GOP forces debate on Cheney impeachment

[fed-up]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

GOP forces debate on Cheney impeachment
By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 11/06/2007 01:15:21 PM PST

WASHINGTON—House Republicans, changing course midway through a vote, tried to force Democrats into a debate on a resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney on the grounds he purposely led the country into war against Iraq.

The GOP tactics reversed what had been expected to an overwhelming vote to table, or kill, the resolution by longshot Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.

Midway through the vote, with instructions from the GOP leadership, Republicans one by one changed their votes from yes—to kill the resolution—to no, trying to force the chamber into a debate and an up-or-down vote on the proposal.

At one point there were 290 votes to table. After the turnaround, the final vote was 251-162 against tabling, with 165 Republicans voting against it.

"We're going to help them out, to explain themselves," said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. "We're going to give them their day in court."

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_7385887?nclick_check=1

---

What a misleading headline...

I would like to see a complete record of the votes and the switches.

Where is the Headline credit for Kucinich???

[LynneSin]

1. That's a bullshit headline - it should read like this

Repukes play Chicken with impeachment but are forced first off the cliff

[onehandle]

2. "We're going to help them out, to explain themselves," said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas.

"We're going to give them their day in court."

uh-oh.

[cstanleytech]

29. He really means roughly that

they are going to try and give them enough rope to hang themselves with hopefully and also force them to waste time and resources on it and then come the elections some or most of the republicans will try to use it against the democrats.
This is a large part of why I think the democrats trying to force an impeachment is risky as it can backfire on them and the republicans will exploit it if they can.

[Baby Snooks]

30. Sessions may be embarrased as well...

He is as smug as Pelosi and Hoyer and may end up embarrased as well if the votes are there to impeach. Win or lose, thank you Dennis Kucinich for doing what should have been done as soon as the Democrats took over the house. Win or lose, you have encouraged those who believe in the Constitution. Which the Democratic leadership does not.

[bonnieS]

3. no debate

The bill is now in Judiciary. Republicans voted to keep it out of Committee but only a handful of Dems voted with them. Kucinich's press cpnference will be very interesting. I did not see anything so far on CNN or MSNBC about any of this. Not newsworthy?

[scavok]

4. Crank up the noise machine!

Sessions expects the Democrats to crap themselves praising Cheney in an open forum, then force them to kill the impeachment resolution, thus ending any more talk of impeachment until there is a Democrat in the White House.

[Gman]

5. There is no official record of switches

only the final count.

[progressoid]

6. WaPo: Republicans, in a surprise maneuver, voted in favor of taking up the measure.

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats on Tuesday narrowly managed to avert a bruising debate on a proposal to impeach Dick Cheney after Republicans, in a surprise maneuver, voted in favor of taking up the measure.

Republicans, changing course midway through a vote, tried to force Democrats into a debate on the resolution sponsored by longshot presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.

Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the World Affairs Council luncheon Friday Nov. 2, 2007 in Dallas. The World Affairs Council is non-profit, nonpartisan organization established to educate citizens on issues of international affairs and foreign policy.

The anti-war Ohio Democrat, in his resolution, accused Cheney of purposely leading the country into war against Iraq and manipulating intelligence about Iraq's ties with Al-Qaida.

The GOP tactics reversed what had been expected to be an overwhelming vote to table, or kill, the resolution.

Midway through the vote, with instructions from the GOP leadership, Republicans one by one changed their votes from yes _ to kill the resolution _ to no, trying to force the chamber into a debate and an up-or-down vote on the proposal.




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110601451.html

[aquart]

27. Can't say we didn't deserve it.

[underpants]

7. GOP Forces Debate on Cheney Impeachment (1st headline)

Source: AP

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans, changing course midway through a vote, tried to force Democrats into a debate on a resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney on the grounds he purposely led the country into war against Iraq.

The GOP tactics reversed what had been expected to an overwhelming vote to table, or kill, the resolution by longshot Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.

At one point there were 290 votes to table. After the turnaround, the final vote was 251-162 against tabling, with 165 Republicans voting against it.

"We're going to help them out, to explain themselves," said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. "We're going to give them their day in court."



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110601451.html

[gateley]

8. Who do we have on the Dem side who will debate this that will rip them

to shreds?

Thanks.

[Botany]

11. We have Artur Davis on Judiciary Committee

[gateley]

15. Is he a pit bull? If so, is he the only pit bull we have? Thanks again. nt

[Botany]

17. No he is a surgeon

Davis was born in Montgomery, Alabama, and was raised by his mother and grandmother. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1990 and cum laude from Harvard Law School before returning to Alabama. At HLS, he was also the recipient of the Best Oralist Award in the esteemed Ames Moot Competition.
After working as an intern at the Southern Poverty Law Center and then as a civil rights lawyer, he served as an assistant United States Attorney.

***************************

There are some other very good lawyers there too. Conyers, Nadler, and Wasserman Schultz are good.

Democrat
Hon. Berman
(D) California, 28th

Hon. Boucher
(D) Virginia, 9th

Hon. Nadler
(D) New York, 8th

Hon. Scott
(D) Virginia, 3rd

Hon. Watt
(D) North Carolina, 12th

Hon. Lofgren
(D) California, 16th

Hon. Jackson Lee
(D) Texas, 18th

Hon. Waters
(D) California, 35th

Hon. Delahunt
(D) Massachusetts, 10th

Hon. Wexler
(D) Florida, 19th

Hon. Sánchez
(D) California, 39th

Hon. Cohen
(D) Tennessee, 9th

Hon. Johnson
(D) Georgia, 4th

Hon. Sutton
(D) Ohio, 13th

Hon. Gutierrez
(D) Illinois, 4th

Hon. Sherman
(D) California, 27

Hon. Baldwin
(D) Wisconsin, 2nd

Hon. Weiner
(D) New York, 9th

Hon. Schiff
(D) California, 29th

Hon. Davis
(D) Alabama , 7th

Hon. Wasserman Schultz
(D) Florida, 20th

Hon. Ellison
(D) Minnesota, 5th

Republican
Hon. Sensenbrenner Jr.
(R) Wisconsin, 5th

Hon. Coble
(R) North Carolina, 6th

Hon. Gallegly
(R) California, 24th

Hon. Goodlatte
(R) Virginia, 6th

Hon. Chabot
(R) Ohio, 1st

Hon. Lungren
(R) California, 3rd

Hon. Cannon
(R) Utah, 3rd

Hon. Keller
(R) Florida, 8th

Hon. Issa
(R) California, 49th

Hon. Pence
(R) Indiana, 6th

Hon. Forbes
(R) Virginia, 4th

Hon. King
(R) Iowa, 5th

Hon. Feeney
(R) Florida, 24th

Hon. Franks
(R) Arizona, 2nd

Hon. Gohmert
(R) Texas, 1st

Hon. Jordan
(R) Ohio, 4th

[Critters2]

25. Bruce Braley, (D) Iowa, 1st

A lawyer who can be a pit bull when events warrant it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qOvVbOsVs1E

http://youtube.com/watch?v=evOIUkpsvC0

[Jackpine Radical]

26. I think ya gotta be a Cheesehead to truly savor the idea

of Insanebrenner and Tammy Baldwin both voting to allow an impeachment vote.

[tekisui]

19. Dennis said he would be prepared for a debate.

[underpants]

12. Pretty much anyone

you and me can do our part by calling our Representative (something you never hear a Republican say)

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

[lumberjack_jeff]

18. Jim McDermott. n/t

[gateley]

20. Oh, yeah! He was my rep when I lived in Seattle - I LOVE him! nt

[Baby Snooks]

31. Well obviously it won't be Pelosi or Hoyer...

There are quite a few who could and should and whoever it is, hopefully they will be angry enough to present an undeniable, and possibly undebatable, case against not only Cheney but Bush as well.

Hopefully Pelosi and Hoyer will sit there in shame as they listen to the case THEY should have presented a long time ago.

[rodeodance]

9. yeah---then Hoyer spoke up and it will collect dust in Conyers office now

[underpants]

10. Oh good. Let this get out into the public

I know that Conyers and, obviously, hoyer and Pelosi don't want this but guess what....we do. By that I mean that when word of this gets out people will LOVE it. They want something official done with this cast of clowns.

Maybe wishful thinking but I think the Republicans over thought themselves... wait let me take a standing 8 count on that one :rofl: ..... they should have stuck with their first instinct.

[DU9598]

13. Rep. Bruce Braley

He is a great trial lawyer who knows how to present evidence of malfeasance in dramatic fashion. Yes, let's have a day in Court.

[Robbien]

14. Nice of AP to present GOPer viewpoint and label the sole Dem discussed as "long shot"

No bias there.

[merwin]

16. What the hell? Do we live in bass-ackwards land? GOP voting to send it on, and Dems voting to table?

I repeat... what the hell?

[pnwmom]

21. House Tied in Knots Over Resolution to Impeach Cheney

Source: USA Today

Update at 4:30 p.m. ET: Perhaps we should pause to explain. When most Republicans unexpectedly -- and on orders of GOP leadership, the AP is reporting -- switched sides and voted against tabling the measure, they essentially forced Democrats to keep talking about it on the floor. Tabling the measure would have killed it.

Debate over Cheney's impeachment is in direct opposition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's wishes. She has repeatedly said an impeachment of Cheney or President Bush is off the table. Thus, failing to table this measure is a essentially a jab in Pelosi's ribs.

"We're going to help them out, to explain themselves," Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, told the AP of the impeachment's supporters. "We're going to give them their day in court."

Update at 4:32 p.m. ET: The House just voted, 218-194, to send the resolution to the Judiciary Committee. That should end today's debate -- but it does keep the resolution at least technically alive.

Read more: http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/11/house-tables-re.html

[fasttense]

22. A little more than an hour of their time to vote on the biggest criminal in

politics since Nixon. I don't see it as tying the House in knots. Very misleading headline.

[Canuckistanian]

23. At least it was good to see Hoyer embarrassed

And here he thought it was going to be a nice, quiet tabling of HR333.

[Baby Snooks]

28. He'll be even more embarrased if the votes are there...

It only takes a simple majority. It would serve Pelosi and Hoyer and the other Bush lapdogs to be driven out of their own party by a vote to impeach despite their claim the votes were not there. Win or lose, the only Democrat at this moment I would support for anything is Dennis Kucinich. I only wish he had done this sooner but maybe it's for the best that he waited. Enough Republicans may be fed up as well and worried about retaining their own seats they may vote for impeachment.

Pelosi and Hoyer and the rest of the Democratic "leadership" seem to have sold their souls to the devil. And if it does pass, shame on anyone who ever votes for the lapdogs again if they are not recalled which they should be. They are worse than Bush. They have done nothing for 10 months but enable him and his agenda desite the mandate given them last November.

The mandate, Madame Speaker, last November was to impeach, convict and remove the criminals. It was not for you to sit on their laps and wag your tail waiting for your little treat. Hopefully your constituents will give you a treat you won't forget. A petition for recall. And hopefully, if they can, Hoyer's constituents will follow suit.

Republicrats belong in the Republican Party. Not the Democratic Party.

[Canuckistanian]

35. Hear, Hear

I'm not sure WHAT the Republicans thought they could achieve with this move, but the whole deal may end up blowing up in the administration's faces.

I still have some faint hope that there may be a "Richard Nixon" moment starting here.

But, ultimately, you're right. There are a LOT of Dems who have some explaining to do, Pelosi, Reid and Hoyer especially. Fear of retribution, however they imagine it is not an excuse.

As Edward Murrow once famously said, "This nation was not founded by cowardly men."

[woundedkarma]

24. Wow... I hadn't thought of that but it makes sense...

If you think about it, this is an interesting move by the republicans.

The democrats have just voted themselves out of office. A vote to table was the same thing as voting for cheney and bush to keep killing our country. This is how the repubs will paint it later on.

I admire Kucinich for what he said today. He's a true AMERICAN unlike the majority of jerks we have in Washington at the moment. If the election were today I'd vote for him. He's the only one who's shown any backbone.

However, while his "vote on impeachment" (vote to table, etc) was great in theory, I don't think he'll manage to get impeachment passed any time soon and while our dems currently in suck really bad... there's a chance they might have improved once we get a dem president and now he's just destroyed them(Really does serve them right... but I'm more interested in our country healing than punishing stupid people for being greedy and moronic.) The repubs and the dems alike don't even listen to him when he speaks even though he's practically the only voice of reason there.

When the republicans looked at it, I'm sure they saw a perfect chance to screw over as many democrats as possible. Knowing how weak our current dems are. How weak our leadership is. They decided lets fake a vote one way... making Kucinich think he's won, then we'll vote against tabling. Possibly give him his "day in court" which won't matter one single bit and we'll come out looking like we were against Cheney who is obviously evil.

They'll say, after bush and cheney are out and being brought up on charges of war crimes before the u.n. that when there was a chance to vote for impeachment the democrats voted against it but the republicans were all for it.

It probably took them half a second to come up with it. When the repubs went in they probably knew exactly how they were voting today... first for tabling... then about halfway through, against tabling.

[peacebird]

32. welcome to DU!

:hi:

yes - like the ancient chinese curse - we live in "interesting times"

[cstanleytech]

33. Exactly. NT

[dweller]

34. SURPRISE ... SURPRISE ...

in my best Gomer Pyle. Guess what Nancy?

it's ON THE TABLE NOW!


now show some fricking grit, and debate it.
dp

[Faryn Balyncd]

36. Impeach Pelosi and Hoyer, the bastards.