Unofficial Impeachment Compendium--Day 1

[Demeter]

TODAY'S WORD IS IMPEACHMENT:

OpEdNews.com

Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_her_061113_there_s_nothing_to_f.htm


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November 14, 2006

There's Nothing to Fear from "the I Word" but Fear Itself

By MikeHersh

For better or worse, impeachment is out there. The Democratic consultants and leadership can't "un-ring" this bell. Impeachment / accountability was a major issue in the 2006 election. As for the base, we've clearly made the decision: Pushing for investigations, exposure, censure and - yes, even impeachment - of this extremely partisan Republican Administration will help Democrats win elections. It's also simply the only moral, ethical, patriotic course.

This isn't partisan politics. Fundamentally, this is Constitutional Law and Criminal Law. This administration assails our basic values and notoriously attacks the Constitution. They run roughshod over the Separation of Powers. They sneeringly dismiss the Bill of Rights and the Congress.I've been reading James Madison's, Alexander Hamilton's, and Thomas Jefferson's thoughts about this. They were clear: Power in the hands of one person or faction would threaten our freedom. They took steps to divide power between three branches to avoid this, but the radical Republicans overrode the founders by creating a rubber stamp Congress and by packing the Supreme Court. This allows horrendous policies - many of which violate the rule of law - without checks or balances to curtail abuses. That's not the American system.

Bush, Cheney and others committed serious crimes: lying us into war (under the oath of office), unwarranted and warrantless spying on innocent US citizens, violation of treaty obligations including those outlawing torture, and more. If these precedents stand, then there is nothing the Executive Branch cannot do. Unless we demand accountability now, then we concede that there is no counterbalance to any Administration abusing unlimited unconstitutional power. We have two choices: either we can let this Republican-led violence against our Republic stand as we sit by silently, in complicity, or else we can at least try to stop our Republic from falling.

There are those not persuaded by concerns for the survival of the American Republic, so we must consider more than the essential nonpartisan, rule of law imperatives involved. Aside from those concerns, Democrats want to know if demanding accountability helps them politically. Common sense and recent history say yes, but some Democrats think discussing impeachment will backfire on them the same way the effort to impeach Bill Clinton backfired on Republicans. How? Look around. Did it cost them the Senate? The House? Not for ten years! They just lost control of the Congress - not because they went after Clinton in the mid-90s. Because of the crimes that require impeachment of Bush and Cheney! They still control the White House and will until January 2009 - unless we do something about it. If that's backfiring, we could use some of that.

Write to your own Representative and other members of the House and demand they support Conyers' House Resolution 635



Authors Website: www.mikehersh.com

Authors Bio: - Maryland State Coordinator, National Staff, Progressive Democrats of America - http://www.pdamerica.org - Chairperson, Montgomery County Progressive Alliance - http://www.mc-progressivealliance.com - Silver Spring Council - MoveOn.org Operation Democracy - http://www.moveon.org - Steering Committee Camp Democracy - http://www.campdemocracy.org - Steering Committee Democracy for America / Maryland - http://www.democracyforamerica.com - Member, The After Downing Street Coalition - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org

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Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__061114_impeachment_is_not_a.htm

November 14, 2006

Impeachment is Not about Getting Revenge; It is Reaffirming the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Rule of Law

By Steve Osborn

WE are now seeing the same reaction that followed the Nixon era. As the evidence mounted about Nixon's high crimes and misdemeanors the call for impeachment grew from a murmur to a roar heard round the country. Article II Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President of the United States the power of "reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of Impeachment." Nixon knew that if he was impeached, he would be tried for his crimes with no possibility of pardon. A deal was cut, he resigned and was pardoned for his high crimes and misdemeanors and allowed to go his way. One of the arguments at the time was that the nation had gone through a time of great travail and it was time to move on. Some thought an impeachment and trial would denigrate the presidency.

Nothing could have denigrated the office of the President more than letting a liar; thief and crook walk away from his crimes, unpunished. That sent a signal that any well placed two-bit crook could gain the office of the President, do anything he wanted, then walk away with no consequences. Look at what has happened since: the legislation punched through by Bush and his minions has gutted the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, which is the list of the Inalienable Rights of Man that were to be forever protected by this government, so long as it should exist. The treasury of the United States, the collective wealth of the people, has been stripped away and given to a wealthy and powerful few at the expense and impoverishment of the many. The Congress has the sole right to declare war and that has been usurped by the Executive.

We have been involved in a war and occupation of a foreign sovereign nation which has cost us over two thousand lives, many billions of dollars, the Iraqis over a half million lives and has left their nation in ruins, all based on lies and cooked intelligence. Not to mention Afghanistan, which has been eating armies since the time of Alexander. New Orleans and the surrounding area is still a ruin after Katrina, despite millions in no-bid contracts to Bush Gang cronies, most of which, like Iraq restoration contracts to some of the same companies, has gone missing, unaccountable.

What is needed today is not revenge, but justice. The badly tattered Constitution of the United States and its almost totally destroyed Bill of Rights must be restored, intact and functioning to the halls of government. To do this properly, the rules and laws of the Constitution must be enacted and again carried out. This requires impeachment of the Bush Gang and, if found guilty, removal from office and remanded for trial. To go back to business as usual, leaving such a miscreant and his cronies in office, to continue to cover their tracks and do more harm for another two years is an act of moral cowardice that could well destroy what is left of our Constitutional government.

Since 2000, when the Supreme Court took the election out of the hands of We the People, appointing a president by a 5-4 majority, the Constitution has been slowly, but steadily eroded. No people in history have ever received back the freedoms that they have once given up to entrenched authority, except by bloody revolution.


Authors Bio: Biobyte: Stephen M. Osborn is a freelance writer living on Camano Island in the Pacific Northwest. He is a columnist for the Populist Party website and has had a number of articles published internationally. He is an "Atomic Vet." (Operation Redwing, Bikini Atoll 1956, ) who has been very active working and writing for nuclear disarmament and world peace. He is a retired Fire Battalion Chief, lifelong sailor, writer, poet, philosopher, historian and former newspaper columnist. Much of his antiwar poetry may be found on the poetsagainstthewar.org site.

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