Chicago Trib!: Wexler pushes for Cheney's impeachment

[babylonsister]

Is this story growing legs? Last I heard, only a Miami paper had mentioned this.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-impeach-mcl-webdec26,1,6172194.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Wexler pushes for Cheney's impeachment

By Lesley Clark | McClatchy Newspapers
5:02 PM CST, December 25, 2007



WASHINGTON — Rep. Robert Wexler is taking on the Bush administration — in cyberspace.

The Florida Democrat has launched a Web site — wexlerwantshearings.com — and is gathering signatures calling for impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney.

"Our constitution mandates that the House of Representatives hold presidents and vice presidents accountable when they commit high crimes," Wexler says in a video on the site, which suggests, among other things, that Cheney manipulated intelligence to boost the case for war against Iraq and was involved in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Within two days of posting, Wexler said he had surpassed his goal of 50,000 signatures and is aiming for 250,000. He's written an op-ed article with two fellow members of the House Judiciary committee, calling for hearings into whether Cheney violated the constitution.

Though the push is, as Wexler acknowledges, a "huge uphill battle" because House leadership has not been interested, the quest has made him a favorite of left-leaning activists.

"It's phenomenal. I think he's a very brave person to go against the Democratic leadership," said Diane Lawrence, a member of the South Florida Impeachment Coalition, which began calling for impeachment hearings last August. "He's gaining momentum. This is what people around the country were waiting for."

Wexler, a veteran member of the House Judiciary Committee, hopes to deliver the signatures to the committee in January when Congress returns to Washington.

more...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-impeach-mcl-webdec26,1,6172194.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

[Sancho]

1. I surprised that the St. Pete Times hasn't picked up on it.

I know that several of us have been sending notes to various editors.

[0007]

2. I indeed hope it has legs. Wexler is way out in front on this and

it will get some action. I hope!!

[lisainmilo]

31. Me Too!

:patriot:

[undeterred]

3. I heard that they had asked for it to be an editorial in major papers

(like NYT) and it was rejected- so it was only printed by The Nation at first. Now because of all the signatures it is gaining momentum. So what we do really does make a difference.

[tekisui]

4. 135,050 signed Wexler's Petition so far.

He's leaving it up until mid-Jan.

[shadowknows69]

5. Maybe someone in Illinois

will ask their favorite Senator about their stance on this.

[rosesaylavee]

9. I have been asking BOTH my senators about this

for over a year. They have been non-committal so far though Durbin has admitted that Cheney's behavior has been contemptible.

[L. Coyote]

6. all 15 news articles » Google news

Lawmaker sets out to impeach Cheney
Detroit Free Press, United States - 7 hours ago
Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat and presidential candidate, introduced a resolution this year calling for Cheney's impeachment. ...
Florida's Wexler Calls For Cheney's Impeachment CBS 4
all 15 news articles » http://news.google.com/news?q=Wexler+Cheney+impeachment

This may be the tally to watch. 15 articles is just the beginning.
This means a lot more signatures will follow IF the news gets out.

Is this a great study in control of the presses, or what!! ??

Let Cheney impeachment hearings proceed
MiamiHerald.com, FL - Dec 19, 2007 - http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/4-0&fp=4772c81c7682f5d2&ei=9nxyR7r0D4-aqwOG4PyMDw&url=http%3A//www.miamiherald.com/456/story/349847.html&cid=0
Our Founding Fathers provided Congress the power of impeachment for just this reason, and we must now at least consider using it. US REPS. ROBERT WEXLER ...

US & WORLD
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX - 4 hours ago - http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/5-0&fp=4772c81c7682f5d2&ei=9nxyR7r0D4-aqwOG4PyMDw&url=http%3A//www.star-telegram.com/279/story/377977.html&cid=0
Robert Wexler, a Democrat, has launched a Web site calling for impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney. 3A 2 A company blamed in the ceiling ...

Wexler Passes 100000 Mark! Wants Quarter Million Impeachment ...
Political Cortex, NY - Dec 19, 2007 - http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/6-0&fp=4772c81c7682f5d2&ei=9nxyR7r0D4-aqwOG4PyMDw&url=http%3A//www.politicalcortex.com/story/2007/12/19/20519/877&cid=0
... body the subject of impeaching George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Since that initial announcement support has reached levels that enabled Wexler to double ...

[babylonsister]

7. "Is this a great study in control of the presses, or what!! ??" YES,

it's fairly amazing though not surprising.

[L. Coyote]

8. Time to purchase full-page ads in big papers, I think ... But, that's big $$$$

Hardly seems right to pay big bucks to the very presses that subvert the real news, but it could make a breakout difference too.

[mopinko]

10. my first reaction was shock, i mean, the trib! but

the paper has been bought by a cantankerous old guy who is insisting that newspapers aren't dead. so, here's hoping that this is the start of a trend for the tribune.

[Blarch]

11. I wonder when...

Wexler gets the same phone call Conyers and Pelosi got ?

Maybe he wants to be speaker ? ...maybe we need him as speaker, maybe it's all an illusion, a way to buy time till we get to the election. I don't trust anybody anymore.

[dmosh42]

12. Best of luck, but Dem leadership is avoiding impeachment because...

they are complicit in much of the administration illegalites, by their knowledge of those activities, and refusal to expose them. Any open investigation will cast light on the top congressional Dems, which would also lead to their removal.

[Kurovski]

13. K&R. (nt)

[magellan]

14. Orlando local news covered it at noon!

This may be why. Surprised the hell out of me.

Growing legs? From your keyboard to the country's ears, babylonsister!

[L. Coyote]

15. Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - 12 hours ago = McClatchy story is propagating.

The McClatchy story is propagating.

Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - 12 hours ago - http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20071226_In_the_Nation.html

House's Wexler wants Cheney out
WASHINGTON - Rep. Robert Wexler (D., Fla.) has launched a Web site on which he is gathering signatures calling for impeachment hearings against Vice President Cheney.

In a video on www.wexlerwantshearings.com, Wexler says the Constitution mandates that the House "hold presidents and vice presidents accountable when they commit high crimes." His site suggests, among other things, that Cheney manipulated intelligence to boost the case for war against Iraq and was involved in the outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson.

Wexler said he had surpassed his goal of 50,000 signatures and was aiming for 250,000. He acknowledged that the effort was a "huge uphill battle" because the House leadership has not been interested. - McClatchy Newspapers

[tekisui]

16. 136,974

http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/

[Progressive Radical]

20. 139,010 n/t

Edited: Read the tally wrong.

[cherokeeprogressive]

17. Lip Service. Nothing More. n/t

[orleans]

18. hey--remember conyers doesn't want this because of the

"corporatization" of the media!

i just found your thread from last week on the democracy now video & transcript--i just put up a new thread about it.

thanks for posting this!

[Kurovski]

19. Kick. (nt)

[pleah]

21. It also appear in this mornings paper in

Gulfport, MS. Good to see it spreading.

[pleah]

22. 139,983

[pleah]

23. 140,285

[L. Coyote]

24. 140,414 and rolling up 5,000 per day, down from 2,000 an hour. Ideas???

Put up posters?

Phone calling?

[L. Coyote]

25. 141,439 = 1,000 more in 100 minutes = one per 6 seconds = VERY GOOD

[L. Coyote]

26. E-MAIL from Wexler: Mainstream Media Wakes Up

From: "Congressman Robert Wexler
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:07:21 -0500
Subject: Cheney Impeachment – Mainstream Media Wakes Up

Dear L. Coyote,

As we prepare to celebrate the New Year, my resolution is to hold George Bush and Dick Cheney accountable for their abuses of power.

In the last days, we have made real progress:

The mainstream media has awakened to this movement and to the extraordinary support you have given it. Your calls, letters, and emails have clearly made a difference. Already 140,000 people have joined us in demanding impeachment hearings for Vice President Dick Cheney by signing up at WexlerWantsHearings.com.

The power of these combined voices are already shaking up the established order on Capitol Hill and throughout the mainstream media:

This week, the Miami Herald printed an article on our efforts that was syndicated in papers across the country, including the Detroit Free Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, Fort Worth Telegram, Contra Costa Times, Sacramento Bee, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, NC News & Observer, and others. (http://images.myngp.com/LinkTracker.aspx?crypt=IVi0ax2%2b6UBSinc%2fCPYaKTWix%2faNjH0tmR9FuDlU%2bI5C30r%2bTiHylpLE086rTE8rC770KdcDSgZ7KNgMa9ODSFH6rxs8tedBLLhuQx5CKc%2bTOfBcCK0Pc6xXUMBEfR%2b%2fLcvmYNIgQzg%3d )

In addition, CBS4 in Miami became the first station we know of to run a television segment about the call for hearings.
http://images.myngp.com/LinkTracker.aspx?crypt=IVi0ax2%2b6UBSinc%2fCPYaKSoMJjCvijXSlVvc%2fv3khqbmwy%2f%2bC6Fn251SEVrrnyPOP%2f9ZDgQl5FUXx3VTtzWymROo3Pa%2fbjaYais8FzFvXR2wnUXsRvXpcHRU2DuCWnCzR6l6DG5LtRg%2fnkqX2SFhMA%3d%3d

Perhaps most importantly, just this morning the Philadelphia Inquirer courageously ran the full editorial I drafted along with my fellow Judiciary Committee members Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (R-WI). (http://images.myngp.com/LinkTracker.aspx?crypt=IVi0ax2%2b6UBSinc%2fCPYaKfv1p9CrjvvqWv2wt41AF1MwPFQmxC%2bI4qqo5En5oyRWG0NYHayLQcq7SGuF2nv34agsVTpRXBmQGZNpTisBX7G0Kv1Kut6GdOQ33zC4Ts1KOEzlGIYbCWQ3VQ8EHRu7QfYNQeHFfXX85JxgDyp10GY%3d) Congratulations to the Inquirer for their willingness to publish a viewpoint that is so widely held by Americans – yet one that other leading national newspapers refused to publish.

We have come so far in just a few weeks. No longer can the mainstream media ignore our efforts and dismiss this cause as only part of the fringe left.

Already we are seeing tangible results from our combined effort. As you already know, Congress is well behind the American people on this issue. This is an uphill battle, but it's one that has to be fought. It should not be the whole agenda, but it needs be *on* the agenda.

When Congress reconvenes in January, I plan to present a list to my Judiciary Committee colleagues of every single person that signed up at WexlerWantsHearings.com. I will go to more of my colleagues and ask them to join a letter in support of hearings. We will build on the momentum you have given us.

Last week, I spent an hour on Blog Talk Radio outlining thoughts and answering questions in regards to this work. So many people hit their site that their servers temporarily went down. If you'd like to hear the archived audio, please click HERE. http://images.myngp.com/LinkTracker.aspx?crypt=IVi0ax2%2b6UBSinc%2fCPYaKTWix%2faNjH0tmR9FuDlU%2bI5C30r%2bTiHylpLE086rTE8rC770KdcDSgZ7KNgMa9ODSCioM4DFw0CW03Gid7xmg1WFiAg%2bs1gi5lpofn0j0aR3ndkt8I9eauI%3d

Let's do our best to further spread the message so that list will be up to a quarter million. Please continue to blog, email friends, and insist that your family and friends sign up!

Thanks for your commitment.

Congressman Robert Wexler

P.S. I have been running online ads to make more people aware of our impeachment campaign. If you are interested in making a contribution to this effort you can click here. http://images.myngp.com/LinkTracker.aspx?crypt=IVi0ax2%2b6UBSinc%2fCPYaKUEFsqOTrJU9bSaorYKVc5zkasAeJSuSbFdIlnB1cv%2b8lxOgVnf2IJTRBiNthxu%2f7LujzwxqNINgK6YFpuX6PEn52hwZ77j7z5oMjtAIZPPH9hrsn9ON%2bmo%3d

[pleah]

27. 143,257

[pleah]

28. 144,374

[pleah]

29. 145,348

[pleah]

30. 147,624