The revelations concerning Cheney's involvement in the Plame leak create a situation in which the possibilitities for forcing Bush from office may be greatly improved.
One of the biggest obstacle to moving effectively to impeach Bush or force his resignation has been the prospect of a President Cheney.
While there is no shortage of grounds on which to impeach Cheney, the recent revelations in the Plame affair provide an opportunity for folks to start demanding his resignation.
This sets the stage for the replacement of Cheney. Section 2 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution reads:
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
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This creates a situation in which Bush and Congress have to get into horsetrading over who will succeed Cheney. Bush's incentive to be prompt and reasonable in such a situation is the Presidential Succession Act of 1947,
(a)
(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act as President.
(2) The same rule shall apply in the case of the death, resignation, removal from office, or inability of an individual acting as President under this subsection.
The likely outcome of this situation is nomination and confirmation of a congressional Republican not percieved as too closely linked to Bush but who can probably be relied on to pardon Bush.
The obvious precedent for such a chain of events was the resignation of VP Spiro Agnew preparatory to making moves against Nixon. Now Agnew only resigned in the face of criminal prosecution (for money laundering and tax evasion) in which his resignation became effectively a piece of the plea bargain. It is unlikely that Cheney will resign unless he faces a similar situation.
While the legal mechanics matter because they will effect who succeeds Bush, the real question here is whether there is sufficient political pressure to set such a chain of events in motion. Fitz's "independence" has been much-trumpeted, but it is childish to believe that he operates in a vacuum. Whether he moves in ways that might force Cheney to resign depends on whether he gets signals from Congress that such a thing is neccesary to resolve an emerging constitutional crisis. This in turn depends on what WE do to create pressure in the streets for an end to the war and the administration that dragged us into it.
Accordingly everybody and their dog needs to get out for the January 27 March on Washington where they can do more than march by helping build the campaign to impeach Bush.