Reply #8: Not out of the question. [View All]

[Independent_Liberal]

And I wish people would quit calling us delusional. Once the investigations get underway and expose all the malfeasance, wrongdoing and dirty tricks, those Republicans up for re-election in 08 will be forced to go along with it or face another Democratic wave in the next cycle. Public opinion is ultimately what will have an impact. The Dems didn't have 2/3 majority when Nixon was in office either, but Nixon resigned once he was told there would be at least 85 Senators voting against him.

It's most likely this will happen:

1. Libby is convicted and implicates Cheney. A bunch of info comes to light about Plame, Halliburton, AIPAC, the Energy Task Force, Judith Miller and the White House Iraq Group, DynCorp, Nigerian bribes, Leandro Aragoncillo, etc. Cheney is indicted by Fitzgerald on multiple counts of conspiracy, treason, espionage, fraud, bribery and extortion and is forced to resign. He steps down for "health reasons."

2. Bush is forced to appoint a new VP. The majority of the Congress and the public decides on McCain. McCain is confirmed as VP by the House and Senate.

3. Conyers and Waxman open investigations into everything. This includes Downing Street Memos, Plame, White House Iraq Group, Iran-Syria Operations Group, Nigerian bribes, AIPAC/Larry Franklin/Steven Rosen/Keith Weissman/Michael Ledeen/Manucher Ghorbanifar, Niger/Yellowcake forgeries, depleted uranium, use of illegal weapons and the targeting of civilians, journalists and hospitals, Patriot Act abuses, unlawful searches and seizures, indefinite detainment without charge, presidential signing statements, Dubai Ports deals, mining disasters, Edmonds FBI whistleblower case, Aragoncillo, leaks of classified information and security breaches, NSA and wiretapping without FISA court approval, Gannon, Abramoff, Greenberg Traurig, Marsh & Kroll Management, Cunningham/Wilkes/MZM/Hookergate, Alfonso Jackson and HUD contracts, financial improprieties involving former FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, Unocal and Afghanistan, Global Crossing, Enron, Halliburton-Kellogg Brown & Root, The Carlyle Group, Harken Energy, Bechtel, WorldCom, DynCorp, Blackwater, Parsons, Custer Battles, CACI, election fraud, Coingate, torture of prisoners, FEMA’s Katrina response, Pat Tillman’s death, missing billions from Iraq, missing billions from the Pentagon, missing billions from Homeland Security, missing billion from Katrina recovery, Pentagon psyops units, secret government propaganda operations and the Armstrong Williams case, the Office of Special Plans, the replacements of US Attorneys, the firing of Abramoff Prosecutor Frederick A. Black, etc. Hearings begin and subpoenas are issued. Several whistleblowers from the FBI, CIA, DIA, NSC, NSA, FAA, Pentagon and State Department step forward to testify.

4. Leahy sets up a Special Select Committee in the Senate to investigate Iraq intelligence, Phase II, Plame, NSA, 9/11 oddities, Pat Roberts/Richard Shelby intelligence leak cover-ups, Laura Ingraham’s involvement in campaign phone jamming, slush funds, AWOL/CBS Memogate involving information on W’s military record from back in 1972, Senate computer theft by Republican staffers (this relates to information on Bush judicial nominations), Ashcroft’s illegal campaign contributions, the Medicare bribe scandal, the bogus Medicare “Video News Release,” wiretapping of the United Nations, Antonin Scalia’s refusal to recuse himself from the Energy Task Force case, the DOJ’s bungling of the Detroit terrorism case, espionage involving State Department official Donald Keyser and the passing of documents to Taiwanese Intelligence agents, Energy Commission cover-ups and other corruption, waste, fraud and abuse and an Independent Counsel is appointed. Senate hearings begin and Sibel Edmonds, Richard Grove, Indira Sangh, Russell Tice, Richard Clarke, Coleen Rowley, John M. Cole, Glenn Fine, James Comey, Bunny Greenhouse, Janis Karpinski, Karen Kwiatowski and Lawrence Wilkerson all step forward as witnesses.

5. Abramoff and Cunningham blow the whistle on several Republican leaders in the House, Senate and Executive Branch. Several current and former GOP lawmakers and their staff members, a few current and former White House aides and other GOP officials are all indicted. This includes Hastert, Cantor, Sweeney, Roy Blunt, John Doolittle, Richard Pombo, Dana Rohrabacher, Tom Feeney, J.D. Hayworth, Rick Renzi, Conrad Burns, Duncan Hunter, Virgil Goode, Katherine Harris, Louis Gohmert, etc. Brent Wilkes is later indicted himself. Austin, Texas District Attorney Ronnie Earle indicts John Cornyn on charges relating to DeLay/Abramoff money and the SEC charges Bill Frist for his insider trading.

6. Stephen Hadley is indicted by Fitzgerald for perjury and obstruction of justice. Douglas Feith is brought up on espionage charges in the AIPAC case and the forged Niger documents background from Italian Intelligence comes to light. Richard Perle gets implicated in AIPAC as well.

7. Fitzgerald indicts Gonzales for obstruction of justice and Rove is indicted in the Abramoff investigation (this is related to the number of times Jack visited the White House and meetings set up by Norquist). The number of times Gannon visited the White House later becomes a major news story.

8. Congress motions to impeach Bush. The House approves a measure for the House Judiciary Committee to conduct an impeachment inquiry. Impeachment materials and evidence are brought before the Committee. Impeachment proceedings and hearings begin. The House Judiciary Committee begins voting on articles of impeachment. 3 articles are voted out of the Committee. Charges include lying to Congress, abuse of power, obstruction of justice, perjury, contempt of Congress, criminal negligence, misprision of high treason, endangering the security of the nation, conspiracy to commit fraud against the nation, defrauding the government, illegal weapons, illegal wiretaps, etc. All the Democrats on the Committee vote in favor of all three impeachment articles. A good many Republicans on the Committee vote in favor of them.

9. A small delegation of Congressional Republicans led by Dick Lugar and Trent Lott go up to the White House and urge Bush to resign. They make it clear to him that he’s lost all support from the public and his base and that impeachment, conviction and removal from office is inevitable.

10. Bush resigns to avoid impeachment and get a pardon. He fakes an illness.

11. McCain is sworn in as President. He appoints George Pataki as his Vice President. Both houses of Congress vote to confirm Pataki. McCain accepts the resignations of all the Bush cabinet members and senior White House staff. And of course, McCain is Jerry Ford until January 2009.