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November 5, 2007

Kucinich’s Article: It’s Time To Impeach Cheney

Filed under: Impeachment Progress News,Ohio — Jodin Morey @ 6:16 pm

By Congressman Dennis Kucinich, special to www.ImpeachCheney.org

As a member of Congress, I have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution and the laws of our nation, and I have pledged to represent the views of my constituents and of all Americans.

That’s why I feel both duty and sorrow in pursuing the path of impeachment against Vice President Richard B. Cheney.

While the impeachment movement has generated intensely strong sentiment and activism, there have been only two polls published on the question of impeaching Vice President Cheney. In a national poll, 54 percent of Americans favored impeachment. In one state poll, 64 percent of Vermonters favored impeaching the Vice President.

Twenty-one of my colleagues have heeded the public demand and signed on as cosponsors of my resolution, H Res 333. Others in the Congress have claimed they have more important priorities, but have told their constituents they will keep their views in mind if the matter ever comes up for a vote.

Well, the issue is coming up for a vote this week on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the “distraction” will require members to balance their priorities between Constitutionally proscribed justice and recourse and the alternative: Constitutional abuse and dictatorial power.

Only by taking up impeachment can we reinstitute a balance of powers and slow down the rush to launch a new war of aggression against Iran.

I am urging my colleagues to recognize that impeachment will not create a crisis by briefly disrupting their schedules on Capitol Hill. The crisis, as Americans outside the Beltway know, is upon us. Congress, the first branch of our government, to which the first half of the Constitution is devoted, has been reduced to almost a bystander as the policies of the wealthiest nation and the largest military ever known are set in secret by the Vice President’s office. Under Bush/Cheney, we have become a nation that illegally threatens and launches aggressive wars for political – not national security — reasons. For this crisis of confidence, this denial of our Constitutional beliefs and rights, impeachment is the only cure available.

I urge you, my fellow citizens, to share your sentiments with your Members of Congress and with your family, friends, and the news media in support regarding the rule of law and the imperative of impeaching a vice president who has misled both the public and the Congress about the gravest matters possible: war and peace. Please join with organizations like www.ImpeachCheney.org in making your voices heard as soon as possible! Every individual Member of Congress will have to decide within days where they stand.

On Tuesday, when I introduce my privileged resolution to force this issue to a vote, some other member of Congress will almost certainly move to table (kill) it. A Yes vote to table is a vote to delay the enforcement of the rule of law aside. A No vote to table is a vote to give impeachment a chance for a full and fair hearing. Please help me get this message out.
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5 Comments

  1. Kucinich’s Article: It’s Time To Impeach Cheney…

    "Well, the issue is coming up for a vote this week on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the “distraction” will require members to balance their priorities between Constitutionally proscribed justice and recourse and the alter…

    Trackback by www.buzzflash.net — November 5, 2007 @ 7:07 pm

  2. THANK YOU DENIS KASHINCH !

    Impeachment of this administration is a MUST, Otherwisw we replicate the submissive ,defeated,
    fearfull posture of Nazi victims.

    Comment by Samuel Rouslin — November 5, 2007 @ 9:18 pm

  3. It’s not really even about Cheney. It’s about what makes Democracy work. It’s about the best strategy for America. Either we are a free society and a strong ally, or we are a bumbling quasi-police state and an impotent bully. One invites alliances, one invites defiance.

    Human nature will never submit to subhuman rules. Every fence has a ladder. Every border fails to enclose. The Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall, the Berlin Wall all failed in their primary mission. Prohibition doesn’t work, it only increases profits for those who defy it. Freedom is the basic condition of humanity. As adults we won’t submit to pointless rules
    when it is to our benefit to ignore them.

    Mere military force only enforces death, while the elemental quality of humanity is life. We will go on making love no matter how many threaten hate. It’s not the warriors who further civilization, it’s the weakest among us– the mothers and grandmothers. Thus the profound strength of true Christianity, as opposed to the current fashion of pro-lifers supporting the death penalty and war. As government by consent of the governed, America has an infinite future. As government by coercion, America has no prospects at all.

    Comment by martin weiss — November 6, 2007 @ 12:25 pm

  4. The same is true of Muslim society. When Baghdad was an open society, the center of world trade, the Moslem world prospered and carried the light of understanding through the Dark Ages of the West.
    Today’s Moslem majority are as dedicated to free exchange of ideas and commerce as anyone else. It’s only the radical fundamentalists who depreciate the value of life and understanding in order to create closed cultures which impose their rules on others by coercion.

    Bush’s war has nothing to do with religion– it is about natural resources and control of them.
    Unfortunately, Bush’s arms-making allies took the opportunity to make a profit when we could have bought Iraq’s oil for less than we’ve spent on this invasion without four thousand of our young people dying. The logic is simple– vested interests control our government policy. A closed society of corporate interest stifles reason and innovation to our detriment as a nation.
    So, again, the basic principles of American Democracy, a free and open society, with rights for all– whether citizen or not, prevail as our best strategy for successful and prosperous international relations. Those who seek to control humanity have hard lessons to learn.

    Comment by martin weiss — November 6, 2007 @ 12:46 pm

  5. Isn’t it interesting that a popular and competent president was impeached for lying about his sex life. People were NOT marching in the street or signing petitions for impeachment to happen because of that, but the right wing media hosts WERE and THEIR agendas are what are paid attention to, NOT the wishes of the people!!

    Unfortunately, most of the Democrats in Congress are so gutless they do NOT see the Republicans suffered a backlash because of the Clinton impeachment BECAUSE the majority of Americans could see he was doing a decent job as president, and that his sex life was noone’s business. The reasons Clinton was impeached are in NO WAY equal to the reasons the INCOMPETENT and criminal people who are leading this country now need to be impeached, and the PEOPLE can see that!! In fact, the Democrats will suffer more from their gutlessness in not holding these criminal people to account than they would for impeaching both Bush and Cheney. CANNOT THEY SEE that the vast majority of Americans are SICKENED by the dishonesty and imcompetence of Bush/Cheney and WANT THIS BLIGHT on our country GONE!! The people are angry because Congress seems to be “okay” with having such corrupt, dishonest, and INCOMPETENT people bankrupt this country both morally and economically!! Which proves once again that the PEOPLE are better than their leaders!!

    Comment by Lonna Gooden VanHorn — November 6, 2007 @ 1:17 pm

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"I just want you to know that,
when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."
-Bush, June 18, 2002

"War is Peace"
-Big Brother in George Orwell's 1984

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Arguments Against Bush Impeachment...

• If we impeach Bush, we’ll get President Cheney!
The first impeachment resolution introduced by McKinney included Bush, Cheney, and Rice. Although, even if we only initially pursue Bush, initiating the impeachment process will lead to an investigation that will implicate lots of people in the Bush administration who are guilty of committing crimes, including Cheney.

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.

• Promoting impeachment will seem too “extreme.”
Demanding that crimes be investigated is NOT extreme. Some previous impeachment attempts were considered extreme because they were pursued for actions that didn't rise to the level of a Constitutional crisis, which is what the impeachment tool is meant to be used for. Nixon's impeachment, however, was bipartisan.

  • We should wait to impeach...
Wait to impeach? We've waited 3 or more years too long already. We had enough evidence to impeach years ago. Remember, an impeachment only means you have enough evidence to warrant a trial, just like an indictment. Our congress people didn't take an oath to bipartisanship. They took an oath to the Constitution. Besides which, our troops, Iraqi civilians, and our own civil liberties are all waiting for this.
 
• Before we impeach, we should get some legislation passed...
And with unconstitutional Presidential Signing Statements, veto power, and the power of "Commander in Chief" at his disposal, how do you think Congress is going to get anything accomplished without first impeaching Bush?

If your tire blows while you're driving, do you stop to fix it? Or do you continue driving on your rim because to stop would take too much time?

• It hurts the democracy to go through a presidential impeachment. And Bush is a lame duck anyway.
Holding government officials accountable for their actions strengthens our democracy. Letting lawlessness stand weakens it.

Sometimes reprimanding a child (president) doesn't make the family (Washington) a happy place. But you still have to do it so the child and his siblings (future presidents) learn about accountability. Impeachment is horribly UNDERUSED, which is part of why there's so much corruption at the top. Politicians must learn to fear it. People think things are better because we improved the make-up of our law-making body, Congress. But Bush is BREAKING LAWS. So, it doesn't matter how many laws Congress passes if they don't serve their OVERSIGHT duties as well by impeaching. They swore to defend the Constitution. What are laws without enforcement?

Besides, considering Bush's track-record of breaking laws, he can still do a lot of damage. Our troops, Iran, and our Supreme Court are all endangered so long as he remains in office. Waiting until Bush is out of office will leave us complicit in any further crimes he 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.

Perhaps worst of all, we set a terrible precedent by allowing Bush to stay in office after he's broken so many laws. Impeachment will stop future presidents from using Bush's actions as justification for even more lawbreaking and erosion of civil liberties.

• I'm a Democrat/
Republican. If we support impeachment it will lower the chances of my party winning in 2008.

So, your party would rather win elections than do what's right for the country? I hope you're wrong. I also hope the public is willing to throw additional support to any party that holds our elected officials accountable for their actions. This has been historically true with every single impeachment effort launched. And this impeachment effort would begin with majority support (unlike most past impeachments including Nixon).

• Impeachment will never happen. Congress members will block it.
Well, all we need is a majority of support in the House. And 2/3rds vote in the Senate to remove Bush from office will happen once the evidence gets aired on the floor of the House, and subsequently the national media outlets. The political pressure will become too great.

Today's impossibility is tomorrow's reality. Congress members will 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.

And even if we only impeach, and the Senate fails to do their duty and remove him from office, it will only implicate the Senators who fail to do their sworn Constitutional duty.

• But Speaker of the House Pelosi said that Impeachment was "off the table."

Pelosi most likely said this to remove any appearance of conflict-of-interest that would arise if she were thrust into the presidency as a result of the coming impeachment. What we need to do is to pressure Pelosi not to interfere with impeachment maneuverings within her party. Sending her Do-It-Yourself impeachments legitimizes her when she joins the impeachment movement in the future.

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