Impeachment: Key to Dems' Win in November

It's time the Democrats in Congress did what the vast majority of democrats want, and the constitution demands-- impeachment hearings for Cheney and Bush.

I've had a chance, over the past few months, to get a feel for this. I commissioned a Zogby poll which found that a big majority of Democrats wanted impeachment. I've spoken at local democratic meetings and the support for impeachment is always close to unanimous. Even at the recent Obama unity even, when I asked the 25 people in attendance if they thought Bush and Cheney should be impeached, the response was unanimous.

But Nancy Pelosi won't put impeachment "on the table." And John Conyers has offered some pathetically weak arguments on why he should not hold impeachment hearings, including the shameful argument that it will produce and adverse reaction from the right wing.

The fact is, congress's ratings are at an all time single digit low-- a well deserved rating, primarily due to the hijacking of the Democratic party by it's bluedog wing. These right wing DINOs (Democrats in name only,) led by Stenny Hoyer, have sold out The "Dem" bluedogs have sold out the Democrats who voted for them again and again. Glenn Greenwald has written about what to do about them recently. Let's give "Blue Dogs" the boot.

But meanwhile, I think the bluedogs are the reason Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers are refusing to act upon the evidence Dennis Kucinich and all the people who testified in front of the House Judiciary committee last Friday, at the pseudo impeachment hearings.

The brutal fact is, and I do believe it's a fact, impeachment hearings offer the Democrats the best chance they have of not only insuring Obama's victory, but also for taking 60 seats in the Senate.

First, I'm talking about hearings. There's no need to rush to a vote in the senate. The successful efforts to dump corrupt White house administration people never reached the senate. Both Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon were forced to resign because of HEARINGS.

I spoke to John Dean, who was there, and he told me that past impeachments always started with an independent prosecutor -- Archibald Cox for Nixon and Ken Starr for Clinton. Dean told me, on my radio show, that the house judiciary committee doesn't have the resources to do an adequate investigation, which makes the independent prosecutor hearings necessary. So, if Nancy Pelosi won't allow impeachment hearings, at the least, she should be supporting and funding an independent prosecutor, and John Conyers should be speaking out and asking for it.

But let's talk about impeachment hearings for a moment. The beauty of impeachment hearings is that executive privilege is not permitted -- no way, no how. Now, recently, several Bush appointees have engaged in contempt of congress because they refused to respond to subpoenas and appear before committees. They don't have the right to do that. They can appear and then refuse to answer specific questions, using executive privilege, but they are not allowed to just not show up. That said, several Bush administration current and former officials have shown contempt of congress by refusing to obey subpoenas.

But with impeachment hearings, there is no executive privilege, no right to refuse to testify.

I believe that if hearings are held, this summer, they will churn up the sewer of corruption that the White house and its appointees have engaged in. The news media will be unable to avoid covering it. They may even cover it instead of the Olympics.

But the hearings should start in August with the expectation that they will reach full, reeking bloom, with the full stink of rotting sewage, by late September, with the worst revelations, as higher level appointees roll over under pressure, coming out in October. This will make the current bad reputation of the Republican party seem like the good old days. And it will be the death knell for scores of GOP members of congress.

Since the hearings will finally show that the Congress is doing its job, protecting the constitution, it will very likely cause a drastic bump in the ratings for the Dems in congress, helping all the incumbents, even the bluedogs, except for the most traitorous ones.

If you want to see the right wingers in congress tossed out, and a strong, effective majority in the senate, tell your congressperson to do his or her job of protecting the constitution. Tell your legislator that if Bush and Cheney are not impeached you won't be satisfied. Contact the house judiciary committee and tell them to get off their asses and do their job.

John Dean told me that Bush can literally pardon himself in advance for any and all offenses. Vince Bugliosi, author of the book, THE PROSECUTION OF GEORGE W. BUSH FOR MURDER, told me that there are close to a thousand federal and state prosecutors who could charge Bush and prosecute him for murder. I don't know who's right, but to me, the solution is to not test the possibilities. It is the perfect time to prosecute Cheney and Bush. At the hearings, former congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, who participated in the Nixon impeachment hearings, suggested that it's possible to "do a Twofer" impeaching both Cheney and Bush.

Ask most of the Democratic party members of congress and you get a unified front -- the talking point that they don't want to waste the Congress' time. This is pure garbage -- an affront to the constitution they continue to allow to be violated by Bush and Cheney and their appointees, as the news demonstrates with new examples every day.

It's time, and its the right, smart thing for the Dems to do.

Crossposted from OpEdNews.com

Comments

[Pulemerci]

Impeachment! Congress is so dysfunctional that it could barely pas the minimum wage bill. That may be it's only achievement that I can think of recently. Do you think that Reid and Pelosi would hesitate for a second if they thought they could muster articles of impeachment. Don't hold your breath. To impeach a president (who received more votes in the last election than any candidate in history) while we are at war would turn off moderate Democrats (if there are any left) for years.

[celticjag]

It is too late for impeachment. The House has recessed until September and there is just no back bone in the Dem leadership to proceed. Remember that impeachment leaves the Dems exposed to their complicity in the Iraqi war and for approving everything that Bush asked for.

[Michale32086]

Exactly...

Bush did "A"....

SCOTUS says that "A" is illegal under our current laws and said that if Bush wants to do "A" he has to get Congress to make it lawful.

Bush goes to Congress and asks Congress to make "A" legal.

Congress complies...

"A" is now legal...

Where is the impeachable offense???

Michale.....

[trollsbwild]

It would have happened already. No chance with Pelosi. She killed it from the get go.

[Michale32086]

Anyone who is advocating impeachment simply cares more for their own personal vengeance than they care for the welfare of their country.

Michale.....

[AlButerol]

You're dreaming. They won't do it.

[elmoor]

I think the approval ratings for the Senate are so low precisely because impeachment has NOT been on the table.

The only way to really educate the American people on the TRUTH of what has been going on is to use impeachment to bring this all to light.

And then watch the Senate approval numbers soar!

[Michale32086]

You don't go to trial to obtain evidence to prosecute a crime.

You get the evidence FIRST and THEN go to trial...

Michale.....

[dfletcher]

Darn I posted on the wrong story, sorry. My last comment was meant to go on:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/31/john-mccain-mr-nice-guy-o_n_116001.html

My bad!

[dfletcher]

Pelosi's stance makes me sad.

Her own constituency, San Francisco, voted in 2006 for it to be city policy to call for the impeachment of Bush & Cheney. If that's not a disconnect between the voters and the representatives, then I don't know what is.

She has effectively neutered congress with her stance. Bush continues to get everything he wants, and the worst punishment here is "low approval rating."

I don't understand how Pelosi can take the stance she does. It's like the Blue Dogs have threatened her or something. Someone has said to her something like "don't waste congress' time" or "congress is just as much at fault as the Executive", and she's scared to piss someone (who is obviously more important to her than American people) off.

It's pathetic. Nothern Cali, please let's vote for Cindy Sheehan this time. She will make a better congresswoman.

[DCX2]

I agree with the premise presented by the author. Use impeachment not as an end, but as a means to force the exposure of the truth. The people will make the right decision. Sure, some small percentage will claim this is some attempt to get vengeance, but screw those ones. The truth is more important than anyone's political career.

[joshrox]

No guts and there will be no glory!!!

[SeriousBlack]

"Impeachment hearings would finally show that the Congress is doing its job -- protecting the constitution -- and it will very likely cause a drastic bump in the ratings for the Dems in congress."

Yeah, well, too bad most of the Dems can't see that.

[WiscActor]

Stupid waste of time, & way too late. GOP would just claim partisan gamesmanship, & block everything they can. Better we should wait until Obama is elected, & then start the criminal investigations & procecutions of the Bushies when it's too late for Dubya to pardon them.

[MaryfromMontcoPA]

Repugnant claims that impeachment hearings are only "partisan gamesmanship" will look pretty lame in the context of a dignified exploration of the treasonous, criminal Facts.

Americans and our constitution deserve no less than impeachment, and a solid check to the executive power-grabbing. Now THAT's a precedent worth setting.

[orianna]

The rep of the DNC depends upon following through with impeachment. Whatever the results, I think we are strong enough now to withstand the backlash..... take courage Pelosi and Conyers.... please consider this course of action.... it is about the constitution... and that is greater than any other cause that congress is fighting for right now: you have good reason to worry about what can happen during the muck of impeachments and distraction for the election... you've done excellent and changing the tide back to Dems, but this is about what America stands for!!!!!

We can go in debt if we need to.... we can pay more for gas, health care, education if we need to.... but where will we be if dictators tear apart our democracy? Stand up and fight... that is what we, as Americans, are known for..... I agree... write congress and demand it!

[itmaybetoolate]

I have contacted my rep. so many times, he won't even respond with a form letter. And he is supposed to be a "liberal progressive democrat!" Shameful!

[hopeless277]

If Pelosi allows impeachment hearings Cheney will expose her complicity in the torture program and expose her to possible war crimes charges. She doesn't care enough about her country, our constitution, or her constituents to put her own fanny on the line. Impeachment will never happen. AAMF, she will enable some of the worst policies of the Bush admin to be made permenant. Just you wait and see.