I've seen the comment a gazillion times here, and now I see it over at the
Huffington Post.
"We shouldn't talk about impeachment. It will only lead to a President Cheney."
Sorry, it doesn't work with me. I'm quite open to a Cheney administration. And I think you should be, too. Whether you agree with me or not, you should follow me below the fold to allow me to explain...
First of all, I utterly reject the idea that we should not be talking about the concept of impeachment. That point has been raised by many folks far more influential around here than I, most notably, I think, by Kagro X. Impeachment talk sends a signal - to the administration as well as to the general public - that all is not right with the world. So even if the impeachment talk goes nowhere, it accomplishes something profound. Silence on the topic is nothing short of acceptance of the status quo, and it diminishes the concept of impeachment, which is undeniably applicable in this case.
Can you imagine someone telling Thomas Paine to knock off with the Independence talk? Thomas Paine probably did more for the Independence movement than any other individual - by making what had previously been a taboo topic the talk of the nation. While others had been stirring for Independence prior to the publication of Common Sense in early 1776, there wasn't anything even approaching a tidal wave of support for the idea. Within weeks of publication, that pamphlet was in nearly every household, and the politicians of the day had no choice but to ride the wave that PAINE created. Many of the Founding Fathers directly attributed the dash towards Independence to Thomas Paine's Common Sense. I utterly fail to see why the same thing couldn't happen here.
If only our movement had a Thomas Paine. I still think that somewhere within our ranks is lurking the next Thomas Paine. If so, please get busy! If someone could approach his level of eloquence, we could be impeaching by summer.
But then we'll have a President Cheney, right? That would be bad, right? I say it would be great. Even if the son-of-a-bitch survived impeachment himself, he would be utterly crippled. Look at how well Gerald Ford did, and he wasn't anywhere near as implicated in Nixon's machinations as Cheney is. Same goes for any other louse that would follow Bush regardless of how far down the chain impeachment would go. The Republicans totally own the mess this country is in. I can't imagine any conceivable follow-up president doing well in the polls in 2008.
So bring on President Cheney. Do you think he isn't already pulling the strings anyway? Bring the bastard out into the light of day and let's see what happens. The nation will see a snarling face over breakfast every morning. How well do you think that is gonna sell?
IMPEACH! IMPEACH! IMPEACH!
It's the right thing to do, and I hope you know it. I'm going to keep talking about it, no matter how many Dems want to keep quiet on the topic.