Those of us who urged that the Dems run the campaign on impeachment -- which may well have allowed them to surf the anti-bush wave as opposed to just having it wash them up over the line -- are a bit perplexed.
The most often voiced naysaying was some form of "wait until we win the election first." Well, the election is won and I still detect no greater interest in impeachment.
Instead we have a new round of objections which include: trust our "leaders," the system of "oversight" will do it for us, we must "teach" the ignorant public and wait for the huge outrage, we must "push an agenda" instead, we can't "waste time," we can't risk "carnage in '08," and on and on.
These are little more than Rationalizations for Inaction.
Impeachment IS Our Positive Agenda.
One of the underlying problems is simple false presumption. There is no "prince charming" coming -- no cargo plane on the way. The reality is that we ARE "the system" some are claiming will do the job somehow. Our public servants will only (possibly) provide what we demand of them. There is no substitute for our failure to make our demands as loud and clear as possible.
The same goes for the "huge outrage" many assume is just around the corner -- with just one more bit of information, once they learn the truth we all know. It's not coming. People are not that ignorant. A majority already wants impeachment as a priority -- in spite of the DC Dems. They see the reality. They know Iraq was only a symptom of the extreme abuse of power they voted against.
But they also see the "leaders of the opposition" unwilling to actually DO SOMETHING about it. They see accomplices, not champions.
There is also a pervasive "shortage mentality." As if there's a clock ticking and we have to sneak all our agenda goodies through some closing window. As though there's some predetermined limit to political capital that must be spent before we're found out and chased away.
This complaint is as nonsensical as the claim that we shouldn't even say impeachment because "we know" bushcheney will not be removed by the Senate. It reminds me of the Powell Doctrine, which is factually indistinguishable from formalized cowardice.
As to the specifics of impeachment, there is no "time issue," as the charges have already been investigated and even adjudicated. They have admitted violating FISA -- and have tried to "defend" it (mutually exclusively) by claiming inherent authority and congressional approval. GOP Senator Specter himself has already scoffed at the defense.
The (formerly) Supreme Court has already ruled in Hamdan that Geneva has always applied. Behind the Euphemedia smokescreen of tribunal tinkering lies the reality of the decision: Three Years of War Crimes have already been committed. Similarly, the lies about WMD that terrorized the nation into war are already "old news." There is no fig leaf left.
Hence, there is nothing to "investigate." In fact, embarking on open-ended "oversight" is counter-productive. It sends the (false) message that we don't already have the goods.
The articles of impeachment are already written. There is no hearing necessary. They can be brought up for vote on Jan 4th (though I'd prefer Jan 6th to commemorate the 2 Stolen Elections). Should bushcheney choose to not resign and demand a Senate trial, it need not take more than a week. There are no "fact witnesses" required.
There's also no reason to think impeachment would effect '08 in a negative way. The neofascists forced a failed impeachment, over nothing, against the wishes of 70% of the nation from Dec '98 to Feb '99 and still "won" the White House in 2000. This one would likely garner 70% support and the display of backbone could swing as much as 10% of the white male vote to the Dems permanently, out of respect for the principled action (as opposed to decades of empty rhetoric).
And speaking of empty rhetoric, that's pretty much all "push an agenda instead" amounts to -- even with a shiny new non-veto-proof majority. Unless someone's come up with the magic potion to circumvent "rule by signing statement," what DC Dems are realistically looking at is 2 years of no tangible results and a further erosion of public trust in "both sides" due to the "tone in DC."
And they'd be right. Endless hearings with no real accountability or punishment imposed is pretty much the defintion of partisan hackery. It's a great way to funnel taxpayer money into the pockets of beltway lawyers, consultants, lobbyists, and strategists. But it does very little for the millions who demanded change on Tuesday.
Impeachment IS Our Positive Agenda.
It is our ONLY moral, patriotic option.
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