One of the main arguments against hard investigations toward impeaching Bush and Cheney is that Republicans will turn such Democratic efforts into political hay for the 2008 election. That is, some Democrats are afraid that Republicans will call them names and smear the Democratic Party, and so they want to avoid that by not holding Bush and Cheney accountable for lying America into the Iraq war et al. However, it was this fear of right-wing name-calling that got us into the war in Iraq in the first place.
Here's how we got into the war in Iraq (actually I think Bush would have taken us to war even if the AUMF had failed, but play along anyway?).
- In October 2002, right before the 2002 midterm elections, Republicans held the threat of name-calling if Democrats didn't vote for the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq.
- Because of the threat in 1, Dems voted for the AUMF.
- Because of Democratic votes in 2, America is now at war with Iraq, and many Democrats regret their votes in 2.
That is, the war we are in now, the one we all hate, the one we wish had never started, the one we wish would end, and the one that will not end soon, was started because Democrats were afraid of being called names by Republicans.
And now it's happening again. Here it is:
- In 2007, Republicans will hold the threat of name-calling if Democrats push for impeachment.
- Because of the threat in 1, Democrats are saying they will avoid impeachment.
- Because of 2, Democrats will subsequently regret their avoidance of impeachment.
It's the same damned story, demonstrating a severe inability to learn from experience. If you want to remember where this kind of thing got you before, just turn on the TV to one of the cable news stations. Give it some time. Eventually they will mention the Iraq war and how bad it is going. Remember, we are in this war for one reason: because Democrats were afraid that Republicans would call them names.
Look how easy it is for Republicans to control Democrats. Here's the basic structure:
- Republicans hold the threat of name-calling if Democrats do/don't do X, a non-Republican/Republican action.
- Because of threat in 1, Democrats avoid doing/do X.
- Dems later regret not doing/doing X.
Now take your favorite policy and fill it in for X, whether it's defunding the war, raising the minimum wage, making health care and college more affordable, taking initiatives against global warming, or whatever. It is inevitable that Republicans will make fun of this policy and call its advocates names. If that is all it takes for them to drive Democrats away from something, then Democrats should just join the Republican Party. The ultimate outcome would be the same, basically a 1-party system.
Moral: It's time for Democrats to stop being held hostage to right-wing smear campaigns. Let's start with investigating, impeaching, and imprisoning George Bush.