Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 18 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds   

The Hidden Reason Republicans Fear Impeachment

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   1 comment
Message Irv Thomas
Why the Republicans would rather not see a Bill of Impeachment? It seems a rather no-brainer topic, on the face of it, which is one reason we are not looking at this side of the matter. But there is a very good reason for looking at it. Every muscle and nerve-ending of the Republican constituency in Congress will stiffen and resist any call for impeachment that the new majority makes, which is why the Democratic strategists prefer to let it be (off the table), at this point. Even those Republicans who had already begun to turn against their own administration would resist any such effort. So why generate a resistance, right off the bat, while other things can be achieved? This is the sensible reasoning of the up-coming floor leadership. But that solid-pack resistance of Republican legislators would be the face of more than just a protection of their own party at the helm. Each and every Republican legislator would be warding off his and her own incrimination, regardless of the fact that the bill, itself, would be brought against key figures in the administration. Because each and every Republican congressperson gave his and her specific consent and 'right-of-passage' to every criminal act for which the administration has sought a congressional imprimature. Yes, they'd be facing the same guilt, in these matters, as Bush and Cheney. They would escape indictment, of course. But they could not escape the implied indictment of their entire career as legislators. Each had taken on, at the time of their elective appointment, the protection and defense of the Constitution; each carried the burden of a trust, from their own home-state constituency to fulfill the legislative responsibility of oversight -- a trust that each, in their own turn, violated when they allowed their personal honor to be compromised in the caucus agreements of their own party. They no longer represented their at-home local constituency, at that point, but took orders from a non-local task-master called a 'whip'. Tactically, the practice makes political sense. But it evades personal responsibility. And when the object of the occasion is to avoid congressional responsibility, as in the matter of oversight, the result is a personal dereliction that has, for the past six years, contributed collusionally to the breaching of the Constitution by the Federal government. Yes, each sitting Republican in this waning Congress violated the trust that he or she carried into it, and violated their constitutional responsibility as well. This is what they cannot face. Yet, this is precisely what they should be made to face, if we ever hope to get beyond the sorry spectacle of a Congress divided - more than the nation now is! -- by a partisan indifference to the basic framework and responsibilities of true democratic governance. This is why the imperative of impeachment cannot wait.
Rate It | View Ratings

Irv Thomas Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Irv Thomas, ratrace escapee and cultural outsider for 35 years, editor of Black Bart Brigade during counter-culture days, hides out in Seattle. Presently putting out a sporadic pre-formatted email newsletter called Irv's Scrapbook, which can be had (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Breaking News: Science validates key Mayan Calendar premise

9/11 - The seventh anniversary is a point of 'maturity'

On this very day, 65 years ago...

Bush makes it clear: He will only listen to impeachment

The Hidden Reason Republicans Fear Impeachment

Lost in the Shuffle: Last Weekend's Impeachment Rallies

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend