Land of Enchantment and Impeachment

[davidswanson]

By David Swanson

There is a decent chance that within the next month or two the New Mexico State Legislature will ask the U.S. House of Representatives to begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush and Vice President Cheney. And there is the definite possibility that a Congress Member from New Mexico will take up the matter when it gets to Washington. The Jefferson Manual, rules used by the U.S. House, allows for impeachment to be begun in this manner. It only takes one state legislature. No governor is needed. One Congress Member, from the same state or any other, is needed to essentially acknowledge receipt of the state's petition. Then impeachment begins.

Last year the state legislatures of California, Minnesota, Illinois, and Vermont introduced but did not pass resolutions to send impeachment to the U.S. House. The State Senator who introduced the bill in Minnesota is now a member of Congress, Keith Ellison. He is one of many Congress Members waiting for the right moment to impeach Bush and Cheney. The state of New Jersey has a strong activist movement working to introduce and pass impeachment this year. There's a race now to see which state can do it first, which state can redeem these United States in the eyes of the world. New Mexico is jumping into the contest in a big way, with a terrific leading sponsor of the bill, strong Democatic majorities in both houses, and a citizens' movement ready to hold its government to account.

Of course, it is cities, not states, that have really taken the lead on impeachment, as on ending the war. Dozens of cities have already passed resolutions for impeachment. Dozens more have introduced them, and they are pending. < http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/resourcecenter > A handful have introduced them and voted them down. On March 6th about 100 towns in Vermont will vote at public meetings for impeachment. But by March 6th, impeachment may already be underway.

There is a conflict brewing between Congress and the White House over the war and over the division of powers created by the U.S. Constitution and eliminated by this administration. If Bush attacks Iran and/or Syria without approval from Congress, or escalates the war in Iraq without approval from Congress, we may finally see Congress fight back. This President has rendered Congress almost meaningless. He reverses laws with "signing statements." He disregards laws at his whim, openly bragging about doing so. And he makes many operations secret, hidden even from Congress, refusing requests for information, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act. When this President does communicate with Congress, he often provides false or misleading information, most notably in making the case for the current war.

Vice President Cheney has already said that he will likely refuse to appear before Congress if subpoenaed. The White House will likely refuse subpoenas of any sort, and openly professes to believe the President is a "unitary executive." White House spokesperson Tony Snow said on January 8th:

"The President has the ability to exercise his own authority if he thinks Congress has voted the wrong way."

Americans voted in November for Congress to stand up to this assault on our democracy. We voted against the war, but we even voted out Republicans who were opposing the war. We threw out candidates who allowed Bush to campaign for them, and left in office those who refused.

While it is public knowledge that Bush launched the opening stages of the Iraq War in secret, without Congress's approval or awareness, illegally using funds appropriated for Afghanistan and elsewhere, it has not always been as clear as it is at this moment that Bush will not end the war even if required by Congress to do so. Growing awareness of this fact is leading the peace movement to join the impeachment movement.

Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers so many years ago, recently argued that it was only the pressure of the peace movement that allowed the impeachment of President Nixon to proceed, and that it was only the exposures and threat of impeachment that persuaded Nixon not to veto the bill that finally cut off the funding for the Vietnam War. As Congress exposes the crimes of Bush and Cheney to public view, it will move us closer to impeachment. As Congress Members begin to object to their powerless role of court jesters, they will move us closer to impeachment and also to bringing our troops home.

We should be encouraging our Congress Members to proceed immediately with key investigations http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/investigations and to not be afraid to use subpoenas. We should also be encouraging state legislators in our own and other states who take up the cause of democracy. We need them to do so from their positions as elected officials closer to the people and further from the big dollars.

In New Mexico, a leading light of that state's politics, State Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino of Albuquerque, will be leading the way on impeachment. He deserves the support of all the world, and you can thank him at [e-mail] or 505-986-4380. Let's help him make New Mexico the land of enchantment and impeachment.

[demnan]

1. Some good news!

At the rally in front of the White House last night there were as many people calling for impeachment as were calling for us to leave the war. I think you're right. The two movements need to hold hands. Good for New Mexico if they can do it.

[deepthought42]

2. Thank you for posting this!

My heart was pounding the entire time I was reading it. I'm not normally the kind of person who gets easily paranoid about the state of world affairs, but these past few days... :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Beer Snob-50]

3. I am uncomfortable with all the impeachment talk

we have to try and end the war through pressure by Congress and if Chimp boy refuses to listen or goes around Congress to get things done then impeachement hearings should start.

We have to be above the previous antics of Misters Burton, Hyde, Delay and all the others who had a hand in the impeachement of Bill Clinton.

[hobbit709]

4. You equate the antics of

"Misters Burton, Hyde, Delay and all the others who had a hand in the impeachement of Bill Clinton." with the actions of Bush and Cheney in starting an ILLEGAL war and continuing an ILLEGAL occupation and killing untold thousands of Iraqi,Afghani and American people in pursuit of gross profits and power. There is more to impeach for than just the war. Try throwing the Constitution out the window for starters.

[hashibabba]

8. I totally agree. And we can't be afraid of the RW media framing the

impeachment the way they want to. They're always going to be negative about anything we do. So are we just supposed to sit around and do whatever the repubs want us to do? I don't think so. We still need to hold these criminals accountable in a big way.

[Beer Snob-50]

11. we should not just give in to the repubs!

however, i think we should await shrub doing something in the next couple of months that we can say is illegal and then get his ass out of office.

[fooj]

21. Wait for him to do something illegal? Where have YOU been?

The man is a war criminal.

[Beer Snob-50]

22. i did not say it clearly

something illegal on our watch.

[fooj]

24. OK.

That works for me. How about violating International Law by seizing an Embassy?

[Beer Snob-50]

25. that'll work! NT

[GOTV]

18. We shoudl NOT ignore our enemies unless we don't care to be successful

We have to consider the reaction of the RW media and plan accordingly. If you insist in calling that "fear" then so be it, but you would be mischaracterizing it.

If we want to actually remove the president and not just impeach him we need the support of many GOP senators. They are not going to commit party suicide by voting to convict unless they fear not voting to convict is a larger political suicide. To get their support we need to work on their constituents.

That's where the RW media comes it. They will defend the president and attack the dems. If we impeach first, before public support is there, we give the RW media a stick to beat us with, and since we didn't wait for the public to get on board the impeachment train, the RW media will be successful with their beating.

THe Dems can talk about Bush crimes, and hopefully NEW crimes, and the RW media will still try to defend the prez, but in doing so, they'll have to also talk about the crimes because we haven't given them a new issue, impeachment hearings, to distract the people.

No one is letting the RW media force us to "do whatever the repubs want us to do" but we are recognizing that they are there and will have an effect on our chances for success.

[Beer Snob-50]

29. agreed

what i meant was that the american people may equate the actions of this congress as a way of getting back at the republicans for the actions of the before mentioned individuals.

[rolfboy]

7. I agree with you.

Although I am secretly pleased that many Repubs are abandoning the Evil Ship Bushipop, and also pleased that other state legislatures are pushing for impeachment of B/C, I am also saddened by it all.

While lying to line your pockets with war profits, and killing young men and women, are so much worse than lying about a blow job, I feel that impeachment at this time will only further divide the reds and the blues from each other. Faux and CNN will undoubtedly characterize impeachment as partisan politics, and their blowhards (Bill Orally, Shameity, Tucker, et al) will frame impeachment as another San Francisco value.

However, if Hagel, Brownback, gather steam and convince other Repubs that impeachment is truly for the benefit of the nation and for democracy (which we all seem to agree on here at DU), then i feel it will be hard for the blowhards to convince the masses.

thanks for reading,
Robert

[Beer Snob-50]

12. i gotta agree

that if we can get some Repub Senators like those mentioned to talk impeachement than we should go for it. I guess I am leery about it being partisan effort and how it will affect us in 2008 (although rightfully we will save thousands of lives by taking the boy king out now)

[GOTV]

14. Remember, "taking out the boy king" requires republican support...

So you NEED to wait until you have some Repub Senators on board before you can take him out.

[Beer Snob-50]

17. good point! NT

[GOTV]

13. GOP Senators will be reluctant to vote for conviction, but will if they sense large public support

And that's where effort should be expended, on increasing public support for impeachment.

Grassroots efforts can help but the best thing is to use our new found subpoena power to uncover the dirt we could never get near before. I suspect there's enough dirt to be mined to convince large majorities to support impeachment.

[calimary]

36. Absolutely. Remember how it went with Nixon. He was forced out

when Republican big-wig Barry Goldwater and others went to him, personally, and told him the few supports that he was still leaning on within his own party - WERE GONE. That IMPEACHMENT was imminent. Nixon announced his resignation the next day. As momentum grows in our favor, this becomes a more realistic prospect EVERY DAY. ESPECIALLY among the Nervous Nellies and the tight-sphincter crowd facing reelection in '08, and NOT wanting to be seen by the voters as having hitched their wagons to an anvil.

Folks, this is getting just a teeny bit EASIER and MORE LIKELY - EVERY day!

[GOTV]

10. You are right to be... A successful impeachment is far from certain. n/t

[Senator]

26. We're already "above" ... because the regime is so far "below"

Any comparison with the Clinton impeachment farce is just a propaganda tactic, designed to stop the listener from thinking rationally about impeaching bushcheney and just dismissing the subject out of a visceral "ick factor."

The reality of the situation is that the circumstances now are "Reverse Clinton." In all aspects.

Sadly, among DC Dems and others inside the beltway, "fearing fear itself" is a way of life. So such "chicken-little" concerns/tactics -- like "oh no! we'll get cheney." -- can be quite effective in fostering dereliction of duty to defend the Constitution.

People have to stop a think what literally will happen that's "so bad." Folks will still get up and go to work. Trains will still run. Banks won't close. And it's not like the new Dem majority is actually getting anything done under "rule by signing statement" anyway.

Only Impeachment ... is a subtantive act.

--

[Botany]

5. It is coming ..... a mater of when not if.

Very soon repugs will be helping to lead the charge.

[Roland99]

6. Any impeachment MUST include BOTH Bush and Cheney!

[Mikey929]

23. OK

Do you really think they're going to try to impeach both the Pres. and VP??? You are living in a total dream world.

[Roland99]

32. Cheney is the one driving the war machine. They MUST go after BOTH!

[Time for change]

9. Congress must move forward with pre-emptive impeachment

Impeachment is definitely NOT a waste of time, as even some Democratic members of Congress. If not done soon we may find ourselves in some more wars.

Thanks for the good news.

[GOTV]

19. Remember, impeachment won't prevent a single war...

... unless it's got at least 16 GOP Senators behind it.

They are not as convinced of Bush's crimes as we are.

[Time for change]

31. Not at this time perhaps

But after the investigations get going and coverage of the investigations influences popular opinion (as happened during the Nixon Senate hearings and House impeachment hearings) I believe that they will be able to get at least 16 GOP Senators to fall in line. Especially if the "surge" fails.

[VP505]

15. I also agree

and being that the NM legislature is Democratic controlled, with a Democratic Governor, I think that there is a good chance this will be done. Regardless, I truly believe that when "we the people" start getting a full dose of the truth it will be the Republicans that will be yelling loudest for Impeachment, simply because it's their party's longevity that will suffer the most if Bu$Co isn't removed from office.

[dnunez7]

16. Is this really what we want?

Good morning fellow Americans!

While I have spent the passed six years acting as a huge critic to the Bush-Cheney Administration in Washington, I must beg the question: Is impeachment really the way we want to go? As a very staunchly Democratic member of the process, I fully understand that there must be much more oversight on the Bush Administration's policies, especially those having to do with the very dissapointing war in Iraq. I very much disagree with the administration's call for a surge in troops as I feel that it is nothing more than a "more-of-the-same" approach to our policy there. I also know that there is a tremendous need for a very firm and definitive timetable that will call for more Iraqi responsibility of their own affairs so that our American servicemen and -women will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of their being able to get out of Iraq. Our president has failed not only us, but actually most importantly our troops, in that he has administered this war very poorly by not clearly defining what victory in Iraq actually means and by not establishing a clear timetable for when we will finally throw in the towel and call it quits there. They speak highly of the threat to the American way of life should we leave Iraq now, but honestly, will we ever be so far removed from Iraq that we will not be able to prevent any threats to the United States? I think not. I think that the President knows very well that he will be able to bring a great majority of our men and women in uniform back to the United States, while leaving enough military support in the region to protect any and all of our interests there. This is no different from the tens of thousands of troops that we still have based around the world in places like Eastern Europe, Japan, the South Pacific and so forth. I still ask, though, are there really grounds for impeachment and is it really what we all feel is right for the country? I'd have to argue that it is not.

Proceedings on the impeachment of the President of the United States will do nothing more than divide an already widely torn nation, and prove very detrimental to the coming years in our political landscape. We cannot simply resort to thoughts of impeachment every time we disagree with what our President chooses to do. We have protocols that have eternally been set in stone in that great living document written by our Founding Fathers – the Constitution of the United States – for how we are to place any and all checks on the executive branch of government via the Congress of the United States. Our newly elected Congress – the 110th Congress – must be given ample time to proceed with Congressional oversight hearings in order to best grill the administration on all of the hard-pressing issues of the day. In turn, they will need to come up with a strategy on how they will best confront the President to tell him, “Sir, this will go on no further. Your policies have failed the citizens of the United States, and we will wait no longer to intervene in these affairs.”

Again, impeachment is not the answer. The United States Congress in the Fall of 2002 clearly and explicitly gave the power to use military force in Iraq to the President thereby abandoning their eligibility to directly dictate the tactics of the war. It is not the responsibility of the United States Congress to play out how the war will take effect, but they do have every right to constrain the President and his plans on escalating the war. It is common knowledge that the Congress holds the purse strings on of the government, and while it would be folly to cut funds for the war immediately, they must send to the President clear and firm messages that he is abusing his powers as Commander-In-Chief, that a vast majority of American sentiment is against his continued failing policy in Iraq, and that he will have certain ultimatums set in place if his policy fails yet again. The Congress has all the power in the world that it needs to send this message to the President. They must let him know that if he continues to evade the advise given to him by the national legislature and by study groups that were established by himself, they will no longer financially support his efforts in the war in Iraq. I know that many may seem a move to cut off funds as detrimental to our soldiers there, but honestly, will the President really continue to completely dismiss the calls from Congress and leave the military there if he cannot properly fund it? I think not. It is the Congress that must now act in order to make sure that the United States saves some kind of face so as to not further deepen our responsibilities for the catastrophe that has become the Iraq War.

Impeachment, I state again, will divide our nation as though half of us were living on the beaches of the eastern seaboard and the other half on the sandy beaches of the Pacific Coast. It will cause harm to the presidential election that will ensue in 2008 by taking focus away from the fresh faces that hope to bring change to Washington D.C. in 2008. It will make American look so week and so indecisive and so uninvolved in its own democratic process that it will elect a man or woman to be President of the single most powerful nation on Earth, but flip-flop in an attempt to impeach this person as soon as we become unhappy with this policies of his or her administration. That is the clear message that we will be sending to the world. Aren’t all American voters to also be held accountable? Let’s remember that President Bush did not wake up one morning to a divine message from some power from up above telling him that he was president. No way, I’m sorry. He woke up, at least once, to an America that said, “Mr. Bush, we want you to be our President!” Now, I know that I did not support him in either of his two elections, and I do not support his policies, but shouldn’t the Democratic Party be held more accountable for maybe not working just a little harder to elect to the presidency a member of OUR party – the party of the people? I think so. And for those reasons, I say again impeachment is a wrong move. Let’s not further the great divide that is America today, let’s push forward to work hard over the next twenty-two months to find a good leader – one who will not falter and one who will do the job that all Americans have set them in place to do. Let’s work hard to educate our fellow Americans from the other side of the spectrum so that they too can understand what America as led by a Democrat can mean. Remember, 2008 will more than likely not be a landslide victory on either side. It will be another close election as still far too many Americans still support President Bush’s conservatism that we have lived under for the passed six years now. We must work to get them on our side, as well! I know that it does sound overly idealistic, but have some time our hands, why not work at it?

Thank you if you continued to read this, and remember – in a democracy, everyone is to be held accountable for their actions. Educate yourselves to vote the right way next time and get involved by contacting your representatives in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. They are there because you put them there, and you are the people who employ them. Without you, they would be nobodies with no paychecks. Please do your part to make change in our country and do not just go along with what seems to be the fad of the time. We will get nowhere as followers, but we have a bright future ahead of us as leaders!

Thank you!

[RBS]

27. I think you are mistaken....

First of all, the country is not divided on the war. As a matter of fact, we are more united than ever in demanding that this illegal war, ineptly prosecuted, should end as soon as possible.

But more importantly, impeachment would not be based on Bush's right to prosecute the war as he sees fit. There are legislative remedies the Democrats can seek in the way of funding and oversight that will severely hamper Bush's efforts to continue in his disastrous efforts to save face and improve his legacy. Impeachment instead would be based on his breaches of the constitutional: torture, illegal renderings, detaining "enemy combatants", signing statements.

The reality is that we must undertake this effort as a way to get these issues out in the open. The reason that everyone across the nation is not clamoring for impeachment is twofold: fear of an even worse Dick Cheney presidency, and the MSM's appalling lack of attention to the constitutional crisis that has unfolded over the past 6 years. We owe it to our country to restore sanity to our government, or we will continue to move down the slippery slope towards fascism that is unfolding right under our noses.

[ClayZ]

20. FASTER!

[Kurovski]

28. K&R(nt)

[Musty]

30. Land of Enchantment and Impeachment

I live in Santa Fe and I have not seen, in the local paper or on the local news, any mention of Ortiz y Pino's intentions. As much as I would absolutely love for Bush to be chimpeached and removed from office, I wouldn't count on NM to do it. Alot of our Democratic senators/reps. are very conservative. We barely got them to vote for a human rights anti-discrimination law a few years ago. It is nice to hear good news, but David Swanson is raising our hopes needlessly.

[DrRang]

34. Go, Jerry, Go!

Hi, Musty--
We live in Los Lunas, and I hear what you're saying about pockets of extreme conservatism in NM. I know Jerry Ortiz Y Pino slightly--we both write for the Weekly Alibi, Albuquerque's alternative newspaper. He writes very well-reasoned, non-hysterical columns about a variety of subjects, particularly education. I haven't heard locally about this effort either, but I wasn't surprised when I read which NM Senator was heading the effort. I've never before felt comfortable with either demanding that the troops come home or pushing for impeachment, but it seems like since the election, Bush has gotten completely out of control and detached from reality. Whether an impeachment is successful or not, maybe it will throw a monkey wrench into any possible attacks on Syria or Iran.

[Maryland Liberal]

33. If Pelosi doesnt have the balls

to do it -then somebody has got to step up to the plate. Way to go New Mexico! Even if we don't get a conviction in the Senate- we will have tied alot of GOP senators to a very unpopular President- kinds like coat tails in reverse. Then we will get a super-majority,in the Senate, in 2008.

[texpatriot2004]

35. Excellent nm

[blueButGlad]

37. Bush's own nickname for New Mexico

“we've had a great weekend here in the Land of the Enchanted”

President Bush, May 12th 2003, Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico's nickname is the ‘Land of Enchantment’

excerpted from the Bush calendar www.poorGeorgesAlmanac.com

[woodsgirl]

38. I agree with

the comment upthread that the repubs. will lead the charge to smoke the chimp. I saw tweety on Imus last week ranting so vociferously against the prez. they censored him. That's a turn a round.Imus ended ten minutes early thanks to tweety's rant. I'm sure there is some built up angst from the media because the Bush's aren't trying to get along and never have.I predict that will start bubbling up right about now.

[jerseyjack]

39. Land of Enchantment

I can't find anywhere in the Constitution that says a state can initiate impeachment proceedings.