If the Democrats win the U.S. House in 2006, who should we impeach 1st.?

[Up2Late]

I'm serious, with Bush's and House Republicans Poll numbers continuing to fall, we really need to start thinking about this.

Who should we push the new, Democratically controlled, 2007 Congress to impeach first???

I know we all want Bush or Cheney to be impeached first, but let's be realistic for a few minutes, Who needs to investigated in the House, and who in the House do we already know that they are criminals, that we could begin impeachment proceedings almost immediately?

We need to start in the House, Who's first!?!?

[clydefrand]

1. Cheney, members of Congress then Bush...all within

6 weeks!

[billbuckhead]

3. Cheney immediately

I bet Libby would help.

[Botany]

2. Do not talk about impeachment.

first things first .... Just win baby.

Total exit polling too.

[Independent_Liberal]

4. Impeach Cheney first...

Force Bush to appoint McCain as VP and then impeach Bush and McCain becomes Prez.

[azurnoir]

14. But, then you

have an incumbent who can run not once but twice. While impeachment might feel good (it would) in the bigger picture it could spell disaster. Besides who says * can't be charged with and tried for crimes after he has left office.

[peacetheonlyway]

32. Oh, that's brilliant

Bravo..... I vote for this option..

[Independent_Liberal]

33. Read my scenario below...

"The Magic 21."

[wakeme2008]

5. NOBODY...

We do not want any repug with a head start on the 2008 election.

[jerry611]

7. Because if we don't...

...we might not have a country in 2008.

[Independent_Liberal]

10. Yeah, no need to charge criminals with their crimes.

Just roll over and let them get away with it. Yeah, that's the right thing to do. :sarcasm:

[wakeme2008]

17. Do you want McCain in office for two years and then run

think about it.

[Rene]

6. Cheney has to be impeached 1st. Then get a new VP. Anyone

will do at this point(except the jerk McCain). Then impeach bush. Prosecute many in Congress for their corruption.

[anitar1]

15. Don't forget ALL of the PNACers. n/t

[unblock]

8. alito and scalia

and then refuse to confirm replacements until a democrat is president.

[jerry611]

11. And their crime is?

I don't agree with their judicial philosophy, but I seriously doubt the founding fathers intended impeachment be used just because you don't agree with someone.

[Hardrada]

13. Repugs started this.

Why should they have all the fun?

[lonestarnot]

9. Impeach dick and then dickless.

[DarfurDude]

12. The people who deserve it

I actually don't beleive the Democratic Party will win the House, but it's probable the gap in power will be dwindled.

But in response to your question, I believe that we shouldn't impeach anyone. Napoleon Bonaparte once said to not interrupt your enemies when they're in error. I believe that if the Democratic Party is to gain the house and to reagain their powers, they must stop the constant activism, the Leaders of the Republican Party very well may run the party into the ground.

But with great guys like McCain in power, I think that the two parties would no longer contend, but actually cooperate.

[Up2Late]

18. That's nice, 'cause I actually don't believe you're going to be around...

...much longer. Did you notice you have a Tombstone for a Profile, what's up with that?

[AndyTiedye]

16. Indictments Are Quicker Than Impeachment for Cleaning HOUSE

The House can only impeach one a a time, the Senate has to convict by 2/3 and the Prez and VP get to run (obstruct) the procedings (unless they are the target).

There is enough corruption to keep a dozen prosecutors and grand juries busy full-time for a decade.

I suppose they can continue to serve if indicted, so we need convictions too. Still faster than impeachment, and it sends them to prison.

Still need impeachment for the pResident though.

[onenote]

22. who is going to do the indicting?

Gonzalez' Justice Department? Don't think so. Fitz? His authority isn't unlimited and there is no indication that he'd try to expand it beyond the Plame leak. The Independent Prosecutor law expired and its not likely that a new law would be passed even if the Democrats captured a majority in the House and Senate. (Assuming that those Democrats that were in favor of letting the law die reversed ground, overcoming a filibuster in the Senate or a presidential veto would be next to impossible).

And even if you could have investigations and indictments, the idea that they would move more quickly than impeachment is laughable. How long has Fitz been at it? How many more years do you think it will be before Libby is tried, appeals exhausted, etc etc.

onenote

[onenote]

19. nobody is being removed from office, You realize that don't you?

First, lets start with the idea that Democrats should start impeachment proceedings against members of the House. Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution states that "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." In 1799, the House voted to impeach Senator William Blount, but the Senate dismissed the charges on jurisdictional grounds, apparently because Senators and Representatives are not considered "civil officers of the United States."

Second, even if impeachment could be pursued against Senators/Congressman, it isn't going to happen. We'll be lucky to have a majority in the Senate and will be a long long way from the 2/3 majority that we'd need to convict anyone. It would be political suicide for the Democrats, having recaptured one or both Houses of Congress, to devote the next two years to investigating other members of Congress and, therefore, not getting any of the people's business done.

Finally, as to Bush and Cheney....same problem...can't possibly convict. And even if the Democrats have a majority in the House, it probably won't be a big majority and you can bet that any number of Democrats will not want to spend their time supporting an effort to impeach a lame duck president.

Finally, the problem with trying to impeach chimpy and his gang is that the more important the issue, the harder it will be to impeach. For example, the reason that outrage against Nixon reached impeachment level was that his crimes were political...subverting the process. While I would agree that lying to the American public (and the world) about WMD subverts the political process, unless we find a tape comparabale to the Nixon tapes, there will be an endless debate over whether chimpy intentionally subverted the process or whether he and his entire administration were just the most incompetent people ever to occupy office.

In the real world, its real politics. Shoot the messenger if you'd like, but its the way it always has been and the way it will be.

onenote

[No New War]

20. Which is why we need to start with investigation

not with the direct intention to impeach, but there's been so much secrecy in this presidency that it's time to figure out what's really going on. I, as are many others, am inclined to believe that compelling reasons to impeach will be found.

[onenote]

21. I have no problem with hearings, investigations etc

But realistically, they're going to be focused on the administration and not on other members of Congress.

onenote

[No New War]

23. Very true.

But I cannot give up hope.

[Up2Late]

24. O.K., let's assume you are wrong (a lot's changed since 1799) and...

...let's say that I asked a different, simple question, which I did.

I asked, Who's First!

Who's criminal actions, over the last 6 years, should Congressional Democrats investigate first IF the Democrats win the House and or the Senate OTHER THAN Cheney and Bush!?

Who do we already know, has been violating their office and could be removed through public pressure, or fear of impeachment, or publicly disgracing their office or family?

I'm looking for a simple LIST here.:mad:

[Independent_Liberal]

25. This is how it will go.

1. The Department of Justice appoints a Special Prosecutor for the Abramoff case and the “Duke” Cunningham bribery scandal and Porter Goss's ties to Brent Wilkes and prostitutes at the Watergate hotel. Jack gives up all the information he has on everything, including defrauded Indian tribes, illegal campaign contributions sent to GOP Congress people, gaming casinos, lobbying firms, defense contractors, foreign influence peddling, the American Turkish Council, Adam Kidan, Michael Scanlon, John Colyandro, Jim Ellis, Bob Taft, Tom Noe and Coingate, Ken Blackwell, New Hampshire phone jamming, stolen computers from the Ohio Democratic headquarters, Leandro Aragoncillo, the SunCruz investigation, the Gus Boulis murder case, Tom DeLay's misuse of the DHS and the FAA, his trips to Russia and the people who turned up dead in his district, Bob Ney's golf outings in Scotland and his ties to Iran, Ken Lay, Enron espionage, CIA narco-trafficking, GOP prostitution rings and pedophiles, Wally O'Dell and Diebold, HAVA, Ralph Reed, etc. He blows the whistle on several Republican leaders in the House, Senate and Executive Branch. Dennis Hastert, Bob Ney, John Doolittle, Dana Rohrabacher, Roy Blunt, John Cornyn, Conrad Burns, etc. are all indicted. And Bill Frist is indicted for his SEC violations.
2. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald manages to obtain information from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove in the CIA Leak investigation. This is related to missing emails from Cheney's office and White House documents requested by Federal Judge Reggie Walton.
3. Rove and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley are both indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by Fitzgerald.
4. Fitzgerald indicts Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for obstruction of justice.
5. Some unsavory information about the deals with Halliburton and Carlyle comes out of "Portgate."
6. A few whistleblowers step forward at the open and closed door House and Senate subcommittee hearings on NSA domestic spying and the Pentagon 9/11 "Able Danger" program and more interesting info is revealed.
7. More damaging info is revealed at the House and Senate Katrina hearings.
8. An Independent Commission to investigate the NSA wiretaps is set up. Whistleblower Russell Tice gives testimony before the Commission.
9. FBI whistleblower and translator Sibel Edmonds takes her case with the DOJ on FBI cover-ups to one of the Federal courts. At the same time, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer gets an independent grand jury investigation into the 9/11 events in New York City going. Some family members are alleging a government cover-up. An Independent Prosecutor is appointed to investigate the World Trade Center EPA case and other unsolved crimes relating to the events.
10. The Democrats win back Congress and the Governorships in the November 2006 midterm elections. They get huge margins in both the House and Senate.
11. January 2007, the new Congress is sworn in (with Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader, Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Conyers as House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Henry Waxman as House Government Reform Committee Chairman and Louise Slaughter as House Rules Committee Chair).
12. Cheney's former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is convicted and he implicates Cheney. Cheney is indicted on charges relating to Plame, AIPAC, Halliburton, the Energy Task Force and Mexico influence peddling and is forced to resign. He claims he's leaving because of health problems.
13. Congress forces Bush to appoint John McCain as Vice President. Both houses of Congress vote overwhelmingly to confirm Vice President McCain.
14. Conyers sets up a House Select Fact Finding Committee to investigate everything (Downing Street Memos, Plame, AIPAC, White House Iraq Group, Niger forgeries, Gannon, Abramoff, Sibel Edmonds FBI whistleblower case, NSA, Enron, Halliburton, Carlyle, Harken, Betchel, 9/11 cover-ups, election fraud, Coingate, FEMA's Katrina response, torture of prisoners, etc.). Hearings begin and subpoenas are issued. Several whistleblowers from the FBI, CIA, NSA, Pentagon and State Department step forward to testify. A few Independent Counsels show Congress their findings from grand jury investigations. And Waxman opens an investigation into Halliburton war profiteering and examines reports from the GAO.
15. The investigation into Senator Paul Wellstone’s 2002 plane crash death is reopened.
16. The Senate sets up an Investigative Committee to investigate 9/11 oddities, Iraq intelligence, Plame, NSA, Katrina and Energy Commission cover-ups and a Special Prosecutor is appointed. Senate hearings begin and Sibel Edmonds, Russell Tice, Richard Clarke and James Comey all step forward as witnesses.
17. All the corrupt Republicans are given thorough ethics probes.
18. Congress motions to impeach Bush. Impeachment proceedings and hearings begin. The House Judiciary Committee begins voting on articles of impeachment.
19. A small delegation of Congressional Republicans go up to the White House and urge Bush to resign.
20. Bush resigns to avoid impeachment. He fakes an illness.
21. McCain is sworn in as President. He appoints George Pataki as his Vice President and Rumsfeld is replaced with Joe Lieberman. And of course, McCain is Jerry Ford until January 2009.

[peacetheonlyway]

34. THIS IS AMAZING

I love your capacity to understand the big picture and your attention to detail.

I have only one countpoint.

Without an investigation into both the 2000 and 2004 STOLEN ELECTIONS and without driving ES&S and Diebold voting machines over a cliff... none of this is possible.

the rigging happens now via satellite....

there can be no progress till the core root problem, the whole reason we are in this bind in the first place is resolved.

we cannot get a restored government (all the indictments and criminal punishment will not restore a healthy government) until we have representative 'elected' government back in our hands...

otherwise, I would only add that one investigation to your list and EVERYTHING ELSE is SPOT ON!!!! good work independent liberal...

[ProudDad]

36. This is all great until number 13

I'd rather see bush hounded out of office at the same time that cheney is convicted then we'd get Pres. Pelosi.

McCain is a piece of repuke shit who's already sucking freakin' jerry fallwell's pimply, hairy ass!!! He's about the same as bush -- except he's less principled than bush!

on edit:

and PATAKI???? Gad!

Of course, one good thing about McCain/Pataki -- they'd split the hell out of the repuke party.

[onenote]

38. why would the Democrats confirm McCain

Thereby giving him a leg up for election to the presidency in 2008? For that matter, why would repubs in Congress, many of whom have no love for McCain, want him as president (unless of course they were confident that he was the only one who could hold onto the WH in 2008 and wanted to help smooth the path for him by saving millions that would otherwise be spent in a hotly contested primary).

Not sure who chimpy would pick to replace Cheney if he were to step down, but I just don't see it being McCain.

Final nit-- why would Gonzales appoint a special prosecutor in the Abramoff case? ANd even if did, its highly unlikely it could get to the result you propose before this November. Think about how long other special prosecutors have taken...

Otherwise, pretty interesting read.

onenote

[Independent_Liberal]

26. A Citizen's Guide to Impeachment

You might like to check this out.

http://impeachpac.org/citizens-guide

A Citizen's Guide to Impeachment
Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2006-04-28 08:50. Resolutions
By David Waldman

An Impeachment Resolution? Cool! Can it be done in my town?

Yes it can. And you can do it. One of the most remarkable things about this movement is that there are people everywhere – even where you least expect it – who are just as convinced as you are that something has to be done. Yes, even Republicans.

Even better, resolutions like this can make the news and move the ball forward even if they fail. So just by gathering the courage to speak up and make yourself heard, you’re doing something to move us closer to that tipping point where it’s no longer feasible for our elected officials not to hold the president accountable for his actions.

How can I do it?

Most of us are not fortunate enough to enjoy the “town meeting” form of local governance, as is the case in much of New England, where citizens actually gather to decide town business and vote on the issues directly. Still, most municipalities either permit citizens to bring resolutions of their own with sufficient advance notice, or have mechanisms for citizens to request that sympathetic elected members of local governing bodies bring them instead. The clerk of your local governing body (or an elected member) can tell you how things work in your locality.

>>>>More at http://impeachpac.org/citizens-guide

[FrenchieCat]

27. Thanks!

I need to study this! :hi:

[Independent_Liberal]

28. You're welcome.

[peacetheonlyway]

30. great link...

Atlanta city council just passed Dept. of Peace

their first act should be to introduce an impeachment resolution...

any municipality can get in the fray....

[peacetheonlyway]

29. Bill Frist

then Bob Ney
Then Chuck Hagel
Then Hastert
Then Cheney
THen Bush

Bob ney for bringing Hava to the world (and introducing election fraud)
Chuck hagel for his % investment in ES&S and Diebold
Hastert cause he's a prick
Cheney/bush obvious reasons

and the rest will fall like little cards in a card house coming crashing down...

I seriously believe we will have to have a nationwide hand counted paper ballot election for all congressional seats as an emergency election...

that is the only way to clear the rats (both dem and republican) out of the house and senate....

[Independent_Liberal]

31. Read my scenario above...

...for an idea of what to expect.

Peace bro.

:)

[ProudDad]

35. Impeach cheney, bush and rumsfeld

in one trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Then we'd be stuck with Pres. Pelosi...

[Placebo]

37. Cheney

The last thing we need in the history books after President Bush is President Cheney.

[alfredo]

39. Barry Bonds

Nobody likes him anyway.

[ProudDad]

40. Impeach bush, indict cheney

[Justpat]

41. Cheney, Bush,

then revoke his Supreme Court nominees. It is an illegal regime.