OH-13: Want Impeachment? Call Sutton (D)
Submitted by Jeff on Fri, 11/09/2007 - 10:36am.
Are you hankering for impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney (R-Undisclosed Location)? An American Research Group poll in July found that a majority of Americans (54%) want the U.S. House of Representatives to commence impeachment proceedings against Cheney. (As compared to only 45% who want them against President Bush.) That's a lot of people.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Cleveland) has introduced the impeachment resolution, but to proceed the House Judiciary Committee must pass it along to the floor for a vote. Seven Democrats on the committee are in favor of the resolution, but Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Copley Township) is not one of them.
If impeachment is your thing, contact Sutton by calling (202) 225-3401 or going to her website.
As for me, I don't think it is a good idea. Let's keep our eye on the ball: winning the White House and increasing our majorities in Congress. The Democratic leadership in Congress needs to rally voters by resisting the White House on policy, but going the impeachment route risks a major backlash. A majority of people like the idea of impeaching Cheney in the abstract, but if impeachment hearings become a protracted reality and dominate the news I expect that the public would quickly tire of the whole thing. Removing Cheney would be an accomplishment, but a negative one, not as helpful as positive accomplishments like getting a compromise SCHIP bill passed or forcing the White House to accept a timetable to begin getting out of Iraq. Let's work on those things.
Still, 54% of Americans is a lot. If you are one of them and you want to push the process along, you know what to do. For that matter, if you oppose impeachment proceedings, call and say that.
I'm with you on this
Frankly it would be pointless to impeach the vice president. Even if it was proven he did anything illegal or unethical he would be pardoned by the president. Thats how these things work. Besides, the Democrats need Vice President Cheney there so they can point and say "Do you want four more years of this?"
Hopefully Kucinich will move on to more important things. I hear that John Edward (of Crossing Over fame, not Senator fame), Sylvia Browne and James VanPraagh are putting together a society. Maybe he can go be chairman of that or something.
Cheney Impeachment should proceed
... not because of a practical reason like actually removing him from office but rather for the purpose of filling-in the details of Cheney's legacy related to this horrendous period in American history.
The ability to subpoena and force testimony will go a long way to bring out numerous truths about Cheney that are currently being swept under the rug or buried.
I believe that we deserve to demand accountability in order to know as many of the misdeeds as possible regarding what Cheney embodied and undertook.
Many criticize Kucinich for running for president when I believe his message is a credible reason to run, even if he doesn't have a chance to win the nomination.
The same thing holds true for Kucinich's impeachment proceedings against Cheney. Although I have a hard time believing that Kucinich will be able to oust Cheney from office, I support allowing Kucinich to uncover information for the historical record.
How can we learn from history if all the details are being covered-up ?? I commend Dennis Kucinich for taking the high road in his attempt to reveal truth and stand-up for justice.
Disclosure: I support both Edwards and Kucinich. Edwards has potential to win the nomination, but Kucinich is communicating about the moral and ethical direction that MOST Democratic Party supporters' compasses are pointing.
I'm not saying Kucinich is perfect or completely ideologically pure. However, he is making an attempt to negotiate his way through the slings and arrows being thrown by the front-pagers of the BS Blog and other older (but not wiser) moderates who are blinded by corporate power and/or other DLC establishment DINOs.
congrats
you ALMOST made it. but the nervous ticks kicked in right at the last moment and left us with the same old tired hickmania.
so close!
Impeachment
Conyers wisely counted the votes, says the Dems
don't have the votes and is unwilling to shut down the House while a futile impreachment proceeding is pending. Forget it and move on to something productive !