It is time to consider impeachment

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Support for the impeachment of President Bush (and perhaps also Vice President Cheney) is not limited to some extremist fringe of the far left, which is what the right, and many in the media, would have us believe. On the contrary, a solid percentage of Americans have expressed support for impeachment in poll after poll. According to a Rasmussen poll the results of which were released yesterday, 39 percent of Americans "now believe that President Bush should be impeached and removed from office".

Let me repeat that: 39 percent.

This is up from 32 percent in December 2005.

I would not argue that public opinion should drive impeachment, one way or the other, but what this and other polls suggest is that impeachment is not a wild and crazy idea promoted by Bush's most ardent critics, including by some here at The Reaction. As Steve Benen puts it, it is not some "'fringe' idea that 'serious' people are supposed to reject out of hand".

And so, like Steve, I would like to agree with Matt Yglesias that impeachment "needs to enter the mainstream conversation": "[I]nsofar as Bush appears determined to use his constitutionally granted authority to shield his subordinates from the consequences of breaking the law,... removing him from the office which grants that authority is something that should be discussed."

No, the votes aren't there in the Senate for conviction, but it is time, finally, to talk about impeachment -- of both Bush and Cheney -- as a legitimate option, and to consider seriously whether or not to go forward with it.

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See also Crooks and Liars.