Salon >> The I-word goes public

[sabra]

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/03/03/impeachment/

The I-word goes public
At a forum in New York, pundits and politicians called for the impeachment of George W. Bush.


March 3, 2006 | New York -- Late last year, the idea of impeaching President Bush, once taboo even among most liberals, started gaining real currency. Following revelations of Bush's domestic spying program -- and the president's unrepentant insistence on continuing it -- former Nixon White House counsel John Dean called Bush "the first president to admit to an impeachable offense." Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, called for the creation of a select committee to investigate "those offenses which appear to rise to the level of impeachment." Twenty-six House Democrats have joined him.

At the end of January, former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, a member of the House Judiciary Committee during Nixon's impeachment, penned an appeal for Bush's removal in the Nation, citing his illegal wiretaps, his deliberate deceptions over Iraq, his incompetent prosecution of the war, and his authorizing systemic torture and abuse. "Impeachment is a tortuous process, but now that President Bush has thrown down the gauntlet and virtually dared Congress to stop him from violating the law, nothing less is necessary to protect our constitutional system and preserve our democracy," she wrote. In March, former Harper's magazine editor Lewis Lapham wrote a cover story in that magazine titled "The Case for Impeachment." The Center for Constitutional Rights -- the legal group representing many of the victims of Bush's torture policies -- has just published a book called "Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush," and at least one other book in a similar vein is forthcoming, David Lindorff's "The Case for Impeachment."

With so much ferment on the left, last night's public forum, "Is There a Case for Impeachment?" had the buzzy feel of an important cultural event. The gathering, presented by Harper's and moderated by Air America's Sam Seder, brought together Lapham, Conyers, Holtzman, Dean and Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. It was held in midtown's Town Hall theater, an elegant space with balcony seating, crystal chandeliers and gold detailing. Around 1,500 people -- mostly a mix of tweedy seniors and clean-cut young activists -- paid $10 for their seats. Built as a meeting place for suffragists, Town Hall has a storied radical history -- in 1921, Margaret Sanger was arrested on its stage for talking about birth control. It was a fitting setting for a discussion of what Rep. Conyers, a veteran of the civil rights movement, presented as the next great David vs. Goliath American struggle.

"I'm not doing this to fail," he said. "This goes back to a little bit of my civil rights background. We were in an impossible situation. The civil rights leaders came to Martin King and said, please, we hear you're going to start a civil rights movement in the South, you'll get all of us killed, Martin, don't do that!" But if he hadn't, said Conyers, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would never have passed.

[Teaser]

1. once we get control of congress...

i say go for it.

[Road Scholar]

33. But wait 'till then. Anything before is a whitewash. nt

[Stephanie]

2. i was wondering if anyone was going to cover it! thanks!

here's my report:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x562453

[mdmc]

6. thanks for the link

:kick:

[acmejack]

3. I gotta say the $ for salon were worth it.

I receive a lot of magazine subscriptions out of the deal.

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. a big K&R! n/t

[zippy890]

5. That looked like a great meeting

big kick

[neuvocat]

7. Now THAT would be a great campaign platform!!!!

Vote Dem so we can impeach Bush!!!

[autorank]

8. Recommended! Impeachment & This Post!!! Sabra captured the moment.

This will no longer be tolerated.

[Swamp Rat]

13. Yeah! ... and geaux Sam Seder!!!

:kick: for Heartfield too! :D

[PurpleChez]

9. Lapham's essay in Harper's is a must-read. Level-headed but damning,

simultaneously.

[yorkiemommie1]

28. yes the article is excellent

i took it to work when i was done and left it on the staff table. ( w/ address label off ). there is not a bushbot in sight there ( the one steadfast bushie left him over the ports deal ) but the article got intense attention anyway.

[PurpleChez]

34. Interesting. The majority of my coworks and customers are RW,

although many are good, good people. I too have started to hear dissent among them...open dissatisfaction with just one too many of Chimpy's incompetencies. (Is that a word? Incompetencies?)

[yorkiemommie1]

36. yep, it's a word all right and applies to him perfectly

you would love working at my place! we have a bushbashing session every morning. and a 'bushisms' desk calendar on display!

[deb98126]

10. Impeach him now!

I encourage everyone to march in the anti-war march on March
18-20 in support of his impeachment.  This has become very
personal to me.  In 2004, my human rights were violated by the
FBI in the "red" state of Georgia.  I have posted my
true account on the independent media center's network.  You
can access it by clicking on the url

http://atlanta.indymedia.org/newswire/display/39513/index.php
 

The article is lengthy, and there are several things I wish I
had left out, however, I stand by my account.  I am seeking
legal justice.  To that end, I am trying to draw attention to
myself with hope that a serious, dedicated human right's
attorney will contact me and help me.

Deborah Lloyd

[newyawker99]

29. Hi deb98126!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Babel_17]

11. Story speaks for itself. K&R (nt)

[Independent_Liberal]

12. Bring on the Chimpeachment Master!

The one. The only. John Conyers!!!

He's one of American democracy's finest heroes. God, I love him.

:)

[scab_picker]

17. Chimpeachment?

You funny. Hell I'm stealling that one.

[Independent_Liberal]

20. I wasn't the one who originally came up with that.

Other people on this board have been using it for quite a while. And yes, you can use it. Be my guest. :)

[cain_7777]

14. Impeach the chimp

We need the majority in congress and we have it made.

[newyawker99]

30. Hi cain_7777!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Amonester]

15. K&R

And let Mr. Fitzgerald take "care" of the criminal$ of the WHIG...

:thumbsup: :kick:

[yellowdogmi]

16. Thanks Sabra.

I am glad to see this movement pick up steam but I am very disappointed at the slow pace. I think that we need to lead the rest of the democratic reprsentatives to the water of impeachment. It amazes me that only twentysix members of the opposition party are acting like democrats. This needs party line support. We have to force their hands by deluging them with mail until they come around. If they don't want to lead we need to push them forward. Let us bombard them with mail telling them it is the right thing to do. IMHO. Thanks again Sabra!

[scab_picker]

19. Only nine Democrats voted to repeal the Patriot Act.

I'm not sure even if all nine votes against were Demos, I think one was Jeffers. So much for spine. The key to chimpeachment is getting the Repukes out of the House. Work, it's hard work.

[bpilgrim]

18. anyone got a link to the VIDEO?

thanks for sharing :toast:

peace

[KAT119]

21. K&R!

[enigmatic]

22. Impeachment 2007

Let's get back Congress and start impeachment hearings in 2007. Lay this administration's record of incompetence and arrogence out just in time for 2008; it's karma..

[Skeptor]

26. If they can justify hanging Clinton out to dry for fibbing about a little

office hanky-panky, then even a sane Republican (o come on, there must be at least enough to stack a jury) would have to admit the idea has leg to stand on.

[Random_Australian]

23. Best wishes, good luck... I'm very happy for you n/t.

[Trevelyan]

24. Impeachment sites:

http://constantpated.blogspot.com/2006/01/impeachment-how-to-impeach-bush.html
http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/01/25/white-house-sees-shadow-six-weeks-of-impeachment-predicted/#comments
http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/01/18/media-alert-forum-on-the-impeachment-of-president-george-w-bush-and-vice-president-dick-cheney/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/impeach-bush/message/21046
http://www.worldtribunal.org/main/?b=72

"Generally, which way the military goes is determinative in civil contests of this sort. And, generally, the American military is certainly not known for its progressive political tendencies. However, the leadership may decide that duty, honor and country require that they place the Constitution over and above ideological commitments.

Or, given what we now know about the Air Force Academy, they may not. On the other hand, we may also entertain the hope that increasing numbers of military personnel will recognize that the Vietnam War-avoider Bush has been a complete disaster for America's over-strained volunteer military.
***
http://impeachcentral.com/
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=21372&mode=thread&order=1
Robert Shetterly: 'Administration's offenses impeachable'

[Voltaire99]

25. Reading Salon describe Lewis Lapham as delusional...

...reminds me again why Salon is such a dud.

[Sapphire Blue]

27. K & R

[dogday]

31. K&R

[helderheid]

32. Action alert to get forum aired on C-SPAN - they were there but it's not

on their schedule to air:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x573594

[rambler_american]

35. See what Vermont is up to now!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/1/235828/9378

:wow:

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Section 603 of the Manual of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives provides for impeachments to be initiated on a motion based on charges transmitted from a state legislature, and

WHEREAS, George W. Bush has committed high crimes and misdemeanors as he has repeatedly and intentionally violated the United States Constitution and other laws of the United States, particularly the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Torture Convention, which under Article VI of the Constitution is a treaty as part of the "supreme law of the land",

WHEREAS, George W. Bush has acted to strip Americans of their constitutional rights by ordering indefinite detention of citizens, without access to legal counsel, without charge and without opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the discretionary designation by the President of a U.S. citizen as an "enemy combatant", all in subversion of law, and

WHEREAS, George W. Bush has ordered and authorized the Attorney General to override judicial orders for the release of detainees under U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS) jurisdiction, even though the judicial officer after full hearing has determined that a detainee is held wrongfully by the Government, and

WHEREAS, George W. Bush has ordered at least thirty times the National Security Agency to intercept and otherwise record international telephone and other signals and communications by American citizens without warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, duly constituted by Congress in 1978, and designated certain U.S. citizens as "enemy combatants", all in violation of constitutional guarantees of due process, and

WHEREAS George W. Bush has admitted that he willfully and repeatedly violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and boasted that he would continue to do so, each violation constituting a felony,

NOW THEREFORE the Rutland County Democratic Committee submits that his actions and admissions constitute ample grounds for his impeachment, and that the General Assembly of the State of Vermont has good cause for submitting charges to the U.S. House of Representatives under Section 603 as grounds for George W. Bush's impeachment.

The County Committee further submits that Articles of Impeachment should charge that George W. Bush has violated his constitutional oath to execute faithfully the office of President and to the best of his ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

In all of this George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the State of Vermont and of the United States.

WHEREFORE, George W. Bush, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any offices of honor, trust or profit under the United States.

February 28, 2006

Adopted: February 28, 2006

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/1/235828/9378