and internet blogs, both thirsting for material. Now, millions of people know that the House Democrats dropped their short pants and stumbled away from the task of holding the vice president accountable -- their trousers bunched around their ankles restricting normal locomotion -- simply because the Republicans dared them to act.

And so in trying to avoid a so-called public embarrassment, they publicly embarrassed themselves anyway.

The average voter doesn't have the time or the patience to analyze the bullshit parliamentary chess match -- the twisted Möbius Loop Beltway routine of asinus asinum fricat. What people know is that Congressman Kucinich introduced a resolution, symbolic or not, to impeach Dick Cheney, and the Democratic leadership crumbled under the weight of a Republican dare -- the House majority leader barely mustering the hand-eye coordination to kill it.

This is what you get when you acquiesce to the Bush Republicans. Under the new rules of American politics, Bush Republicans don't compromise. They don't meet anyone halfway on the important issues. They push back even harder. Popularity doesn't matter. Polls don't matter. To the neocons and Bush Republicans, logic, compassion, reason and rationality are the stuff of the "faggy" left wing.

When the Democrats acquiesce on torture or impeachment or anything that might reunite them with their balls, they're only succeeding in begging the right's aggression. There won't be any favors returned from the Bush/Cheney right wing. I don't think the Democrats fully understand who they're dealing with. And if they do, well then, how dare they play along. How dare they patronize us with I'm against this but I'm voting for it because I'm smart and important and you wouldn't understand anyway.

You stand up and vote NO on torture, Senator Schumer. You allow a debate about impeaching the vice president, Congressman Hoyer. And you sure as shit don't vote to support the administration's Iran policy, Senator Clinton.

In other words, compromising with the White House won't make the president go all limp and soupy -- it will in fact make him louder and more petulant next time around (more from Kos and AmericaBlog here). So please -- by the power of Grayskull -- stop him! We're begging now. I will be satisfied if I never hear his little-man voice and crackly fake twang ever again -- unless, of course, he's saying, "I will resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow."

Beyond that, and in the awesome words of Han Solo, "Shut him up or shut him down!"

That's what the American people are expecting. Any failure on that score leaves the Democrats in this pathetic ass-up submissive posture. When it comes down to choice of nuance versus aggression, the answer has to be aggression. Take on those bastards with the fury and tenacity these historically imperative issues demand.

We don't expect hand-holding and mutual masturbation between the Bush Republican White House and the Democratic Congress. No-one has ever assumed the president would compromise on anything anyway. But we assumed -- perhaps wrongly -- that the Democrats would stick him. We expected a fight, and that's why we voted for Democrats a year ago yesterday. And if they should ever decide to collectively stand up and fight, we will gladly elect more of them a year from now.

Comments

[pmfelipe]

Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate for change. The others from both parties are not even close. The reason why he is being marginalized by both the MSM and the alternative media like Huffpost is because they are scared that he may eventually win and change things around. Just look at the DFA poll where he got most of the votes. He got more votes than Al Gore who came in second. His votes are even more than what Edwards and Obama got combined. Hillary was at the bottom.

That DFA polljust shows how much the base wants change but the Democratic party,the MSM and somesupposed alternative media wants the status quo maintained.

Go Dennis win the white houseand clean this government.

[andyboy]

Ah if only......

Sweet post Bob. So true.

We need to stop thinking of democrats as left or liberal. They're not. You have the far right Republican Party. Then you have the right of center right Dems.

We are just circling the wagons as it were.

I wait for the day we all stop this ridiculous pretense and cowardly blaming of Democrats for America's problems.

Blind greed always demands it's dues. Your government despises you. Keep your wallet open and your mouth shut. Go ahead and vote. They fixed that too. Your as powerless as a baby lamb out here on the fringe in cyberspace where in reality no one hears you but a few college kids.

[Condetector]

Good job:
More disgusting proof that our so-called representatives in congress do not do their homework. If they actually attempted to digest the same information that their well-informed constituents do, they'd develop spines. What to do when those in power are deaf to the needs of our beloved country? It is like the blind leading the blind!
Keep up your good work--miracles happen--it might even help us reach critical mass.

[princessofnowt]

Be prepared to see "scandals" on all who support this.

We need to be able to see through the trumped up whatever's that get in the news about the honest people whom we need to get anything actually done.

We need to show those carrying this torch that we will see through the attempts to assassinate their character.

Because it will happen (Kucinich & UFO's? Really now- so what.) so be ready to ignore the assaults and cheer on our liberators.

[iammick66]

I think that it would have been somewhat embarrassing to go through with the impeachment process. Whether or not it's the right thing or not is one matter. But whether or not it would make the Democrats look foolish is another.
Partly, because I feel it would come across as revenge for the impeachment of Pres. Clinton. You know tit-for-tat, childish. If the Deomcratic congress wants to make a difference, they could focus on other issues instead of this one which seems almost petti.
Lets look for more productive avenues.

[NoTimeToBeNice]

Great piece Bob! 100% spot on. I also share your disgust with the ersatz congressional representatives on both sides of the aisle. I think it´s time though for us to get over our fantasies and therefore whining about the duplicity/complicity (more than cowardice) of the vast majority of Democrats in both houses.

And then there´s the latest and perhaps most horrific Democratic sponsored assault on our civil liberties: HR 1955 which is nowinthe Senate. As observed by Stephan Lendman in the Baltamore Chronicle: " Almost without notice, the House overwhelmingly (404 - 6) passed the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (HR 1955) on October 23 some are calling "the thought crime prevention bill."

The bill's language hides its true intent as "violent radicalization" and "homegrown terrorism" are whatever the administration says they are.

Along with other repressive laws enacted post-9/11, HR 1955 may be used against any individual or group with unpopular views - those that differ from established state policies even when they're illegal as are many under George Bush. Prosecutors henceforth will be able to target anti-war protesters, believers in Islam, web editors, internet bloggers and radio and TV show hosts and commentators with views the bill calls "terrorist-related propaganda."

If this legislation becomes law, which is virtually certain, any dissenting anti-government action or opinion may henceforth be called "violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism" with stiff penalties for anyone convicted. This bill now joins the ranks of other repressive post-9/11 laws like Patriot I and II, Military Commissions and Protect America Acts that combined with this one are grievous steps toward a full-blown national security police state everyone should fear and denounce."

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[cynic]

Lord Cheney wants his war. Why should he be impeached? He might hurt us. waaahhhhhh

[ardeth]

Send an e-mail to Dennis at [e-mail] with your thoughts on impeaching Dick Cheney. He promised on Thom Hartmann yesterday to deliver copies of all e-mails to the ranking Dems, including wuss John Conyers, head of the judiciary committee who has the power to take action on the impeachment resolution but pretends he's just too busy to do it. This impeachment has to be a We the People movement, because the so-called party leadership is doing zip.

[insanityfollows]

Bob, if you aren't married, I think I just found the man of my dreams. AAAAMENN!!! and well said.

[esquire07]

Dick Cheney ansewrs to no man.

He proftis from the deaths off US troops. He profits from the deaths of Middle Eastern Women and Children.

The more suffering he spreads in the world, the more he profits.

Soon he will nuke an American city - 9/11 Part II. Martial Law, Depression, Riots, Collapse of the Econmy.

Then Dick can move to Dubai, by to his home at Halliburton.

And Democrats let it all happen.

COWARDS.

[jswan]

It seems clear that the dems have no intention of doing anything about protecting our constitution or our liberties. They are really just playing straight-man to the republican noise machine. Unfortunately, the political apathy that brought us six years of neo-conservative destruction is still in effect. The dems clearly believe that we won't do anything to hurt them because they think we will blindly elect and re-elect them because they're not republicans.

Frankly, I will vote against my democrat representatives in the primary. And, if they win the primary, I will vote for the republican opponent. I see no reason to reward the failures of my democrat representatives any more than I'd reward a republican. I'm afraid that the American people are not there yet. By that I mean, they are not awakened out of their lethargic, comatose, and politically neutered state. One day, like a drunk at an intervention meeting, they will wake up. Until then, I really don't think it makes any difference whether the republicans or democrats are in power. It won't matter until someone enforces the rule of law, the constitution, and establishes basic human rights in our country. If our representatives will not do that, all the rest – corruption, corporatism, war-mongering, and erosion of civil liberties – is just cover.

Remember, Hitler was democratically elected and the German constitution was eliminated by an act within the scope of democracy because the Germans were selfish, apathetic, and afraid of terrorists.

[ljsfolly]

No shock the thing folded. The idea of Bush putting another fool villian like Rudy who could become defacto president was too much for people in congress to even look at. Even though it would take the full time for Cheney to go through the process he would simply resign and make it easy to insert the next fool who IS running for the big job.

[nomobull]

I BLAME THE LOUSY LEADERSHIP. I READ SOMEWHERE THAT PELOSI BELIEVES THAT IMPRACHMENT IS A DISTRACTION FROM MORE PRESSING ISSUES. LIKE WHAT MAKING SOMEONE APIOLOGIZE FOR TELLING THE TRUTH.

[gems]

Dennis rocks!!!. He is the only one with enough courage to stand up to congress.
He has never supported the war in Iraq from day one either. He doesn't play politics. He is a true leader, and I admire his sincerity.
I'm concern the path we are heading. Very concern, and the Democrats are so lame. No more war funding. Arianna, I agree with you. It's time to play hardball.
Gemma

[tbudha]

Wake up you people!!

The Democrats in power are NO DIFFERENT from the Neo-Cons, at all, end of story. Google CFR and Bilderberg.