The impeachable ones
By Michael J.W. Stickings
Important numbers from Think Progress:
It won't be enough, not nearly enough, but hopefully, just hopefully, history will do what the majority of Americans are, as of now, unwilling to do regardless of their own views on the matter.
Which is to hold these constitutional abusers accountable for their actions.
Honestly, what more evidence is needed?
Important numbers from Think Progress:
A new American Research Group poll finds that 55 percent of voters believe President Bush has "abused his powers" in a manner that rises "to the level of impeachable offenses under the Constitution," yet just 34 percent believe he should actually be impeached. Fifty-two percent say that Vice President Cheney has similarly abused his powers, with 43 percent supporting impeachment.
It won't be enough, not nearly enough, but hopefully, just hopefully, history will do what the majority of Americans are, as of now, unwilling to do regardless of their own views on the matter.
Which is to hold these constitutional abusers accountable for their actions.
Honestly, what more evidence is needed?
Labels: Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, impeachment, polls
posted by Michael J.W. Stickings at
10:51 PM
6 Comments:
It is not a matter of evidence but political will, as you yourself pointed out. Although it requires only a simple majority in the House to impeach, it requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate to convict, and there are simply too many Reprehensibles in Congress (with loyalty to the junta) to met this threshhold. And suppose you do impeach the Pres? There is also the Vice Pres. You would have to impeach both, and the hurdles are simply too high. The junta knows this (peevish, petulent assholes that they are).
Nor is it a matter of pain motivating political change, because I believe there is sufficient pain to go around.
May I suggest this: fatigue, exhaustion, and a cynical resignation that nothing can be done until the clock of this adminsitrations runs out.
By
Anonymous, at 3:29 AM
You're right, it is a matter of political will, and I'm not sure I have it myself, and I don't think pursuing impeachment is advisable, given, as you say, the hurdles -- it would be symbolic, at most, at best, and perhaps unpopular.
What I would like to see is more talk of impeachment. The Dems may not pursue it, but it should be an open topic, with argument made in support of it given greater prominence. What I would like is for the American people to understand that Bush and Cheney should be impeached.
I certainly find myself fatigued, exhausted, and cynically resigned after these many years of abuse -- and I think we can say that Bush and Cheney have abused everything they've touched -- but the fight, I think, ought to continue.
By
Michael J.W. Stickings, at 9:30 AM
MJWS: the fight, I think, ought to continue.
Agreed, but the question is: What kind of fight and in what forum? This week, there was a judicial decision concerning the lost WH e-mails. Almost daily, one reads about domestic surveillance and other abuses coming under judicial scrutiny. But still, we have not heard from the congressional oversight committees. Do they mean what they say, or is this merely bluster and blubber?
The debate, I think, should move into the courts. I would like to see more prosecutions with criminal penalties. Short of impeachment, this too would send a strong message.
By
Anonymous, at 10:33 AM
For us, continuing the fight means continuing to write and talk about the issues at hand. We may not have our hands on the levers of power, but we provide a crucial service in contributing to what I hope is a vigorous discussion. The abuses must not be allowed simply to melt into the morass of short attention spans.
I, too, would like to see the courts more involved, and I would certainly welcome prosecutions of those who have committed these abuses, those who are actually responsible for them, not their scapegoated underlings.
By
Michael J.W. Stickings, at 11:14 AM
And I would add this:
I expected more from Democrats in Congress. I expected not just idle hearings but aggressive, probing investigations into the various abuses committed by Bush, Cheney, and their administration. And yet the Democrats seem to be far more interested in holding on to power than in actually doing anything with their power. Republicans used their power in the '90s to go after the Clintons on trumped-up charges, for crimes that were never committed. Why can't Democrats use their power now to go after the very real abuses committed by this administration?
By
Michael J.W. Stickings, at 11:18 AM
Of course, you are very right, and I am in full agreement. I didn't mean to downplay the need for vigorous public debate, which do, on rare occasions, cause politicians to bow to public pressure.
With less than 13 months to go, impeachment just isn't one of those "justice-will-prevail" moments (showing my cynicism again).
By
Anonymous, at 1:29 PM
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