"It is quite clear," Fein remarked, "that they will not move because they think collectively that it will not be advantageous politically for the Democratic Party. I have retorted, you have taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States which includes the impeachment clause."
His voice rising, he stressed "That’s the only oath that you have taken. You have taken not an oath to support the Democratic Party. You’ve not taken an oath to support your political ambitions. The only unflagging obligation that you have is to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States. You are violating your oath when the reason for not going forward is not because they are not impeachable offenses, but you make a political calculation that it wouldn’t be healthy for your party - even if it would be healthy for the government of the United States and for the American people."
When Kall commented that some worried that impeachment proceedings would hurt the candidates, Fein was even more blunt than before. "I think that is nauseating. When you think about all the risks that the founding fathers took, death, their fortunes, [ . . . ] and these people say ‘yea there are impeachable offenses, but if we have to choose between the Constitution which so many have died to preserve and our party’s gains at the next election so let’s throw the Constitution out the window’ - that is nauseating. That kind of attitude would have left us a colony of Great Britain and it’s not American."
Congressional Courage
There are members of Congress who are undeterred by the Democratic leadership stance. In April 2007, Representative Dennis Kucinich introduced House Resolution 333 that, if passed, would impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. Each time an old offense was exposed or a new one committed, representatives would add their support.
In November 2007, when public pressure failed to move the resolution out of the House Judiciary where it languished, Kucinich introduced a privileged resolution to force a vote. After an afternoon of partisan politicking, the resolution landed back in the House Judiciary Committee with a new title, H. Res. 799. To date, there are 27 sponsors of H. Res. 799. Six of the 27 also serve on the House Judiciary Committee.Moved by pressure from his constituents and a strong allegiance to the Constitution, Representative Robert Wexler (D-FL) rose up to lead the charge for impeachment hearings. In December, he authored an oped "A Case for Hearings" along with Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) also members of the House Judiciary Committee.
In addition, he setup the website WexlerWantsHearings.com where he asked the public to lend their support. His long-term goal was 50,000 online signatures. Within the first 24 hours, 30,000 Americans had added their names. Currently, there are more than 233,000 supporters.Wexler, along with 19 House members - five on the House Judiciary Committee - have written to chairman John Conyers urging support for impeachment hearings. In a New Year’s Eve post, The Nation named Robert Wexler, "The Most Valuable Congressman" stating, "If he keeps this up in 2008, Wexler could yet force the House to be what the founders intended: a check and balance on executive lawlessness."TBA 2008: The Republic Against the Rogue Presidency
Based on the reports from last week’s Take Back America conference, it appears that John Conyers has turned back the clock two years. It’s all about winning the elections.
One blogger writes that the reason Conyers gave for not pursuing impeachment now is that "it would jeopardize the chance of a young, excellent man running for the White House," referring to Senator Barack Obama. Sam Stein reports that "Conyers offered a strong suggestion that he intends to consider legal action against Bush and Company once they leave office." Stein quotes Conyers as saying "We can win this thing and go get these guys after [they leave office]."Conyers, like Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), offered that if Bush attacks Iran he should be impeached. It is disturbing to watch seasoned leaders, who have already witnessed this president wage a war on a country preemptively and on false pretenses, decide to "wait and see" rather than preventing more carngage by removing the rogue president for crimes already committed.
Activist David Swanson pulls no punches, "The congress that we elected in 2006 to end the occupation and hold Bush and Cheney accountable immediately decided to pretend to attempt to do its job for two years in hopes of winning more seats in 2008 by opposing the occupation and Bush and Cheney."
"That this would mean hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths, two years off the clock on global warming, our nation and others in ever greater danger of attack, and the continued erosion of our rights - these things didn't faze Reid or Pelosi," charged the activist. "The pretenses they've put up have included hearings, letters, subpoenas, contempt citations, and bills recriminalizing already illegal and unconstitutional actions. They've also pretended to try to pass all sorts of other legislation, such as a children's health care bill, knowing full well that they would be vetoed or signing statemented. It's a two-year election campaign at taxpayer expense."
Regarding impeachment and the elections, Swanson contends "Forcing John McCain to choose between the Constitution and the least popular president and vice president ever would be a gold mine immediately apparent to any entity capable of playing offense. The Democratic Party only plays defense."
Conyers and Nixon
Congressman Conyers might well be served, and the nation in turn, by recalling his 1974 article published in The Black Scholar entitled "Why Nixon Should Have Been Impeached."
The 45-year-old Conyers wrote, "In calling him to account, we also reestablish the proper parameters of presidential conduct. It is essential, therefore, that the record of our inquiry be complete so that no future president may infer that we have implicitly sanctioned what we have not explicitly condemned."
He closed by remarking, "Impeachment is difficult and it is painful, but the courage to do what must be done is the price of remaining free."
