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June 5, 2006 at 23:44:05
Nine State Democratic Parties Back Impeachment: Whose Table Is It, Nancy? by David Swanson Page 1 of 1 page(s) 
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By David Swanson
Nominal leader of the Democrats in Congress Nancy Pelosi, following talking points produced by the Republican National Committee, recently told her fellow Dems to keep impeachment off the table. This past weekend, the Democratic Parties in Maine, New Hampshire, and Hawaii passed resolutions demanding impeachment. This, of course, raises the question: Whose table is it, Nancy?
Whose table? Our table!
These states joined the Democratic parties of Nevada, New Mexico, California, Wisconsin, and Vermont, and the executive committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party (their convention is later this month). If Texas does it, that'll make 10. Activists in other states have tried to pass impeachment resolutions but been blocked by their state party's leadership. Most of the states that have succeeded have done so despite opposition from the leadership. This grassroots energy, along with every poll I've seen, suggests that making the coming elections about impeachment would mobilize lots and lots and lots of Democrats. Not a shred of evidence supports the RNC-Pelosi claim that it would benefit Republicans.
The Green Party supports impeachment at the national level. And 19 city governments have passed impeachment resolutions. The next one will make 20. Where's Nancy? Is she waiting until after the primaries to acquire a spine and a little political sense? The level of public energy among Democrats, Independents, and a significant minority of Republicans suggests that people will make the elections about impeachment whether Pelosi likes it or not. She has a choice of fighting this and looking inevitably like a "flip-flopper" or riding it to victory and looking like what she would be: an international hero and the probable next President of the United States. Tough choice, I know.
There are primaries in several states on Tuesday. There are pro-impeachment Democrats in races across the country. Those in contested primaries in Pelosi's home state of California include Marcy Winograd, Kevin Hearle, Charles Coleman, Bob McCloskey, and Karen Marie Otter. Winograd has already given incumbent pro-war, pro-rogue-executive Jane Harman a scare. On Tuesday she may give her the boot and the Democratic Party a wake-up call. Over in Connecticut Ned Lamont just might do the same to Senator Joe Lieberman.
Back in California, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey is fighting off a challenge, and the peace movement is defending her, although – as an obedient Democrat – she has not found the decency to introduce articles of impeachment. Woolsey IS one of only 37 Democrats who have signed onto Congressman John Conyers' bill to create an investigation into grounds for impeachment. But not a single Democrat has signed on since Pelosi announced that impeachment was off the table.
Democracy When? Democracy Now!
Check out Tuesday's show at www.democracynow.org – It features Jonathan Tasini, who is challenging warmonger Hillary Clinton, as well as Lamont, Winograd, and Cindy Sheehan, plus John Bonifaz who just qualified for the ballot in his run to become Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Here are Democratic candidates and activists speaking for unelected citizen Democrats. Nancy, are you listening?
At Maine and New Hampshire's Democratic conventions this past weekend something else happened. The crowds went nuts for Senator Russ Feingold, especially when he criticized the leadership of his own party.
Why would that be? Well, Democrats overwhelmingly oppose the war and favor censure and impeachment. Speaking for myself, at least this Democrat will actively oppose any pro-war Democratic candidate for president – and that includes the ones who were against it before they were for it, the ones who want to end it in a careful and lengthy process, the ones who want to escalate it and kill more efficiently, and the ones who pretend it's not the top issue on everyone's mind.
New Hampshire, of course, helped give the Democrats a pro-war candidate for president last time around. Many good citizens of New Hampshire CEASED to be citizens, became amateur pundits and political strategists, obeyed their televisions, and voted NOT for their first choice, but for who the media told them (absurdly and falsely) had the best chance to win. New Hampshire, can we expect better of you this time?
Will Tuesday's results help give you courage and self-confidence? I certainly hope so.
But this is troubling. As reported at http://www.bradblog.com , the voting in California is subject to Diebold's counting. The long-term solution to this is to give Debra Bowen a sufficiently huge victory in Tuesday's primary to make her the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State. If we elect her in California and Bonifaz in Massachusetts, there will be hope for honest elections. If we have honest elections, we'll elect a party that will elect a leader that will know whose table it is.
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PLEASE IMPEACH!
Dear Ms. Herseth (D-SD, Representative): You have a very nice staff person who unfortunately heard my concerns in a rather lengthy and boisterous dissertation. As I understand you are a busy person, I will attempt to convey detail in my follow up missive to SUPPORT THE OBVIOUS: IMPEACH THIS ADMINISTRATION ASAP! STAT! PRONTO! IMMEDIATELY! PLEASE! HEAR MY CALL! I will be including an editorial to assist in substantiating the need to pursue action. Hopefully what some of us are saying with unmitigated evidence AS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, preserved in various forms, and used quite extensively in DARK POLITICAL HUMOR (before it got so insanely, MORBIDLY, funny! Sometimes there’s nothing but that hysterical giggle that alights when thinking too much about this GOD FORESAKEN ADMINISTRATION!) How long are you going to watch and allow our Government to Implode before you DO SOMETHING for the CONSTITUENTS YOU SERVE! For the love of LIBERTY for our REPUBLIC DO YOUR JOB! The Executive Branch is Responsible for CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY! The Commander in Chief (!!!) is RESPONSIBLE for the actions of those he has directed to serve in an ILLEGAL ACT OF WAR! As I discussed with your staff, this administration deliberately neglected to acknowledge credible information that Suddam Hussein did not have WMD (Ahmed AlBaradei, IAEA Director General, 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient), and had NO conclusive, concrete, or credible evidence that he had ANY association with Al Queada (George Tenet, FBI Director)! George Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, and Paul Wolfowitz (to name a few, but definitely NOT an all inclusive list!) have deliberately misled YOU AND ME AND THE ENTIRE NATION!!! They even went so far as to initiate a SEPARATE DEPARTMENT (Office of Special Plans) to acquire “intelligence” that was either seriously questioned by our own intelligence agencies, other international equivalents (i.e. IAEA), or rejected. No, they used THEIR OWN SOURCES (Ahmed Chalabi – a highly unreputable source AND a CONVICTED CRIMINAL!; “Curveball” – also highly uncredible) who were funded by OUR OWN GOVERNMENT! And THEN, they (this administration) reveal the identity of a COVERT CIA OPERATIVE, Valerie Plame (who happened to be working on IRANIAN WMD) in retribution against her husband who stated that the Hussein uranium buying spree was a hoax! Their minimally timid response basically is that they didn’t KNOW she was covert? Who else would and SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER! Hmmmmm? Scooter Libby? Karl Rove? Dick Cheney? Isn’t that what security clearance is all about? KNOWING HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION! In light of the Haditha incident and Donald Rumsfeld publicly stating that he CANNOT ASSURE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE (especially since he was so confident about Iraqi WMD!), I say: GET SOMEONE IN THERE WHO CAN!!!!! Lest you may think that PTSD and “collateral damage” is part and parcel to war I add: WAR IS INSANITY! To expect our citizens to engage in combat (in a foreign country) while fully unable to communicate with the people of that country, understand their culture, AND identify the enemy, does one NOT expect this! HOWEVER: this would NOT HAVE OCCURRED had this administration acted responsibly, ethically, and within the CONSTRUCTS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW! Let us FINALLY HOLD ACCOUNTABLE THE MOST EGREGIOUS PERPETRATORS! And, I ask, WHO’S BENEFITING? This administration has placed a grossly disproportionate burden on the poverty, low and middle income citizens to the BENEFIT of the wealthy. Remember? HIS BASE! Ironic, isn’t it that this ‘group’ will receive over $42,000 in tax breaks that YOU (collectively) AGREED TO! I’m confident that this sum will help finance (like they need it!) the rising gas prices to fill their (yours per chance!?) SUV’s and Hummers (irony in itself – because who’s really getting blown here!) while we LOSE! Not only money BUT LIVES! It sure as hell isn’t the upper class that has their sons and daughters and mothers and fathers fighting an illusive enemy called ‘terror’ (but I’m sure they stare it in the eye of every human they practically see!) at the behest of an administration THAT IS BENEFITING MOST OF ALL! George Bush – Carlyle Group (you remember – that’s the SAME GROUP that Bin Ladin’s are associated with as well! Do you ever wonder WHY Osama hasn’t been apprehended yet? Family acquaintance?) and Dick Cheney – Halliburton (Do you really believe he doesn’t have financial interest remaining within the financial statements there?) are but the most obvious. Would you like additional information regarding other administrative officials who are (or have been) exhibiting neon enriched CONFLICT OF INTEREST? Who in their right mind (does this nation even have one any more?) truly feels and believes that we are safer now than before 9/11? Even that has the proverbial 1,000 (to the 10th degree!) questions that have yet to be definitively and COHERENTLY answered! What are “WE” waiting for? This has gone so FAR BEYOND DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN PANDERING! Our Constitution has been progressively in CRISIS SINCE JANUARY OF 2000! Maybe it’s TIME you potentially sacrifice your way of life (conventional politics/political career) to help PRESERVE OURS! THIS ISN’T A POPULARITY CONTEST ANYMORE!!! It’s a given that support for the impeachment cause will not be looked upon favorably by some. It would not surprise me to see the MINORITY religious fundamentalists feigning apoplexy because they see middle easterners as ‘dirty’ and ‘immoral’. I’m here to tell you: THIS ISN’T A HOLY TERROR WAR (well, it is, BUT IT SHOULDN’T BE because who is currently inflicting the HOLY TERROR)! And what IS Bush’s ultimate excuse going to be here? “God told me to do it”? Can I get sworn testimony from God? If not, THAN AT LEAST HOW ABOUT FROM GEORGE BUSH, DICK CHENEY, DONALD RUMSFELD, CONDOLEEZA RICE, COLAN POWELL, PAUL WOLFOWITZ, KARL ROVE (!!!!!!), SCOOTER LIBBY, RICHARD PEARLE TO NAME A FEW! Please refer to an excellent article by Dave Swanson. click here Hello? Have I made my point clear enough? Not that it’s ‘my’ point; YOU HAVE BEEN PRESENTED WITH VERIFIABLE FACTS! Rather than worrying how much I’m eating in a restaurant, HOW ABOUT EVICTING CRIMINALS FROM OUR GOVERNMENT! Their next vacation spot should be the Hague, Netherlands! As a taxpayer, I’ll be happy to PAY FOR THEIR ONE WAY TICKET! Sincerely, Lisa by Lisa W. (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 60 comments) on Tuesday, Jun 6, 2006 at 10:49:16 AM  (0+)
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