There is a way - little known but perhaps highly effective - by which a matter of Impeachment can be brought immediately to the floor of the House Of Representatives, by-passing all Committees, and impossible to stop: and this is the "Direct Proposition To Impeach," by which any one single Member or Delegate can propose a Motion to Impeach, directly from the floor of the House. Such a motion is highly privileged, taking precedence over almost everything else. And if it is at first defeated, it can be proposed again repeatedly, as a matter of privilege.
This method is listed and explained on pages 314-316 of the current "House Rules And Manual" which is officially described as "the fundamental source material for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives." All of this is located at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hrm/index.html
The list of methods to initiate impeachment is shown below (with footnote references removed, for clarity). The method of Direct Proposition To Impeach is shown first, "by charges made on the floor on the responsibility of a Member or Delegate."
". . . there are various methods of setting an impeachment in motion: by charges made on the floor on the responsibility of a Member or Delegate; by charges preferred by a memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for examination; by a resolution dropped in the hopper by a Member and referred to a committee; by a message from the President; by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State or territory, or from a grand jury ; or from facts developed and reported by an investigating committee of the House." (footnotes not shown here)
The same list, with footnote references included, is shown below:
"In the <> House there are various methods of setting an impeachment in motion: by charges made on the floor on the responsibility of a Member or Delegate (II, 1303; III, 2342, 2400, 2469; VI, 525, 526, 528, 535, 536); by charges preferred by a memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for examination (III, 2364, 2491, 2494, 2496, 2499, 2515; VI, 543); by a resolution dropped in the hopper by a Member and referred to a committee (Apr. 15, 1970, p. 11941; Oct. 23, 1973, p. 34873); by a message from the President (III, 2294, 2319; VI, 498); by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State (III, 2469) or territory (III, 2487) or from a grand jury (III, 2488); or from facts developed and reported [[Page 315]] by an investigating committee of the House (III, 2399, 2444)."
The issue of "privilege" is covered here, in this same section:
"A direct <> proposition to impeach is a question of high privilege in the House and at once supersedes business otherwise in order under the rules governing the order of business (III, 2045-2048, 2051, 2398; VI, 468, 469; July 22, 1986, p. 17294; Aug. 3, 1988, p. 20206; May 10, 1989, p. 8814; Sept. 23, 1998, pp. 21560-62; see Deschler, ch. 14, Sec. 8). It may not even be superseded by an election case, which is also a matter of high privilege (III, 2581). It does not lose its privilege from the fact that a similar proposition has been made at a previous time during the same session of Congress (III, 2408), previous action of the House not affecting it (III, 2053)."
It is always possible that the opponents of Bush Impeachment (or of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld Impeachment) will try to find a way to get around these applicable rules. But if they try to do so, we can make an issue out of their "willingness to break the rules whenever they want to do so," which is so typical of the Bush Administration and their blind followers in Congress.
Blessings to you. May God help us all. And may God bless America!
Rev. Bill McGinnis is an Internet Christian minister, writer and publisher. He is Director of LoveAllPeople.org, a small private think tank in Alexandria, Virginia, and all of its related websites, including InternetChurchOfChrist.org,CommitteeForTheGoldenRule.org,CivicAmerican.com, and AmericanDemocrat.net. His agenda is to help maximize the happiness and well-being of all people. His blog is located at http://blog.myspace.com/revbillmcginnis
