ImpeachforPeace.org meets with Minneapolis City Council Members Cam Gordon, Elizabeth Glidden hosted by Green Party of Minnesota

Members of ImpeachforPeace.org and the Green Party of Minnesota met with Minneapolis City Council members Cam Gordon, a Green Party member and Elizabeth Glidden in a public forum at the Wolves Den on Franklin Avenue last night.

More to come later, but here is the text of the speech that ImpeachforPeace co-founder Mikael Rudolph gave to the 30-35 people in attendance:

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend…”… what? Our borders from the Mexican terrorists? No. My political party, my staff?, tax breaks for the wealthiest and Profit margins for multi-national corporations? No. That oath is not even to defend and protect the citizens of this great nation.

Article II Section 1 of the Constitution calls for the incoming President to swear on his honor to “…preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

All other public servants from Water Commissioner up through Congress and including the Vice President swear an oath that includes some version of committing “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic”. This includes members of city councils.

Having sworn that oath, having given their word of honor, public officials such as members of the Minneapolis City Council are “˜under oath’ for the duration of their terms of office.

oath: A solemn, formal declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling upon God, a god, or that which is held most sacred or valuable by the swearer.

To some for whom one’s word and name in and of themselves are sacred – always being witnessed, as exemplified by the character of John Proctor in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, which means “A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial.”, who simply had to lie to have his life spared from a witchhunt. Proctor did not lie, saying: “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!” and after saying that he was “not worth the dust on the feet” of those of such character that they were hung for standing on principle and telling the truth in full integrity, Proctor said “How may I live without my name?” That, my neighbors, is an oath.

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution states:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

The definition of “high crimes & misdemeanors” is under continual debate, but it seems to be generally agreed upon that if a crime is committed by a member of the executive branch, not able to be justifiably excepted on national security grounds, it by definition becomes a “˜high crime’ as an abuse of authority, but criminal activity is not the only impeachable offense.

Jon Roland of the Constitution Society wrote:

“Holding a particular office of trust is not a right, but a privilege, and removal from such office is not a punishment.” In other words, public office is a gift from the populace given daily. If no longer deserved, that gift should cease and that privilege should be revoked..

Roland went on to say: “…the appropriate subject matter for an impeachment and removal proceeding is the full range of offenses against the Constitution and against the rights of persons committed by subordinate officials and their agents which have not been adequately investigated or remedied.

(This was written in January of 1999 concerning the merits of the impeachment trial which our previous President was undergoing)

1). The Supreme Court in Rosul v. George W. Bush ruled detainees were being wrongfully imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center in Cuba. The Bush Administration’s detainment policies and actions were ruled unconstitutional and illegal – in violation of Amendments V, VI &VII. The use of torture, legally justified by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and thus condoned by President Bush and Vice President Cheney is an additional violation to the 8th Amendment.

2). The Supreme Court again in Hamdan v. Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, et al.) ruled that the Military Commissions instituted by the Bush Administration violate the Universal Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions to which we are bound by American law. Again, the Bush Administration’s actions were found by the highest court of the land to be illegal and unconstitutional – violating Amendments V, VI, VII .

3). A Federal Court in NSA vs. ACLU found the NSA program of broad data-mining and warrantless wire-tapping of U.S. citizens illegal and unconstitutional – violating the Fourth Amendment.

What do these three cases have in common other than the obvious? All programs have continued, having their names and definitions changed or modified like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich’ (D-OH) bill to impeach Vice President Cheney, which just yesterday gained an 8th cosponsor, Maxine Waters of California focuses on the manipulation of pre-war intelligence, lying about WMDs, lying about a connection between Iraq & Al Qaeda, Saddaam/Osama and lying about Iran posing an immediate and dire threat (Deja vu anyone?).

An argument for impeachment could be made about the legality of this self-appointed Unitary Executive Bush’s signing statements – more than all previous Presidents combined – thus largely taking upon himself the Constitutionally granted law-making authority which rightfully belongs to Congress. An argument could be made regarding possible criminal financial interactions with convicted felon Jack Abramoff, illegal profiteering by Cheney through Halliburton, Brown & Root, Bechtel and Blackwater and especially the compromising of our national security with the “˜outing’ of Non-official Cover CIA agent Valerie Plame in an act of political retribution against her husband Joseph Wilson. It is not hyperbole to consider this bootless, cowardly action coming during wartime as possibly high treason for various members of this “˜all hat and no cattle’ Connecticut Cowboy administration.

All of these crimes & misdemeanors could and should bring down Bush as well as Cheney since Bush has done nothing to hold anyone in his criminal regime accountable – which he is duty-bound to do. Even if not convicted of any direct wrong doing himself, Bush could and should be impeached and removed from office for neglecting to hold those under him accountable in violation of his oath.

Conversely, this President has bent over backwards shielding and protecting Karl Rove from legal liability in the Scooter Libby case and especially now in protecting Alberto Gonzales from justice being served for the Attorney General’s politicizing of the Judicial Branch through wrongful firings of federal attorneys.

The most common argument against impeachment is that if we impeach Bush, we’ll get Cheney as President. Personally I fear impeaching Cheney might make Bush President, but actually nearly all resolutions of the hundreds passed or in process around the nation, including the one we are asking Councilman Gordon to bring forth for a vote on the Minneapolis City Council, call for the impeachment of both Cheney and Bush.

The argument that such a resolution would be non-binding is specious as well. Since when are the opinions of the local citizenry as embodied by our local elected officials not of value? Grassroots politics, which this nation’s ongoing health is deeply reliant upon, are all about speaking the truth to power upwards through the system which is what we are doing here today.

Impeachment is not extreme. We are a nation of laws. No American is above the law, and those privileged to be granted the authority to lead should be held more stringently to the law, not less.

Is it too late? Impeachment hearings against Richard Nixon began on May 9th, 1974. Nixon resigned on August 8th – less than 3 months later. Nixon was to be impeached for obstruction of justice, abuse of power and defiance of subpoenas. Anyone following the “˜Attorneygate’ story recognizes the current parallels.

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decreed impeachment to be “off the table” and said Democrats were “ready to govern”, the nation – which had spoken clearly in the November mid-term election – was told to look forward to an end to the Iraq War, accountability for the Bush Administration and the passage of progressive domestic legislation to help so many damaged by this most atrocious administration. Instead, the corporate faction of the national Democrats just handed over a blank check to Bush’s War. Modest yet decent gains such as a raise in the minimum wage only have come by making huge concessions to the corporate Republicans and to Bush’s veto and signing statement threats.

Democrats gambling on waiting out the Bush term and expecting another landslide win in “˜08 take heed: Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll says just 27 percent of Americans approve of the way Congress is doing its job. Congress with Democrats in the majority of both Houses has lower approval ratings than President Bush. The possibility of at least the Senate returning to the GOP if not both Houses and the swearing in of President Fred Thompson is a real concern, not a nightmare fantasy.

Democrats, when one party has shown strength and integrity in holding the other accountable historically, they have made gains in the next elections.

In our appeals to the Minneapolis City Council over the past few months for passage of an impeachment resolution we received a broad spectrum of replies from those that could be bothered to respond to their constituents – about half of them. After multiple appeals and inquiries, Council member Lisa Goodman finally replied: “I’ll make it simple for you. I do not have the time to reply to this set of questions or to chat about this on the phone about this issue.”

Others, including Council member Paul Ostrow, who believes that “this President may go down as the nation’s worst” and also including Council members Betsy Hodges and Ralph Remington, see this federal issue as “outside of the pervue” of the council.

The Minneapolis City Council, to their great credit, recently passed a “Bring the Troops Home” resolution 9-0 with 4 abstentions. Council members Gordon and Glidden are to be greatly commended for there every effort to make this happen and for “yay” votes on our behalf.

This resolution, apparently based upon the fact that constituents have family members “˜over there’ and our tax dollars are continuing to fund this misguided and unwelcome occupation, leaving less for domestic needs, makes resoundingly clear that the City Council does indeed feel that federal policy – even foreign policy IS within their pervue.

Council members Gordon and Glidden, thank you again for coming. I don’t have family “˜over there’, but it is my Constitution, my Bill of Rights, those are my freedoms and my liberties that are under comprehensive assault by these confirmed domestic enemies to the Constitution who took our White House by bloodless coupe d-etat in Florida in 2000 and extended their infestation of it in like manner in Ohio in 2004.

An extremely dangerous precedent is being set. Lying to congress to initiate a war of aggression, an ongoing occupation for war-profiteers of a country 80% of whose citizens want us to leave, 50% of whom feel violence against American troops is justified, whose parliament has passed a resolution asking us to leave, suppression of the press and free speech, false news reports being generated from the White House and distributed despite a cease and desist order from a lower court.

The suspension of habeas corpus/due process, the very basis of the democratic ideal and dream since 1215 is in effect today. They are discussing… DISCUSSING… restoring it in Congress.

What more do we need? If this President is not impeached, if this Vice President is not impeached, the impeachment clause should be lifted from the Constitution through Amendment.

I am calling upon you as my proxie on my City Council to fulfill your oath – even if the vote would be 12-1 against impeachment, which it won’t be.

America desperately needs leaders at this time, this crucible in our nation’s history. I am calling upon you to lead. The rest can follow or tell them on my behalf to get the hell out of our way. Justice must and will be served.

Honor your oaths.