Cheney Impeachment Bill Moves a Step Closer

Submitted by Bob Fertig — Matthew Cardinale of Atlanta Progressive News continues to own the impeachment story, and his latest report is very interesting, to say the least.
Cardinale reports that 3 more Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors to Dennis Kucinich’s H.Res. 333, Articles of Impeachment for Vice President Cheney. They are Keith Ellison (MN-05), Hank Johnson (GA-04), and Jim McDermott (WA-07).
Ellison ran as a supporter of impeachment and was endorsed by ImpeachPAC, but he held back until now because he feared
“it would consume the news cycle to the point where that’s all we’d be dealing with and talking about.”
Ellison didn’t say what changed his mind, but Hank Johnson did:
“I have certainly been displeased with the operations of the Executive Branch, particularly with regard to the secrecy, the incompetence, and the lack of cooperation that is coming out of the Vice President’s Office. I think the response to [reject] the subpoenas was the last straw,” Johnson said.
That’s certainly been the feeling in the blogosphere, so it’s exciting to learn that Congressional Democrats are feeling that way too – and one can only assume Johnson isn’t the only one.
Even more interesting is Cardinale’s scoop that H.Res. 333
has been referred to a Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, chaired by US Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).
That’s a huge step, because it greatly increases the likelihood that the bill will get a hearing. That decision is now in the hands of Nadler and the members of the subcommittee: Artur Davis (AL-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20), Ellison, Conyers, Bobby Scott (VA-03), Mel Watt (NC-12), and Steve Cohen (TN-09).
Interestingly, Conyers does not appear to have softened his opposition to the bill, according to Cardinale’s anonymous source:
“Conyers does work with all the Members of the Committee. Conyers has made it pretty clear he is not in support and neither is the Speaker. To move forward, you have to keep that in mind. He’s pretty inclusive, but this is something that I think he feels really strong about,” the person told APN.
So how did the bill move to the subcommittee over Conyers’ apparent objection? As Cardinale points out, there are now three Democrats on the Judiciary Committee who are co-sponsors: Johnson, Ellison, and Maxine Waters. So it’s a pretty good guess that there is now “critical mass” on the Judiciary Committee to breathe life into the bill – a guess supported by Johnson’s spokesperson:
“It’s been referred over there, I’m sure he’ll have an opportunity to address it. I’m sure he was speaking as a Member of the Judiciary Committee when he put his name to it,” Johnson’s spokesperson said.
So this is a huge development. But with Conyers and Pelosi opposed, we clearly need to get several more Judiciary Committee members to join these three – especially members of the Constitution subcommittee.
So if you live in one of these districts – Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Artur Davis (AL-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Mel Watt (NC-12), and Steve Cohen (TN-09) – now is the time to form a strong Congressional District Impeachment Committee, inundate their offices with calls and letters, and follow your Representative wherever (s)he goes to ask why (s)he is not yet a co-sponsor of H.Res. 333. And don’t forget to bring a video camera so you can upload the response on Youtube – we’re all dying to see exactly what they say!