Why Is Impeachment "Off The Table?"

[journalist3072]

So I received the email update that John Conyers sent out today, in which he said that he agreed with Nancy Pelosi that impeachment is "off the table."

I never thought I would be so disappointed in John Conyers.

Their message should not be "impeachment is off the table."

In my opinion, I think the message they should send is "We will go where the facts lead us."

And from what I can tell, they don't have all the facts yet, because they have not had subpoena power, and the ability to get key people under oath.

John Conyers has done a lot of talking about Bush fixing the facts around the policy when it came to Iraq.

But it seems to me that he is doing the same thing here. Their policy is not to impeach Bush, without having all the facts first.

If this is the way the Democrats plan to "lead" as they assume the majority, it confirms for me that I did the right thing by leaving the party and becoming a registered independent.

[Botany]

1. Because to talk about it now is not the smart move.

Jay Rockefeller started the ball rolling towards impeachment today.

Baby steps.

For Immediate Release November 15, 2006
Contact: Wendy Morigi 202-224-6101

Rockefeller Statement on Senate Intelligence Committee’s Priorities in 110th Congress

Washington, DC -- Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV) has been selected to be the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence when the Senate reconvenes in January under a Democratic majority. The following is Senator Rockefeller’s statement which reflects his key areas of focus for the committee in the next Congress.

"The Intelligence Committee has an enormous responsibility to help guide and oversee the programs aimed at keeping Americans safe. It is a duty and a responsibility that I take very seriously.

"As we look to the future and the challenges we face, we will only be successful if we recognize that intelligence is not the responsibility of one party or one branch of government – it is a shared responsibility.

"The committee faces many critical and pressing issues that will have an effect on our national security in both the long and short-term.

"To start with, the committee must look ahead to the next 10 years in the war on terror and insist that the United States Intelligence Community create a comprehensive, global counter-terrorism plan for the next decade. This strategy must be informed by a better understanding of emerging threat areas in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America and other parts of the Middle East.

"We need to conduct an agency by agency review which will allow us to measure the implementation of the 2-year old intelligence reform legislation and recommend any necessary changes.

"We must insist on full access to the NSA warrantless surveillance program and the CIA detention and interrogation program. Only then, can we conduct thorough oversight of these programs and determine whether they are legal, appropriate, and effective and what, if any, legislative action must be taken.

"We need to put more of an emphasis on our ability to disrupt potential terrorist threats at home, which starts with addressing the missteps and slow transformation of the FBI.

"We need to conduct a careful review of our counter-proliferation efforts, particularly against North Korea and Iran, and other rogue states.

"Finally, as part of our core oversight responsibilities, the committee must complete its long-overdue, unfinished business, related to the use and misuse of intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq.

"We have already put out three reports related to pre-war Intelligence on Iraq, and we will complete the three remaining sections of Phase II. No decisions have been made about the timing and process going forward, but our goal has always been to tell the full story about the role of intelligence and the mistakes that were made in the lead up to the war."

[Rebellious Republican]

9. Impeachment is off the table until 2007, when are people going to get a

FUCKING clue. Everyday I come into these forums and see the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.Its not rocket Science, its simple mathematics for any one that can count.

Today, November 15th, 2006, tell me how many Repubs, how many Dems and how many Indies do we have in the house and senate. Not how many we are going to in January 2007.

Start bitching when we take control and nothing happens, until then, give it up, jeeesh.
:crazy:

It is with great pleasure, that I retire my distress flag gif


And with great pride, hoist my new flag in honor of our new direction

[Rebellious Republican]

10. My apologies Botany, I meant to reply to the original post, not yours.

:yoiks:

[FogerRox]

2. Dont get your shorts in a bunch, I gotta feeling

If you see Conyers start an investigation, then dont you worry.

[FogerRox]

3. Dont get your shorts in a bunch, I gotta feeling

If you see Conyers start an investigation, then dont you worry.

[baldguy]

4. b/c the prosecution has to prove its case before they can get a conviction.

They're not going to START with impeachment, but they may end up there.

[turbo_satan]

5. As Charlie Chan said...

"Softly, softly... catchee monkey."

[bif]

6. Just wait until January

You're going to see a totally different story. And I think we're talking war crimes as opposed to impeachment. "Men Behind Bars." I like the sound of that.TV show idea anyone?

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

8. Men Behind Bars, yeah, but Dick's ticker will quit like Ken Lay's

when he sees who his new bunkmates are :)

[onenote]

7. because basically no one was elected on a platform proposing impeachment

Candidates were elected on platforms that talked about greater oversight, about investigating abuses, etc. That is the action that is "on the table." Where it leads is unknown. But until it leads to an upsurge in bipartisan support for impeachment, it is entirely correct and appropriate to say that impeachment is "off the table." In other words, if it wasn't "on the table" in the elections that were concluded a week ago (and it wasnt), then it can't be "on the table" now.

[GymGeekAus]

11. The same reason nuking Iran should be off the table.

Investigation comes first.

[rasputin1952]

12. Impeachment is a political process and there are a lot of things

to consider, none of which should be taken lightly.

for starters, like with Nixon, the GOP can, and most likely will, deal with bush.

The impeachment process stalls all Congressional activity, about the last thing we need is a new logjammed congress. We need to show the American people we can do things better than the GOP, impeachment proceedings will do nothing but tick off a lot of people, and impeachment is surely possible, but the trial in the Senate is out of the question as far as a conviction goes, so why even waste the time or effort?

bush is neutered, he cannot get anything done now as far as his agenda is concerned, it is up to congress to present Bills that will put the country back on track and force bush's hand at trying to veto them....that puts immense pressure on bush and rallies the people to force him to state WHY he vetoed the Bill....if the Bill was good for the country, bush and by extension the GOP, will be forced to deal with an angry populace.

But I digress.......the simple answer to impeachment is that while it embarrasses bush, it places Cheney next in line, and that is out because there are not 60 votes in the Senate to convict....why waste the time?

There are far more pressing issues than to waste 6 months on a situation that cannot come to the proposed conclusion.

[BlooInBloo]

13. Because off-the-table Democrats are cowards.

[Robbien]

14. There are many investigations ahead of us. We will get better answers

if impeachment wasn't hanging over the head of the GOP.

I will take two years of investigations/punishment instead of two years of processing an impeachment.

[porphyrian]

15. It's a trick...get an axe.

Politicians say whatever they have to say to do their job. However, the rules for impeachment are clearly defined in the Constitution, and as investigations progress and this administration's criminality comes to light, the people will demand nothing less.

[mmonk]

16. Some of the same influences in the opposing party

have tentacles in ours. They are more powerful than even I imagined. I say we need to push those tentackles aside lest fall the same way as the republicans. The people did not list bi-patisanship as their reasons for this sweep of power. The fact it is given by some as the reason for victory should be enough revelation.

[meow2u3]

17. Bush is merely a figurehead--and Pelosi knows it

Our guys and gals must have something up their sleeves, and i think they're going to go after the real criminal power brokers: Cheney and the others who are behind all this oil and war profiteering.