Some ask why not just wait it out? After all it is just some 16 months or so until this administration is removed due if nothing else to term limits. But I say that misses the point. The point being what is acceptable and what is not.
(SALEM, Ore.) - I get into quite a few discussions lately regarding the subject of impeachment of President George W Bush (aka 'Shrub' to me and others) and Vice-President Dick Cheney. It might have something to do with my "Impeach Cheney?" hat I usually wear.
But the subject is a serious one.
Impeachment is not to be taken lightly, is not a mechanism to get a 'do over' on an election you lost and it is not supposed to be a mechanism of political or personal vengeance.
I do not even look at impeachment in a relativistic sense; if it was good enough to impeach President Clinton over a lie about a personal affair then the bar has been brought pretty low indeed in regards to 'high crimes and misdemeanors'.
However with the Bush/Cheney administration we have in my mind exactly what the mechanism for impeachment was designed for - an out of control, unaccountable administration that misuses and abuses the apparatus of government to pursue an agenda at odds with the law, at odds with the US Constitution and in many ways at odds with international laws, treaties and human rights.
I will not go into microspecifics here, as an opinion piece is not the place for that, the exercise would take volumes and the information is easily accessed on the net. If you are reading this then my guess is that you have access to the net.
But the short list of, in my humble opinion, impeachable offenses are:
* Prosecuting the Iraq war based not on facts but on misrepresented cherrypicked data and, not to be too charitable, outright lies.
* Under the USA PATRIOT Act (it is an acronym having nothing to do with patriotism other than to be its antithesis) wholesale criminal and constitutional violations.
* Violation of the Geneva Convention in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere with the transparent 'enemy combatants' circumvention attempt.
Some might even, under the Iraq war heading, add 'Crimes Against Humanity'.
Some might add, but I would disagree, the heavy reliance of mercenaries in our wars. I consider this to be incredibly bad judgment but not an impeachable offense.
Others might add a long laundry list of ineptitudes and mistakes but being stupid, being reckless and being ignorant are not really impeachable offenses. Those are matters for the next election.
But the Iraq war, how we got there, how it has been handled, etc, the treatment of detainees, the rape (I'm sorry but there is no better word) of the rights of US Citizens under this regime from Habeus Corpus on down, and the violation of international treaties, laws and general rules of civilized behaviors more than meet and exceed the reasonable bar of 'high crimes and misdemeanors'.
Some ask why not just wait it out? After all it is just some 16 months or so until this administration is removed due if nothing else to term limits. But I say that misses the point. The point being what is acceptable and what is not.
This administration has become so used to not being held accountable no matter how severe or heinous its crimes and offenses that it just keeps getting worse, even under the cowardly Democratic Congress elected in 2006 with the clear mandate to deal with this out of control 'Imperial Presidency'. It is my view that unless it is impeached, Vice-President Cheney first and then President Bush, future administrations will have been given the green light to attempt even more egregious offenses.
That cannot be allowed.
I usually try to comment on issues of local importance and this issue IS of local importance. It is abundantly clear that the cowards in Congress will not act unless the local folks they allegedly represent hold their feet to the political fire on this.
So write or call US Representative Darlene Hooley (or whoever your US Representative is) and demand action towards impeachment. Writing or calling US Senators Wyden and Smith is nice, but since Articles of Impeachment must originate in the US House of Representatives it is not particularly useful at this time.
But more importantly TALK. Talk to your friends, your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, the person you sit next to on the bus, Use it as a pickup line at a bar. Whatever means you use, just talk to others about the issue and if they agree suggest they call or write to Representative Hooley (or their Representative if it is someone else).
Tyrany flourishes in silence. Be silent no more!
Is Presidential Impeachment a Possibility?Salem-News.com