Even people who believe Cheney and Bush broke the law, lied us into war, betrayed the constitution-- some don't think impeachment is a good idea. This article provides rebuttals to reasons Not to impeach.

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updated Jan 27, 2008

Much has been written about WHY to impeach. But even among people who believe Bush and Cheney lied or intentionally misled the congress about WMDs and reasons to go to war, even among people people who believe that Bush and Cheney have treasonously violated laws and betrayed the constitution, some people don’t believe there should be impeachment proceedings.  I’ve listed, below, some of the  most common objections to impeachment, with rebuttals to them.

It is important to keep in mind that impeachment is a constitutional tool, primarily to be used, in the early stages for hearings and investigations. Most in congress seem to think of impeachment focusing on the Senate impeachment trial, ignoring history.

Keep in mind that Richard Nixon never ended up being tried by the Senate. After hearings exposed the levels of lawbreaking and corruption, a group of Senate Republicans took “the walk” to the White House to tell Nixon he had to go, that if he didn’t, they were ready to remove him. Of course, that was after Agnew had been pushed to resign, with hearings that disclosed enough to show how dirty he was.

This is the scenario that will unfold for the Bush/Cheney administration. Judiciary committee impeachment hearings will disclose enough about Cheney so he will resign. Then hearings on Bush will reveal enough dirt so the GOP leaders will cut their losses at some point, when supporting Dubya no longer seems at all viable, when the GOP brand will be close to going down the toilet, and they’ll take “the walk” to visit George to tell him he has to quit or they will side with the Dems and remove him.

Bottom line-- impeachment will never reach the Senate.

But for these things to happen, Nancy Pelosi has to put impeachment back on the table and let John Conyers, head of the house judiciary committee, do the job he’s ready to do—start impeachment investigations of Cheney and Bush. It worked to get rid of Gonzales. It will work for Cheney, then Bush too.

Here are some common arguments against impeachment, with their rebuttals. Frankly, if the Dems fail to impeach, and they fail to end the war, and they let Bush’s disastrous economic policies and his massive war spending continue, the USA will be in even worst trouble than the horrific mortgage/ housing and dollar crash and credit disaster we are already in.

Common Arguments Against Impeachments & Their Rebuttals
1- That will give us Cheney as president.

Well, of course, we have to impeach Cheney first, but we can and should be INVESTIGATING both.  Once Cheney investigations start, the VP will get a note from the Doctor. He’ll try to pull the plug on hearings by resigning with his heart problems as the explanation.

2-Not enough time. Cheney and Bush will be out of office in 12 months. Why bother?

Lots of reasons. They committed crimes. Investigations will turn up more ugly dirt. Investigations will turn up new, fresh witnesses who will roll over and testify against Cheney and Bush. It’s not about timely convenience. It’s about the congress obeying their oath to uphold and defend the constitution—which Bush and Cheney have treasonously violated.  

3- . Bush and Cheney have broken no laws

Bush and his defenders argue that as Commander-in-Chief, Bush and his designate Cheney have not violated any laws.  The counter argument:  The violation of Geneva Convention principles would be a breaking of U. S. law since the United States has signed "a treaty" banning torture and other mistreatment of detainees.  International Treaties become U. S. Law and may not be negated by the President.  Justice Bryer 9 Oct 2007. And just because Bush issues a signing statement—actually, over 1000—doesn’t mean he is right, that he doesn’t have to follow the laws the congress has passed.

4- The Dems will be accused of wasting time.

Former congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, who was involved in the Nixon impeachment hearings, reports that this is untrue, that the congress was well able to get business done.

Lynn Woolsey says “impeachment would suck air out of the room and get nothing accomplished”  Sorry, it may be inconvenient, may even not fit with plans to keep the Republicans hanging out to dry, dangling with their corruption, in the wind, until November, but the Dem leaders in a congress have that annoying duty to uphold the constitution.

5- There's no clear proof 

That's what hearings are for.

6. Impeachment will further divide this country. (Barack Obama's stance.) The country is already divided. It can’t get any further divided. Impeachment will unite all the people who want to protect the constitution and democracy.  

7. Not enough people support impeachment 

It’s not a popularity contest. It’s the job of the congress, when faced with crimes and even questions, to investigate, investigate.

Recent polls have reported that more than half the respondents want impeachment hearings for Cheney. Those numbers will climb when testimony begins, just like it did for Gonzales.

8. You can hold Bush and Cheney accountable without impeaching them. (Pelosi's stance)

Cheney and Bush, still free, still in control can still do further horrific damage to America.. Do we want Bush managing the worst economic crisis in generations? And crimes should be punished as the law prescribes., not ignored. If Clinton had prosecuted George Herbert Walker Bush for his involvement in illegal actions, his son would never have appeared on the picture, as a gubernatorial, let alone presidential candidate. He’d be the  failure son of a corrupt politician.

9. Pelosi can’t pursue impeachment  because she’d become president and it would look like she’s shooting for the job.

No she won’t . Bush will appoint a VP replacement who will become president—someone the Dems can tolerate.. The Dems will not allow anyone who might run for office, so Bush must appoint someone who can bring integrity and bring America together. He might even appoint  someone who actually creates something that leaves a positive legacy—a first woman , Latino, African American VP. Possible  VP appointees who might pass muster include; James Baker, John Warner,  or even Colin Powell, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Condi Rice or Mel Martinez.   

10. Impeachment will not succeed in the senate.

The goal is not to take impeachment to the senate. It is to force Cheney, then Bush to resign, all the while using the power of impeachment hearing subpoenas, which cannot be rejected with claims of Executive privilege, to expose lies, criminality and corruption. Investigations can last until November, if necessary, and they will hurt the right wingers still supporting Bush and Cheney. Gradually, more will see the light, until before impeachment ever goes to a vote, enough senators will take “THE WALK” to the Whitehouse, to tell Bush it is time to go.

Authors Bio:

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect,
connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media.

Check out his platform at RobKall.com

He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity

He's given talks and workshops to Fortune
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Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful
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and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and
opinion sites, OpEdNews.com

more detailed bio:

Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet and the Psychopathy Defense and Optimization Project.

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