Al Gore endorsed Obama last night, throwing in a strong kick in the pants to Dubya. A bit too late to mean much. It WAS a good speech and it made me, again, like gastrointestinal reflux makes you taste something you ate, hours ago, wonder what this world would be like if he'd found his voice before 2001. Some TV pundits commented how different the world and the nation would be if GOre had won, what a mistake the US had made.
It is tragic that the Democrats in congress refuse to do the right thing and impeach.
Perhaps, if the corpstream media talk more about the abject, horrific failure of Bush and Cheney, the Republicans will face the fact that history will look just as badly or worse upon them for not removing them from office and THEY will impeach them. How ironic if the Democrats blocked them from protecting the constitution? Would that show that the Democrats are NOT impeaching because they deem it politically advantageous to keep Bush dangling in the wind?
This past weekend I went to a local Democratic party event and went around asking attendees if they liked Kucinich's move. All but one did. I encouraged them to walk up to our congressman, Patrick Murphy, to tell him they wanted him to read the articles of impeachment and to sign on as a co-sponsor. They hadn't thought to do it face to face. Now is the time. THere will be plenty of face to face opportunities to meet your congressperson this summer, as the election heats up. Take those opportunities. I'm not just saying for you to TELL your member of congress. I'm saying you should send as many people as possible up to talk to him or her.
Now, at one point in the event, Patrick gave a speech. Here's where you have a real opportunity. The moment he finishes, before the next, lower level local candidate starts his or her stump speech about running for state or local office, jump in. Ask the crowd, "How many of you think Cheney has violated enough laws and the constitution so he should be impeached?" Then ask, "How many of you think Bush has violated enough laws and the constitution so he should be impeached after Cheney?"
Believe me, they will all agree. Be careful. Don't ask if they SHOULD be impeached. It's all about timing. That question should be asked of your member of congress.
Now, to maximize the response, before the house rep speaks (don't bother with a US senator. THey don't vote on impeachment hearings. It's a waste of time and they won't respond, since they act as jurors if it goes to the senate) set the scene up. Talk to as many people as possible, Plan this days ahead of time and make sure that your fellow impeachment supporters are there to prod the crowd and make a ruckus.
After you've asked your two questions, wrap up by saying, "If you think they should be impeached, tell congresswoman such and such personally." Then, spend the rest of the event going around to people you saw agreeing with your impeachment questions, and prod them to go up the congressperson and tell her or him that she should co-sponsor Kucinich's bill. Kucinich says to ask if they've read his articles of impeachment. If so, he says to ask why they won't sign it.
I told Patrick Murphy, a freshman who's in for a tough fight with a former marine whose son was killed in Iraq, that co-sponsoring impeachment would help him. I believe that. And Murphy, as the first and currently, only Iraq veteran, would be one important voice that would make a difference. He also has the power, though he may not realize it, to stand up to the "off-the-table" Pelosi police who are blocking impeachment. They're not going to cut his funding if he strays off the permitted territory.
Then again, I believe that moving impeachment forward will help all candidates, Democrat or Republican. The question always comes up about not having enough votes in the senate. At this late stage, that fact is a gift to the Democrats. Since they control the house, they can just keep hearings running and running until they run out the clock in January. It's the hearings stupid. The hearings will churn out hundreds, no, thousands of hours of prime-time TV coverage showing Republican rubber-stamped Bush, Cheney and company corruption and crime.
I believe that once this starts, the Republicans will go to Cheney and Bush and demand that they resign, just as Agnew and Nixon did. The GOP will cleanse itself of their horrific leaders. But it will be too late. The hearings will have made clear to all Americans the horrible, shameful crimes these enablers allowed to continue to happen.
By the way, Murphy told me he'd support impeachment when the house judiciary brought the bill to a vote, when they have enough evidence. That doesn't cut it for me. I like Patrick. He's generally voted the way I wanted him to, given the bills that have come to the floor. But he truly does, as the only Iraq veteran, have an opportunity to take a principled stand that no other legislator can do. He should take it. It will seal the success of his first run as an incumbent. The independents that make up 20% of the voters in his district will reward him for doing the right thing. So will some of the Republicans who have finally faced the fact that impeachment is the only right thing to do. And that's a reality that, for the candidates with the courage to take stands, which will play out across America.
So, go to those local events, with fellow impeachment supporters, and fan out, send constituents to your legislator, and beseige him or her with demands for impeachment. Go on, get out there and do it! <G>
