Will Your State Be the First to Send Impeachment Charges to Congress?

[paineinthearse]

by email

Three state legislatures, Illinois, California, and Vermont, have now introduced resolutions to send petitions to the U.S. House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against Bush (and, in the case of California, Cheney too). Minnesota, Missouri, and Oklahoma all have legislatures still active in May. Delaware, Louisana, R.I., South Carolina, and Puerto Rico are all up and running through June. New Hampshire is in session through July.

Every state has legislators brave enough to take the lead if we urge them to do so and provide them with the information they need.

Here's a kit to get you started:
http://www.impeachpac.org/resolutions

Here's a place to get organized with others in your area:
http://www.pdamerica.org/impeach-wg.php

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. I certainly hope not

Impeachment's not just a dumb idea, it's a flash-in-the-pan piece of nonsense that's detracting from the more salient and urgent issues. More diversion, while Fuckface laughs.

Ever stop to think who becomes President if an actual impeachment and conviction took place?

Yeah?

Did ya?

Want that?

[valerief]

3. ExxonMobil will still be president. n/t

[godhatesrepublicans]

5. YES! The remaining 32% would abandon Cheney in a pacemaker heartbeat!

[FULL_METAL_HAT]

6. Just to piss a bit in your vinegar ;^)

What pisses me off is how people don't seem to realize that Impeachment is a two-step dance and it can take quite some time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment#United_States
The impeachment procedure is in two steps. The House of Representatives must first pass "articles of impeachment" by a simple majority. (All fifty state legislatures as well as the District of Columbia city council may also pass articles of impeachment against their own executives). The articles of impeachment constitute the formal allegations. Upon their passage, the defendant has been "impeached."

Next, the Senate tries the accused. In the case of the impeachment of a President, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the proceedings. Otherwise, the Vice President, in his capacity of President of the Senate, or the President pro tempore of the Senate presides. This would include the impeachment of the Vice President him- or herself.

In order to convict the accused, a two-thirds majority of the senators present is required. In the case of current office-holders, conviction automatically removes the defendant from office. Following conviction, the Senate may vote to further punish the individual by barring him from holding future federal office (either elected or appointed). Despite a conviction by the Senate, the defendant remains liable to criminal prosecution. It is possible to impeach someone even after the accused has vacated his office in order to disqualify the person from future office or from certain emoluments of their prior office (such as a pension.) If a two-thirds majority of the senators present does not vote "Guilty" on one or more of the charges, the defendant is acquitted and no punishment is imposed.

Next, the Senate tries the accused. In the case of the impeachment of a President, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the proceedings. Otherwise, the Vice President, in his capacity of President of the Senate, or the President pro tempore of the Senate presides. This would include the impeachment of the Vice President him- or herself.


Congress regards impeachment as a power to be used only in extreme cases; the House has initiated impeachment proceedings only 62 times since 1789 (most recently Bill Clinton), and only the following 16 federal officers have been impeached:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment#United_States

Aside from the improbability of 2/3 of both the House AND the Senate voting aye on one (or more!!) articles of 'empechment'*(see below), if you note my bolding in the text above you might see how wonderfully ironic it would be to see Judge Roberts have to recuse himself and see go-eff-urself himself having to preside over his and *'s own, um, lets call it, Americans' revenge!!

* WORD HISTORY: Nothing hobbles a President so much as impeachment, and there is an etymological as well as a procedural reason for this. The word impeach can be traced back through Anglo-Norman empecher to Late Latin impedicre, “to catch, entangle,” from Latin pedica, “fetter for the ankle, snare.” Thus we find that Middle English empechen, the ancestor of our word, means such things as “to cause to get stuck fast,” “hinder or impede,” “interfere with,” and “criticize unfavorably.” A legal sense of empechen is first recorded in 1384. This sense, which had previously developed in Old French, was “to accuse, bring charges against.”

BTW, OLL your post seems more irate than I've ever seen of you... So I don't mean to piss you off really :) Seriously, what would you suggest are the more salient and urgent issues for our elected lame-o-trons to have on their plates? :>

All the best,

{B^> FMH

[autorank]

7. "elected lame-o-trons" A new term, one that applies.

They're doing nothing. They spent a couple of days on Censure,indulging the fantasy that they
actually have contact with the will of the people.

60% of Americans disapprove, like really disapprove, of *. There are more on the say.

He cannot govern, Cheney is a crook. Just release the Energy Dept. papers and look at
the map of Iraq.

Impeach *, Cheney and all the federal judges he appointed.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. Thanks for this one

People don't understand, I think, that "impeachment" isn't a buzz phrase or some sort of expedient mechanism by which we can make Fuckface disappear and then we can feel vindicated and everything will be all right.

Sorry if you found the post irate, but that certainly wasn't my intended tone, nor am I irate about the notion of impeachment.

If anything, I'm amused.

And then dejected.

Dejected because people are so easily distracted by this kind of time-wasting nonsense.

Yesterday, I heard a woman say she had to choose this coming week between buying groceries and putting gas in her car so she could get to work. There is no good public transportation where she lives.

Salient and urgent issues?

Oh, how about Iraq?

Gas prices?

More than 42,000,000 Americans without health coverage and no access to medical care?

Our crumbling infrastructure?

Remember New Orleans?

Our massive debt and how far in the hole we are to China?

The maimed in Walter Reed and other facilities who are kids whose lives have been taken from them, yet, like "Johnny Got His Gun," still they breathe?

The obscene profits of Halliburton and other war contractors who dwell in the Oval Office?

That's for openers.

All the best right back at ya, kid .......

[FULL_METAL_HAT]

13. I hear ya... I have something for you :^)

But how will anything actually be addressed? At least the building of public support of real or otherwise impeachment will make the congress lame-o-crats feel like they gotta do something or they'll be next...


This may help, I've listened to it about 10 times now:

www.neilyoung.com

{B^> FMH

[paineinthearse]

8. ewwwwww

[OldLeftieLawyer]

10. SEE?

SEE?

[AndyTiedye]

11. IMPEACH THEM BOTH. CONVICT NEXT YEAR

Can you san "President Nancy Pelosi"? :-)

[Tigress DEM]

12. Yah, Cheney can be impeached too. Do him first even.

The whole famdamily down to Hasert I think are all considered Executive Administration personnel and thus entitled to be impeached right along with Chimpy.

[autorank]

2. I'm in the state of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington

George Mason, James Madison, and Bacon's Rebellion.

But we've lost our way so regrettably, no. However, many of us would like to see this happen, maybe 35-40% with another 10-15% willing to listen.

I'm placing my money on the Land of Lincoln, Illinois!!!

Recommend

[paineinthearse]

4. I'm in the state of Tom Paine, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere...

Sent such a request to one of the most progressive state reps (neighboring district), no reply.

So it goes.