The fact is, in most polls, around 45-55% of respondants support impeachment. That means most Democrats and lefties support impeachment.
But look at independents and moderates, and the numbers are much lower. These are the people who are going to decide the November elections. Among Republicans, even moderate Republicans, the support almost disappears.
If the Dems are going to take back congress, then it will happen for a few reasons. First, the Democrats must succeed in a strong Get Out The VOte effort (GOTV.)
There are some promising signs that this will happen.
of course, the Republicans will do all they can to mobilize their base, so their GOTV efforts are successful. The other day, Ken Mehlman, the RNC chair, encouraged Republicans to vote by absentee ballot. Do you smell something funny, like mistrust of electronic voting machines?
One way the Republicans are beating the bushes to get out their moderates-- the ones most likely to stay home-- is to raise fears of chaos, that the Democrats will destroy the country-- wild liberalism rampant in the congress and impeachment of the president and vice president. Polls show that this does not encourage people to vote for Democrats. I think that this kind of threat could be effective in getting out voters who might otherwise stay home.
The more Democrats talk about impeachment, the more it will put moderate Republicans on edge and we don't want them on edge. We want them depressed, disgusted and ignoring the news because it's all bad for Republicans.
We don't want to hand the RNC the gift of an issue that will rouse their disaffected troops.
I think this is the reason that Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha and others have been rejecting the idea of impeachment. The time isn't right yet. Wait until after the Dems take back both houses of congress.
On the other hand, it makes good sense to talk about how the Republican pattern of hiding the facts, avoiding reality gives good reason for electing candidates who will support investigations of the war, of 9/11 of the Katrina failures...
Of course, between you and me, those investigations could very well lead to the uncovering of information that would virtually mandate pursual of impeachment. But the first step is seeking information. That's where Dems should be taking the Foley imbroglio.
The Republicans have a chronic culture of hiding the evidence, burying the truth.
We need candidates who are willing to commit to investigating all the areas the right wing has covered up or ignored-- corruption, scandals, dirty tricks, fraud, crooked lobbyist activities, crooked deals with corporations. That's what we should be supporting now. We can talk about dealing with what they uncover after the elections.
Once the investigations begin, things will get very interesting. The writing will be on the wall for 2008 and the mainstream media will start to cover the dirt under the Republican carpet much more. Then, when pollsters ask about impeachment, the numbers will be much stronger-- so strong that even Republicans may start backing impeachment-- to save their own hides.
I'm willing to wait.
