The headline in todays conservative Washington Times states, "Impeach Bush Chorus Growing, Dems Say", and goes on to say the Democrats are getting lots of calls expressing support for Bush's impeachment.
"I get one call after another saying, 'Impeach the president,' " said Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat and one of Mr. Bush's most relentless critics on the Iraq war.
What do our Democratic representatives have to say about the growing call for Bush's impeachment?
This is what Murtha has to say about it:
"It's a simple process but a very divisive thing," Mr. Murtha said. "You've got to measure what it's going to do to the country, and at this point I don't see that happening. Instead we'll fight it out on the issues."
Representative Jerrold Nadler has this to say:
"The timing is all wrong," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat. "If this were the first two years of his administration I
would advocate impeachment. A lot of people at home say impeachment, and I'm sure he committed a lot of impeachable offenses, but think about it practically."
Mr. Nadler said impeachment hearings would be pointless and would only distract the country from the presidential election next year.
Representative Diane Watson says she hears calls for impeachment from every crowd:
"They say, 'Democrats: Do something. Get Cheney, Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales.' They are saying impeachment. I am hearing that more and more and more," said Ms. Watson.
And although Ms. Watson says she supports impeachment, it is "not a strategy our new leadership would want to start with."
Feingold has even backed off his call for censure saying:
"The election in many ways was a censure of the president and his performance in a number of these areas," Mr. Feingold said, noting that voters want Congress to tackle Iraq policy, health care and government accountability.
"Impeachment might make it look like we don't care about the other stuff," he said. "I don't think it serves the American people well, even though if there ever was a president that deserved to be removed, this is probably the guy."
Emphasis is mine.
John Kerry, who supported censuring last year has also backed away from impeachment saying, "The focus should be on oversight".
Representative John Conyers has also backed away from his earlier calls for impeachment saying through a spokesperson that the chairman has "no plans to resubmit bills" calling for the censure of Bush or Cheney.
A commentator on Conyers website had this to say about the Democrats stance on impeachment:
"Sooner or later, the biggest issue won't be the Iraq war. ... It will be the fact that the Democrats have all the evidence they need to impeach Bush, and they are too afraid to do anything."
Greyhawk wrote this diary last month listing some of this administrations impeachable offenses:
Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force included maps dividing up Iraqi Oil Fields as early as the first week after their 2000 inauguration, but throughout 2001 claimed they had no plans to invade Iraq; they claimed they would seek diplomatic solutions to the WMD threat.
This Administration lied about the intelligence it received forwarning of the 9/11 attacks.
This Administration obstructed the investigation of the 9/11 commission.
This Administration knowing lied about the WMD threat.
This Administration treacherously betrayed an undercover CIA operative and destroyed a CIA front operation that was responsible for tracking Iran's nuclear ambitions and development.
This Administration claimed no involvmeent with the leak, yet the investigation now directly implicates the office of the Vice President as well as strongly indicates involvement and participation at the behest of the Office of the President. In other words, this Administration lied.
This Administration attempted to engage a foreign ally in a plan to antagonize another nation into triggering a war.
Evidence has surfaced indicating that this Administration purposely ignored and bypassed qualified intelligence and experienced military advice while planning the invasion.
This Administration illegally diverted over $700 Million from Afghanistan to plan the illegal invasion of Iraq.
Additional evidence has come to light that 394 tons of cash, shrink-wrapped and put on pallets, has been shipped to contractors in Iraq with little to no oversight; worse, still, are reports that much of the cash has found its way into the hands of the insurgency.
This Administration's poor execution of their little war bypassed a sealed and protected ammo dump that was subsequently raided and now likely supplied much of the insurgency.
The deteriorating situation in Iraq has led this Administration to spend billions of dollars on propaganda campaigns designed to sell the "success" of their invasion, while reports of escalating violence and all-out civil war spread -- and worsen.
The Democrats are worried that if they seek impeachment proceedings it will look like they're playing politics and partisan games, so they shirk their constitutional duties to be a check and balance on the most corrupt administration this countries ever seen out of fear, or in other words because they're playing politics.
What are your thoughts, are the Democrats pursuing the correct course by taking impeachment off the table, or are they playing politics out of fear?