Burlington (VT) Free Press, Published: Thursday, May 24, 2007
By Tom Bodett
I am no friend to the current administration and feel strongly that I will not see the damage they’ve caused this country undone in my lifetime. I believe it is possible there were impeachable offenses committed by the president and vice president, or at least with their knowledge, although specific provisions of the USA Patriot Act obscure the guaranteed outcome of a prosecution.
I also believe that a drawn-out impeachment circus in the U.S. Congress will inflict unnecessary damage to the Democratic political strategy for 2008 and 2010, and weaken or lose the current Democratic majorities in Congress. I’m reminded of those prescient posters we saw during the build-up to the war in Iraq featuring Osama bin Laden pointing his finger and saying, “I Want You to Invade Iraq.” Now picture Karl Rove’s face on that poster with the caption, “I want you to impeach the president.”
Polls show that while 70 percent of Americans disapprove of the president’s performance, only 50 percent think he has committed impeachable offenses, and fewer than 30 percent want to see the Congress wrapped up in a long and expensive impeachment trial. The president has lost nearly half of his own party since the 2004 election. If we want to give the Republicans their base back, let’s impeach him.
And while the Congress and Senate are tied up with a year-long impeachment run-up and hearings, who is running the government and keeping more bad things from happening? Where is the media’s big dumb eyeball going to be focused? Iraq? Iran? Health care? Darfur? Unfunded education mandates? Energy independence? Immigration? The Democratic presidential candidates’ agendas for all of the above? Fat chance. We will be talking about what the definition of “is” is all over again.
Even if the effort to start impeachment proceedings were successful this bunch will be out of office before you could boot them out. In 18 months we will have a new president-elect and the nation, one hopes, will be in more capable hands. The Congress can best spend its time until then outmaneuvering the administration in order to protect our troops and treasure and taking care of the people’s business. We have beaten this administration. They are done. Why waste the time to step on their necks? It will only rally their support and make Democrats look like vindictive and emotional players rather than serious leaders who can solve the real issues facing this country and our planet.
People are angry and it is hard to talk them out of it. Rep. Gaye Symington, Sen. Peter Shumlin, and Rep. David Deen, among others, tried in Montpelier. Rep. Peter Welch has been trying all over the state. They accuse him and the Democratic leadership in Washington of political cowardice and betraying their oaths of office simply because they have a different idea than theirs in how to move forward with the people’s business and put this war and the Bush era behind us once and for all.
The vitriol aimed at those who disagree with the impeachment movement puts me in mind again of Karl Rove who cast it as unpatriotic to disagree with the president and authored such simplistic bromides as, “You’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists.” I would like to think we could do better than Karl Rove in our political debates.
Vermonters should take pride in its grass-roots activism and passion, but I don’t want to see us become a liability to our Democratic leadership in Washington by insisting they pursue political aims that have little hope of succeeding rather than sitting down together and figuring out how to govern well.
Leadership in its simplest form is taking people where they already want to go. In its coarsest form leadership is pushing people where they don’t want to go. In its most inspired form leadership is taking people where they never thought they could go. Calm. Reason. Long-term thinking. People are forgetting how to do this, even here in Vermont.
Tom Bodett is a resident of Dummerston.
(Original Article)
July 4, 2007
A Patriot’s Message
The hammer falls on the Constitution of the United States of America. Our freedom and Democracy, our sovereignty as a nation is coming to an end.
The politically appointed neoconservatives in Justice sneer at Habeas Corpus; Geneva Convention; worker, consumer and investor protection; education; affirmative action; individual rights and “entitlements†like Social Security and health care.
The corporate neo-con conspirators (Establishment) have their own agenda of a New World Order; W.T.O; N.A.F.T.A; immigration; globalization and “free tradeâ€; military seizure of foreign oil fields; employing a private army of mercenaries and propagandist; “dealing†with Afghanistan Opium drug lords harboring Osama Bin Laden and financing Al Qaeda.
The ideal corporate model is “Communism†where individual freedom and democracy are mute. The board of directors rule. The corporate neo-cons hate our regulatory government, Constitution and Individual Rights.
Our Federal Government is purposely bankrupt by war/trade debt and the ideal corporate nation, China, are carrying trillions of dollars of our debt. Communist China and their junior corporate American partner’s technically own theâ€U.S.A†resulting in “Globalization†and loss of sovereignty. Mission accomplished. The surge strategy is not to win the war but to pump oil and further indebt U.S.A to Communist China. Patriots, sign on! Impeach Bush, Cheney and nullify their Supreme Court appointments!