I have been for impeachment ever since it became clear to me that we were being "led" by a "president" who was corrupt, a criminal, lying to get us into wars, violating the Constitution, etc. But for various reasons I wasn't relly anxious to see impeachment attempted. It seemed too hard to achieve, too divisive when I wanted to see Democrats seen as the reasonable, uniting force in America, and I wanted to see Democrats get some things accomplished rather than be seen as obstructionist.

Several things have largely changed my mind. What crystalized it was meeting former Congresswoman from Brooklyn, Liz Holtzman, at my local Democratic Club this last week. You see, Liz Holtzman was a member of the House of Representatives in the early '70's and was one of the people who constructed the Articles of Impeachment against Richard Nixon. She has written a book on the topic called "The Impeachment of George W. Bush" and her top arguement for impeachment is based on an exact precedent from 1974. In other words, Bush has committed one act for which there already is an article of impeachment constructed, written and voted on in Congress. All that needs to be done is for the current Congress to apply the 1974 precedent to our current President.

On July 10th I posted a podcast interview with congressional candidate Chris Owens of Brooklyn, New York's 11th congressional district. As I am new to podcasting, the host site I used at the time wasn't very good. I've finally come up with a better one. Since the Democratic primary for the 11th district is Tuesday, September 12, I thought it made sense to repost the podcast.

This district is a human mosaic of 654,000: 60 percent blacks, 20 percent whites, 12 percent Hispanics, 4 percent Asians and 4 percent other ethnicities. The minorities, mostly Caribbean Americans and other immigrants, comprise 80 percent of the district.

The culprit? Primarily Congressman Anthony Weiner, a man I supported in the past, and his chosen candidate for another Congressional seat, Yvette Clarke. Those who were screwed were my own Congressman, Major Owens (who is retiring) and Yvette Clarke's rivals for succeeding Major Owens--his son, Chris Owens, my City Councilman David Yassky, and State Senator Carl Andrews. (UPDATED AT THE END)

Well Monday, August 28th, Jim Dean, head of Democracy for America, is coming to town to show his support for Chris Owens. It's only fair: Chris and his father, current Congressman Major Owens, were among the very first people to endorse Howard Dean, Jim's brother and founder of Democracy for America. Also, the two local outgrowths of Howard Dean's presidential bid, Democracy for NYC and New Democratic Majority, both have endorsed Chris Owens overwhelmingly. Those who can't please show your support from afar.

They use Republican talking points when discussing more leftist Democrats, ignoring the fact that Republicans use those same weapons against them as well. Rather than uniting the Democrats they cringe in fear of being called...gasp, the "L" word. No, not LESBIAN (though maybe they fear that too!). I mean liberal.

About three years ago, I realized that the massive, undemocratic, nontransparent planning disaster known as the Atlantic Yards was threatening my neighborhood. I realized that nobody was going to stand up for my neighborhood except for me and my neighbors. I felt a sense of personal responsibility. Some people would call me a NIMBY, but the more I fight the developer who wants to snag the valuable property near my house without political oversight, the more I realize that this is about taking back control of the country.

Chris Owens is a community activist. There are too many lawyers, wonks and bureaucrats in congress, particularly in the New York delegation.

And that is the question I want to discuss: What makes a good candiate? I do get excited about candidates when I find one who really seem  good. The candidates I find inspiring are not the ones who are supported by big money interests. Instead they are smart, articulate, and good on the issues. But there is one thing more that really makes a candidate kick ass. Dedication to the community. In some ways this may be the thing that can break through racial, cultural and political divides, because a candidate who proves him or herself to the community can get broad support. I want to discuss just such candidates.

I don't buy any of those. I do get excited about candidates. They do not tend to be the ones who are supported by big money interests, and they are not always lawyers, but they are the candidates who are smart, articulate, and good on the issues. But there is one thing more that really makes a candidate kick ass. Dedication to the community. In some ways this may be the thing that can break through racial, cultural and political divides, because a candidate who proves him or herself to the community can get broad support: black and white, rich and poor, liberal and moderate. I want to discuss just such candidates.

You probably feel like you've got your hands full. So why am I asking you to help a candidate in a district that has been Democratic since the day it was created, is Democratic now, and will be Democratic on November 8th, barring a right-wing coup d'etat?

Because there are Democrats, and then there are Democrats. Please let me explain:

Here in Brooklyn we have a Congressional primary that pits an early Dean supporter who has almost solid Progressive support (including endorsements from Maxine Waters, John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders) against a colleague of Chuck Schumer's who is well liked by the DLC. Needless to say, the DLC-supported candidate is awash with money while the Progressive Dean-candidate has an amazing volunteer force, but little money. I am here to ask you to help the Progressive beat the DLC.

The reason Lamont has been endorsed by the netroots is entirely due to Joe Lieberman's failure to be a loyal Democrat (kissing the President, telling Democrats that criticizing the president is unpatriotic, bashing the Democratic party on TV, and later on, threatening to and then actually running on a third-party line).

Of course, that sort of thing seems to be forbidden only to Democrats who are on the conservative side of the Democratic spectrum.

If they're on the liberal side, though, anything goes.

But I am finding evidence that in 2006, the Brooklyn Grassroots are doing fine. My one fear is that 2006 will be the year of hard work for Brooklyn progressives and yet they will still lose to the local political machine and to the candidates that get huge piles of money from big business.

The 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York is a human mosaic of 654,000: 60 percent blacks, 20 percent whites, 12 percent Hispanics, 4 percent Asians and 4 percent other ethnicities. The minorities, mostly Caribbean Americans and other immigrants, comprise 80 percent of the district.

This district is historically significant because it was created pursuant to the Voting Rights Act. In 1968, the 11th elected the first black woman to Congress - Shirley Chisholm. Since then the predominantly black population has been represented in Washington by one of their own. The incumbent, Major R. Owens is retiring after serving in Congress since 1984. An African-American, Representative Owens is highly regarded among progressives for his commitment to strengthening public education.

I fear that in 2006 the grassroots will fail NYC once again. Once again we have some of the best candidates you can imagine, once again big money interests and political machines oppose them and once again the grassroots has yet to rise to the occasion.