On September 8, the Baltimore Sun printed a column by Gordon Adams calling for the impeachment of our illustrious president. Adams gives us a bevy of good reasons to "throw the bum out," but he seems to have missed a crucial point. The public has been calling the current administration to task in for its misdeeds for four years. In all that time, the word impeachment has been bandied about, but in the Senate, where the job must get done, it seems to be the elephant in the living room.
While it is certain that many Americans would like to see George W. Bush impeached, it is equally certain that few in Congress have the political will to do so. In fact, senators who have served their country long and well and have been betrayed by the duplicitous promises of the president himself refused to take him on. Perhaps they believe that biding their time for three more years will preserve their political standing. Meanwhile, regular folk wonder if there will be a political system in three years.
The larger public is becoming increasingly impatient with the president, but an increasing number are also becoming impatient with politicians who do nothing in the face of the rape of this country. If a single party was attempting to dismantle all regulations that prevented it from establishing absolute hegemony with respect to the economic system, it would be unfortunate. However as time goes by, and the Democrats continue to do nothing, one begins to suspect them of complicity.
There is no "working with" this administration. Democrats who use this as an excuse for inaction are liars. Democratic senators and representatives who receive letters and petitions from their constituents calling for impeachment and do nothing about them have failed to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to them when they were elected.
A president was impeached for lying about a consensual sexual act. His successor lied to Congress, the press, the public, and the United Nations in order to invade a sovereign nation that posed no threat to the United States, causing the death of nearly 2000 U.S. citizens, and the word impeachment has not come up. Is extramarital sex really that much more important than the thousands of lives that have been lost as a result of Bush policies? Judging by the actions of Congress, it is.
Talk of class warfare in politics is discouraged, but in the current situation, where no one is standing up against the establishment of a plutocracy, such talk is nearly inevitable. People are rarely motivated to do things to others; they do things to benefit themselves. Why would Democratic representatives ignore calls for impeachment, unless they had something to gain from doing so? While Democrats have always considered themselves the "people's party," Democratic politicians typically derive from the same socioeconomic stratosphere as their Republican counterparts.
The first concern of the wealthy and powerful is to secure and maintain wealth and power. In light of the policies enacted over the last five years, the gutting of federal agencies intended to protect ordinary people, and the blatant profiteering seen at the highest levels of government, Democrats would be hard-pressed to prove they were doing anything other than securing and maintaining their own positions.
© 2005
One reason not to rush to impeachment is Cheney.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that no one has figured out how to impeach them both at the same time . . . and then take a look at the rest of the line of succession.
George Bush has taught us over and over that, whatever we thought was bad [example, Ashcroft], good riddance, can actually be exponentially a lot worse [Gonzales].
your handbasket hit the nail on the head, as usual.
ReplyDeletenobody is going to call for impeachment, since all 3 branches of
government are controlled by the republican party, and such a process
would fail. those who called for the impeachment would be cast into
utter darkness, and would lose all they have.
THE REASON FOR THIS IS: i saw an interview with a man who last name is
obama. he hit the nail on the head too. he said that this
administration is expert at spin and poor at governing.
in other words, if you go against this administration in any way, they
will spin you into complete disgrace - and everybody knows it. they
have the power and the money, and they can call on the resources of all
the media to launch a campaign against their enemies that cannot fail.
look at what they did to kerry in the last presidential election - as
rove says, they attacked his STRENGTHS, not his weaknesses. they are
like wolves - they know how to kill.
if i were in congress, i'd be a fool to call for impeachment. and they
are no fools. the only way we are going to get past this horror is to
get some democrats in congress and have the majority vote. THEN, we can
get the bastards out. but with their enormous money and power, even
that may not be do-able. i'm really worried.
Only two points to quibble about: First, Clinton wasn't impeached because of a consensual sex act. He was impeached because he perjured himself before a grand jury, an offense that, if you and I were to commit, would lead to a jail term. However, politicians are above the law, and Clinton was only impeached.
ReplyDeleteSecond: Of course the Democrats are complicit! They'll do the same things when they get in office. The farthest thing from any politicians mind is the public good. That has been replaced by how to raise the millions necessary to run for reelection.