I hope Knoxviews readers and many others heard the fascinating discussion of impeachment last night on Bill Moyers' Journal. The discussion was preceded by the results of a public opinion poll from the American Research Group; 45 percent of Americans favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and more than half -54 percent — favor putting Vice President Cheney in the dock.
The interviewees were Constitutional Scholar Bruce Fein and associate editor of Capitol Times John Nichols.
Fein certainly will avoid the labels and personal attacks often heaped on liberals by the radical right. He served in the Justice Department during the Reagan administration and as general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission. Bruce Fein has been affiliated with conservative think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation and now writes a weekly column for THE WASHINGTON TIMES and Politico.com.
John Nichols is Washington correspondent for THE NATION. His latest book is THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: THE FOUNDERS' CURE FOR ROYALISM.
I'll put a couple quotes after the break.
FEIN (Bush actions) …More worrisome than Clinton's-- because he is seeking more institutionally to cripple checks and balances and the authority of Congress and the judiciary to superintend his assertions of power. He has claimed the authority to tell Congress they don't have any right to know what he's doing with relation to spying on American citizens, using that information in any way that he wants in contradiction to a federal statute called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He's claimed authority to say he can kidnap people, throw them into dungeons abroad, dump them out into Siberia without any political or legal accountability. These are standards that are totally anathema to a democratic society devoted to the rule of law.
NICHOLS (re: Libby commutation): If you look at the discussions in the Federalist Papers but also at the Constitutional Convention, when they spoke about impeachment, one of the things that Madison and George Mason spoke about was the notion that you needed the power to impeach particularly as regards to pardons and commutations because a president might try to take the burden of the law off members of his administration to prevent them from cooperating with Congress in order to expose wrongdoings by the president himself. And so Madison said that is why we must have the power to impeach. Because otherwise a president might be able to use his authority and pardons and such to prevent an investigation from getting to him.
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Mark Harmon
I believe the video is available, too.
Mark Harmon
Right on, but...
The future of democracy demands that we impeach these authoritarians, and it's always good to have allies in that fight, even those from the propaganda machine that propelled them to power. However, what we really need is for Democrats and liberals to understand and accept that they are going to be attacked for doing what is right - and for them to do it anyway. That's the only way to restore America to Constitutional democracy.
By the way, the interview can be seen at Crooks and Liars.
Liberty and justice for all.
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4,
The emphasis is mine.
But the idea is the same, it is time to declare our independence from tyranny and nepotism and despotism.
Our ancestors went to WAR over some of the SAME abuses that have been perpetrated upon the American people by this Administration, over the same kinds of usurpation of basic rights such as free speech (free speech zones ring a bell?), The right to face our accusers and see the evidence against us when accused of a crime (Look up Guantanamo Bay and evidence in Google and see what comes up {I'm too tired to do homework for the republican partisans that are going to howl about this anyway}). Lots of right-wingers say that liberals are moonbats and loony, but WE haven't forgotten why this country was founded and by whom and how. Re-read the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
We follow in the footsteps of giants and we are letting them down if we do NOT stand up to this administration and say "Enough!"
_________________________________________________________
"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"
"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali
Duncan's agin' it
A few weeks ago I wrote to Rep. Duncan in support of the House Resolution to impeach Cheney (warning: link is to a PDF).
I've transcribed his response below. By my reading, he seems to suggest I'm a bit of a dingbat. Which is rich, given the source. Yes, I appreciate his opposition to the war, but I've also read the rants in his newsletters about how the environmentalists and U.N. want to take away our land and create a One World Government.
Anywho, here are Duncan's thoughts on impeachment of Cheney:
Dear [omitted]:
Thank you for contacting me about impeaching Vice President Cheney. I always appreciate hearing from the people whom I represent in Congress.
I have heard from several constituents recently who support the impeachment of some Bush Administration officials, ranging from the President himself to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
However, I do not support impeachment of President Bush or anyone in his Administration. I have disagreed with the President on some things, but I do not believe he or anyone else has committed any impeachable offense.
Even Nancy Pelosi, the very liberal Speaker of the House, has said she does not support impeachment of President Bush or Vice President Cheney or anyone else.
Even though the House is now controlled by liberal Democrats, there is almost no support for impeachment at this point.
Again, I appreciate hearing from you. If I can ever be of service to you and your family, please do not hesitate to let me know.
With kindest regards, I am
Yours truly,
John J. Duncan Jr.
A few thoughts:
First, I wonder how "recently" he's heard from constituents who want to see Rumsfeld impeached (his letter is dated June 29). These must be some spectacularly uninformed constituents, given that Rumsfeld got canned 8 months ago.
Second, what exactly makes Nancy Pelosi "very liberal"? Is it that she's from [shudder] San Francisco, where Teh Gays rule? That's super scary for some, I realize. But if it's just that she favors protecting the environment, helping the poor and allowing everyone to have access to health care, that's not "very liberal," that puts her squarely with the majority of Americans.
And is it true that "there is almost no support for impeachment at this point"? Maybe he's talking about within the House, the wording's vague, but the American public is certainly behind it.
Now, I realize that, war opposition notwithstanding, Duncan's a faithful R, so I didn't expect him to say he was jumping on the impeachment bandwagon. But I'd hoped to get a more thoughtful response.
Of course Corker and Lamar! didn't even bother to write back, so I suppose I should feel lucky.
Why I'm no Duncan fan
Nelle, I had the same reaction to your letter from Jimmy as you did. You stated it well. "Mega-dittos" and all.
I would emphatically agree that the divisive and incendiary tone of Duncan's response is consistent with virtually every letter I have received from him and with his push poll "surveys" he occasionally sends out.