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Impeachment IS An Option  On CSPAN's Roundtable Conversation this past Friday, Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha stated that the United States would NOT be well served if a new majority Democratic House attempted to impeach George W. Bush. He also stated that Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds the same opinion. Said Murtha, "I think Nancy's taken the same position. She's said over and over again let's not talk about impeachment. Let's try to solve the problems of this country."
Then why not start by removing the nation's principal problem, George W. Bush? If Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Murtha want "to solve the problems of this country," removing George Bush would be a superb place to start. Especially since his presidency is the de facto creation of the idiot Drs. Frankenstein who currently occupy our Congress. Those who have fashioned this President into an overpowered, overindulged, overruling monster. Odd that they've named this the "do nothing" Congress when they've obviously done way too much. To those who attribute the re-creation of this Presidency to Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rove, I respond in the strongest Rumsfeldian terms, POPPYCOCK! Had the spineless Congress not voluntarily relinquished its power, chunky Rove and chubby Cheney would be nothing more than a pair of flabby men whom any adult could kick the living crap out of. But no, rather than controlling the sibilant 'S', baby-talk Bush, both houses of Congress collapsed into a theatre of the absurd. Coerced, feckless and dedicated to their own demise, they created the unitary executive which severely diminished their power. And since only fools relinquish their power, this is a Congress of Fools. On both sides of the aisle. Pelosi's spineless anti-impeachment position is nothing new. Neither is her disabuse of international anti-Bush/anti-American sentiment. Pelosi is so insulated from world opinion that Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez actually shocked her when he publicly demeaned George Bush during his recent visit to the United Nations. True Chavez was a bit over-the-top, but at least his weapons were 'words', and not the torture, guns, bombs, depleted uranium, and body burning phosphorous that are the weapons of choice for George Bush. Nonetheless, Pelosi deemed Chavez "a thug" and vehemently defended George Bush. New York Democrat and Harlem Representative Charlie Rangel also defended Bush against Chavez. "You don't come into my country. You don't come into my congressional district and you don't condemn my president!" declared Rangel. An interesting statement from Rangel since Bush [his president] would gladly sacrifice Rangel's constituents to unnecessary war, while Chavez, the 'thug," offers Rangel's constituents the oil they need to keep warm. Thug??!! Perhaps for well-mannered diplomats, polished elites, and scared-out-of-their-minds delegates from developing lands, Chavez was surprisingly out of turn. Nonetheless, many concurred with what he said. The truth: George W. Bush is despised. George W. Bush acts like he rules the world. George W. Bush expects other nations to abide by his commands. The truth: George W. Bush, not Osama bin Laden, is the most hated man in the world. And just as most Americans want to eliminate bin Laden, the rest of the world wants to eliminate George Bush. And just as most Americans despise the followers of bin Laden, the rest of the world despises the followers of George Bush. Even though at least half of Americans don't support George Bush, much of the world believes they do. Continuing with Friday's CSPAN Roundtable Conversation, Chris Mondics, Washington Correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer, asked Congressman Murtha his feelings on impeachment. What follows are Representative Murtha's own words on impeachment which were principally uninterrupted, interspersed with my personal comments, as if this were an actual discussion on impeachment between Jack Murtha and me... Murtha: "I tell you I hear that every place I go. I was just in Beverly Hills. I was amazed at the number of people who wanted to impeach President Bush. I was in New York and they wanted to impeach President Bush. I was in Florida and they wanted to impeach President Bush." Me: One might surmise that if that many people want George Bush impeached, perhaps their wish should be honored. MURTHA: "I've been through two impeachments. The first impeachment was when I came in and Nixon was the President.... I don't think the public as a whole is ready for impeachment. It's a very laborious process where you have to look, think, have a committee look into it." Me: Mr. Murtha... the Constitution doesn't say to avoid impeachment because it's a laborious process. The Constitution doesn't say don't impeach because a committee must look into it. The Constitution says it's Congress' responsibility to conduct proper oversight of the Executive Branch and to take action upon suspicion of an impeachable offense. Not pursuing impeachment because the process is troublesome should constitute a dereliction of duty. MURTHA: "The country can't stand another impeachment." Me: Really, sir? Is it better that the entire world believes we approve of the actions of Mr. Bush by allowing him to remain in office when our highly touted Constitution, the globe's pre-eminent foundation for Democracy, provides the where-with-all with which to remove him? Do you truly believe our country is better served by permitting the lies, deceits and unConstitutional acts of the Bush administration to continue than it would be if you launched the investigations necessary to determine if they had committed impeachable acts? MURTHA: "They [Americans] were mislead. I think there was a mis-characterization. I think they [the Bush Administration] continue to mis-characterize this war and that's the biggest mistake they could make. When you lose the confidence of the public you have a real problem here." Me: A real problem. A lying administration that has sacrificed its own military. A lying administration that has depleted the financial resources of the nation. A lying administration that report after report (the latest National Intelligence Estimate, the latest bipartisan Congressional Report on Iraq), and book after book (Bob Woodward's "State of Denial," Thomas E. Ricks' "Fiasco" among others) recall despicable, likely impeachable act after despicable, likely impeachable act. MURTHA: "Let's measure the incidents, all those kind of things. That's the way you measure it [the performance of the administration]. They keep saying it's a rosy scenario. They're doing the same thing in Afghanistan now. The President's speech on Afghanistan is another scenario where eventually it's not going to go that way and we're going to have a real problem in Afghanistan, I think." Me: Tell me, Mr. Murtha. As a highly respected member of Congress, a war hero, the trusted voice of the military, when is it time to honor your Constitutional duties and proceed with impeachment? Before our 3,000th hero has died? Before we attack Iran? Before we attack North Korea or Venezuela? Or before an angry world attacks us??? End of imaginary conversation... It is understandable during this contentious lead-up to the 2006 elections that politicians, both Democrat and Republican, temper what they say. That is what politicians do. As a progressive democrat, my hope is to redeem this nation I love. My hope is that this November our nation is rescued from the criminals who control it and returned to the hands of a newly elected Democratic majority. As an American, party aside, my even greater hope is that somehow those in power, regardless of party affiliation, become simply American. That they do all that is necessary to put this nation back on track to regain national and international respect and honor. That they recognize the worth of other nations. That they become part of the full world order and sign on to global initiatives to save the environment and the planet. That they join the International Criminal Court. That they commit to saving the continent of Africa. That they do all that is necessary to stop the genocide in Darfur and take preventive measures to discourage future genocides. That they protect the rights and honor of women worldwide. That they create an equal and balanced policy to solve the problems of the middle east. That war is not the answer. That they abandon the ideology that the ways of America must dictate the ways of the world. That they abandon their crusade for religious domination. That American exceptionalism fades away. That they become humble... and human. But first and foremost, that they impeach and imprison George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, Paul Wolfewitz, and every other sociopath who has committed unConstitutional acts that diminish this nation and disfigure and endanger the world. =============================  Linda Milazzo a contributing editor to MWC News is a Los Angeles based writer, educator and activist. Her writing has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines and domestic and international journals. She's a member of CodePink Women For Peace and Progressive Democrats of America.
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