I have done roundups on impeachment twice before, this past Saturday and on Friday, July 27th, and will continue to do so as a series on a regular basis. In those diaries, I basically pull together a collection of recent impeachment diaries, while specially focusing on diaries covering the Enough protest campaign. This roundup is a different nature.
On Tuesday morning, I have a meeting with Nancy Pelosi's Deputy District Director. I diaried about requesting this meeting here and here. I am now preparing for that meeting, reviewing diaries and other articles that I have bookmarked since at least December of last year. Funny how a change in Congressional power dynamics can give one funny thoughts about the practicality of impeachment, but I digress. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you the diaries and news articles I used to help organize my thoughts. I've also added the letter I'll be leaving for Speaker Pelosi.
In the meeting request, I highlighted three things I wanted to discuss:
1. efforts to enforce congressional oversight prerogatives and seek administration accountability. I am especially interested in getting Speaker Pelosi's thoughts on the Administration's Unitary Executive theory and Vice-President Cheney's unprecedented power and secrecy.
2. the status of energy legislation, especially improved CAFE standards.
3. the status of ethics & lobbying reform (hopefully to express congratulations).
After the FISA fiasco, I'm going to switch it up a bit. As minor issues, I'll bring up CAFE standards and health care reform (linked in their importance to the U.S. auto industry), and give my congratulations for success on ethics reform. My primary focus will be oversight of the Executive branch, the need for bold leadership, and losing the faith of her constituency. I will be more forceful in my presentation than I had originally planned and will directly address impeachment. Originally, I had planned on a cordial and diplomatic presentation. Now I am shooting for a diplomatic, but blunt tone.
On to the diaries.
Rev. Dr. King shows us the way on impeachment? by Pondite July 7th
Impeachment by Frog-Marching Congressional Oversight by Patriot Daily News
Clearinghouse July 9th
Down at the Gun Shop: Impeach both the bastards by Kenevan McConnon July 13th
If you want public support for impeachment... by clammyc July 6th
Impeachment Doesn't Have to Succeed to Succeed by The Baculum King July 6th
NOBODY Marched To Impeach Bill Clinton! by Linda Milazzo July 8th
. . . there will be no choice but impeachment by teacherken June 29th
Impeachment Without A Conviction? Hell Yes! Updated by buhdydharma June 16th
Bipartisan Impeachment & Resignation: A Retrospective by BentLiberal December 6th
Reagan’s NSA Chief: Impeachment May Be Necessary by The Angry Rakkasan July 5th
DOJ Attorney Blisters Bush Administration in Today's Denver Post by jcatcher July 8th
Unhinged and unfit for office by clammyc February 15th
Why I now support impeachment of Bush, and Olbermann's Special Comment by Eric Hopp July 4th
Is Bush Trying to Provoke Impeachment? by bluebrain July 11th
Why Impeachment is a Political Winner by srkp23 July 13th
Conservative Calling for Impeachment [Updated] by PoliticAl2008 July 16th
Demanding Accountability by Senator Russ Feingold July 22nd
We Don't Have The Votes by Rusty1776 July 24th
"Don't Have the Votes" nonsense by LWelsch July 26th
Post-FISA Fiasco - Problem of Leadership and Losing Faith
Pain by Nightprowlkitty August 4th
What exactly did the Democrats gain? by TheBlaz August 4th
Madame Speaker, what game is this? by Executive Odor August 5th
The radicalization of an apolitical person by walkingdeer August 6th
New Bush statement reveals next steps on FISA by TakeBackTheHouse August 6th
There is something fundamentally wrong here. by Kagro X August 4th
Another Justice Department Leaker Persecuted... by Jesselyn Radack August 6th
Payback Time: FBI Raids Home of Suspected NSA Leaker by Avenging Angel August 5th
For The Representatives Who Don't Seem To Get It by jmkiru August 4th
Letter from my Rep and why it makes me so ANGRY! by DaveBear August 9th
Homage to the 4th Amendment by FreeFallin August 10th
How about a bill called "Restoring our Constitution"? by clammyc August 8th
"Because he can" by clammyc August 9th
Outside of DailyKos
Slate, June 27th
Impeach Cheney by Bruce Fein
Bill Moyers Journal Tough Talk on Impeachment July 13th
Keith Olbermann's Special Comment
The Washinton Note, May 24th
Cheney Attempting to Constrain Bush's Choices on Iran Conflict by Steven C. Clemons
FT.com - Financial Times, August 9th
America’s illusory strategy in Iraq by David Gardner
The Denver Post, July 5th
Bush justice is a national disgrace by John S. Koppel
Neiman Watchdog, July 5th
'Supporting the troops' means withdrawing them by General William E. Odom
The Washiington Post Special Reports
Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency
Walter Reed - The Wounded Warrior at Home
The Progressive, August 2007
Cheney's Fingerprints by Matthew Rothschild
note: New York Times articles & editorials will be behind an archived firewall
New York Times, June 2nd
Rice Plays Down Hawkish Talk About Iran by Helene Cooper
New York Times, July 11th
EDITORIAL; Overprivileged Executive
The New York Times, July 23rd
Just What the Founders Feared: An Imperial President Goes to War by Adam Cohen
Newsweek, May 17th, 2004
Memos Reveal War Crimes Warnings by Michael Isikoff
Editorial Cartoons
(originally cited in White House Watch by Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post Online)
John Sherffius on Executive Privilege July 10th
Paul Conrad on the Constitution July 5th
Tom Toles on Republicans and Bush July 6th
John Sherffius on the Rule of Law July 3rd
John Sherffius on Chertoff's Gut July 13th
Stuart Carlson on Accountability for Plame Outing July 14th
Mike Lukovich on a Bad Gift July 16th
Steve Benson Bush Plants a Seed July 17th
Rex Babin on Caveland Security July 18th
Mike Lukovich Location is Everything July 18th
John Sherffius with A Message from the Founding Fathers July 23rd
Glen McCoy on Bush's Exam July 24th
Tom Toles on Cheney's Defibrillator July 31st
Tom Toles on the FISA update August 3rd
Ann Telnaes and "I don't recall" August 3rd
Rex Babin Door mat August 7th
Pat Oliphant They're Watching August 6th
Ann Telnaes Weenie Boarding August 7th
Mike Lukovich Bush and his dog August 8th
Update [2007-8-14 11:48:56 by forbodyandmind]: I nearly forgot: Resolutions Supporting Impeachment - List of Those Introduced and Passed @ ImpeachPAC
I had hoped to have the letter drafted in order to get some last minute feedback from the DailyKos community, but it looks like I'm still a few hours away from having it completed. I may update this diary later with that draft later, but in the meantime I welcome any thoughts this evening regarding information I should or could use or approaches I should take. I also welcome any comments on the diaries and news stories I included in this roundup.
By the way, for anyone curious about this past Sunday's edition of Enough SF, I'll be posting that later Tuesday. Wednesday or Thursday, I'll diary about my meeting with the Speaker's Deputy District Director.
[Update 2] Here's the letter I'm taking. I still have a couple of hours if you see any errors.
August 14, 2007
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
I am a grad student studying Chinese medicine in San Francisco. I have been your constituent for just over four years. I have appreciated and want to thank you for your leadership in the first 100 hours of the 110th congress and in passing legitimate ethics and lobbying reform.
Having said that, as I'm sure you are perfectly aware, our nation is in the midst a new long, national nightmare. When I initially set up a meeting with your Deputy District Director, I had a relaxed view of the meeting opportunity. While there were concerns I wanted to address, I also wanted to express my gratitude and pride in having you represent me in the House as Speaker. With the passage of the FISA update and the ensuing Republican celebration, my hopes for the meeting are no longer relaxed.
From the very beginning of the Bush/Cheney administration, congressional oversight of the executive and the Constitutional checks and balances have been under attack. Under the Republicans, Congress gave the President whatever he wanted unless Democrats were able to pull together enough strength to act as the adult in the room. Along with the rest of the country, I hoped that would change with the 2006 elections and Democrats back in the leadership of both chambers.
Unfortunately, in spite of some modest legislative successes, what the public sees are failures to reign in the administration on Iraq, failure to hold anyone in the administration accountable, and not just failure but capitulation on the FISA update.
I've been in favor of impeachment almost since Bush stepped into office. Iraq and Katrina pushed me further that direction. For me the last straw was the commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence. That pushed me from merely supporting impeachment to being an advocate and an activist for impeachment.
As an activist, I participate in the DailyKos online community. I have attended meetings for the World Can't Wait here in San Francisco and one with an Impeach Bush-Cheney Meetup group in the East Bay. I have joined a national protest campaign called Enough, and started a group here in San Francisco to support that campaign. In the very brief time since July 3rd, I've seen a lot of people frightened and in pain for our country. I've been reading DailyKos since the 2004 election. In the past year, I've watched as the fear and pain have grown. Along side those are growing frustration and alienation.
The fear is not about terrorism or the war on terror. Instead, we are afraid of a hyper-secretive administration determined to expand its power. We are afraid the leaders we elected to stand up and represent us and reign in the abuses of the administration are too timid. We’re shouting at the tops our lungs for bold and decisive leadership. We’re holding our collective breath for leaders who will confront Bush and Cheney and say NO! Instead, we see political calculation and miscalculation. We see Dick Cheney in an interview with Larry King, when asked if there are any plans to attack Iran, respond, "Now what reason would I have to do that Larry?" and then smirk.
In Chinese medicine, we talk about treating the root rather than the branch. Our goal is to treat the cause and not the symptoms. The Democratic attempts to focus on passing meaningful legislation are admirable. However, between Republican obstructionism and Bush's aversion to compromise, real gains are small bandages treating chronic symptoms. The public sees that the root is not being treated in favor of a fancy cast all the popular kids can sign. Whatever legislative progress you are able to make, your constituents lose faith because we see the glaring cancer being left untreated. It is time for truly forceful oversight. It is time to allow impeachment back on the table. If you choose not to act because you don't have the votes to win, you will find, because no one would stand up for the principles of our country which we hold so dear, you will lose the support that put Democrats back in leadership.
Sincerely,
forbodyandmind