It's November 9th, and the close races have been tallied. The Dems control both houses, and calls for impeachment are no longer just peeing your name in the snow. Rumsfeld's resignation is supposed to be Bush's mea culpa, but it shan't end like this. Bush IS more lost than ever, but also scared now, too. It's time for people of conscience to show him that he finally got one thing right -- he should be scared.

When it became clear that the Democratic Party would hold majorities in both houses of congress, will-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made the right decision in anticipation of the call for impeachment of the President and, for some petitioners, the Vice-President. Not surprisingly, she is criticized for her clear and unambiguous announcement that “impeachment is off the table.” She was right for at least three reasons.

1. Should the President be impeached, his power would fall to the Vice President. With Cheney’s questionable health, his lack of any interested in being at the point in the administration, he is unlikely to have the energy or resolve to take over the direction of such a damaged administration and therefore may himself be unable to serve or, less likely, be impeached. The vulnerability of the two top office holders to the actions of the congress may taint Speaker Pelosi with accusations of vulgar self interest.

2. Secondly, there are significant enough issues on the Congressional agenda that an impeachment process would push them off the docket. Included are: competition among pharmaceutical companies for Medicare provisioning; lifting the ban on stem cell research; raising the minimum wage, fine-tuning social security, ending the war in Iraq, implementing the the 911 commission recommendations, further examination of the mess called the patriot act; establishment of an ethics oversight in the house and the reestablishment of coherent and lasting democratic power in the body.

3. Lastly, and most importantly, I believe, were the process of impeachment and conviction to begin, whether it succeeded or failed, it would be the full extent to which the Democratic Party could go and still retain credibility in confronting the disastrous excesses of the Republican Congress’ favor to the wealthy and its violence to the needs of the less favored. Now that impeachment is off the table, the Democrats are free to expand to a wider scope and deepen to a more profound degree their investigations of corruption so ubiquitous that it likely touches every member of the senior administration, commission appointees, judicial appointments, and the Republican congress itself from is three day work weeks to its wholesale abdication of the writing of law to the K street lobbyist/party contributors.

I do not underemphasize the egregious affront to the constitution, to truth, to fairness, to equality, to privacy, etc., each on its own a grievous misfeasance and malfeasance of duty not to mention a perjury against their oaths office, on the part of the President and the Vice President, but the Democratic Party can do significantly more damage to the Republicans' corrupt and distorted vision for the country than it can by removing the talking head at the top and stopping there.

Nancy P says that impeachment would tie up Congress and be detrimental, and that Cheney would take over anyway, which could be even a worse situation. Well, hell....go for both of them at the same time! Is there a Constitutional problem with this? And simultaneous proceedings should pursue removing several other political appointees at the cabinet and next level, starting with sweet Condi.

He has declared the Constitution "Just a piece of paper".

Lets show him how that paper works!

A rapidly growing network of organizations including the Green Party, CodePink, the N ational Lawyers Guild, Campus Antiwar Network, Progressive Democrats of America, and many others has launched a major new campaign to push for the immediate impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney. The Impeach07 campaign is coordinating a series of initiatives over the next two months that will culminate on April 28 with a nationwide day of protest in towns and cities across America.

George Bush and Dick Cheney have committed high crimes and misdemeanors including misleading the nation into an aggressive war, spying in open violation of the law, and sanctioning the use of torture. These are a betrayal of our most fundamental values of truth, freedom, and justice. Far from being a partisan political quest impeachment is a self-evident moral imperative. Additionally, an investigation into the lies used to sell the war against Iraq may be the best way to increase pressure for withdrawal, and to prevent a new war on Iran.

If you're ready to stand up for truth, freedom, and justice, please visit www.a28.org to get involved. And please help spread the word. There is enormous public support for this, but with a veritable mainstream media blackout on the issue it is crucial that we use the power of the internet to put accountability back on the table.

I agree with Mr. Keillor, except that impeachment won't be necessary. I am a Democrat, but I am an American first and I truly believe that our government in its present form cannot address the issue of Iraq and terrorism in any coherent manner. We do not have another twenty gut-churning months for a solution to this carnage.

It seems that neither party can enact a paradigm shift in thinking. Fear of losing power and taking responsibility drives them all. They cannot and will not see that the problem of this war and our dysfunctional executive cannot be solved by tinkering endlessly around the edges with benchmarks, deadlines, war funding and what happens in 2008. We have lost a great measure of our strength and standing in the world and along with this our ability to deal with the issues we face. Our military is strained beyond reason, yet we still have an obligation to try and fix the mess we have made. The only solution that will make a difference has surely been considered and cast aside by my timid party. The fact that the unraveling of Iraq and the disintegration of the Bush administration is actually advantageous to Democrats makes a rational unified way forward nearly impossible. Democratic campaigns are well served by this crippled administration; the nation is not.

The Congress must assume the responsibility given to them by the Founders and stand up to this dysfunctional Executive for the country, her soldiers and a responsibility that rightly or wrongly has been assumed by all of us. This president and his cabinet must be removed and it can be done swiftly as soon as the will exists. It will be replaced by the functional government that the American people should be demanding.

First, to gain any kind of credibility after their weak efforts, the Democrats must create their own version of ‘shock and awe’. They must demand the Democratic presidential candidates suspend any participation in the presidential race and start focusing on their duty rather than who will be the next president. However improbable this sounds, it is what must be done even though it threatens dreams of future power. The problem is now, not 20 months from now. The suspension of the race will suck the wind out of the irrelevant political yammering and focus the talking heads, press and hopefully the nation on the very serious moves that must take place. It will empower the Democrats to move forward as nothing else could.

As the congressional Democrats refocus their energy and efforts to that of salvaging our wrecked government and foreign policy, they will be able to enlist more Republicans in their rescue work than any conventional wisdom would allow. It is absolutely possible to attain the resignation of the President and his enablers if it is done ruthlessly and swiftly. The absolute inevitably of impeachment, trial and conviction will be enough. There are several iron-clad impeachable offenses that almost everyone can now recite. Only the absolute certainty that impeachment will be used will ensure that it will not be needed. The great irony in this situation is that a majority of the Republicans, after some ‘Democrat’ bashing, will leap at the chance to remove this millstone from their party’s neck and will complete the super majority. They will see their redemption and rehabilitation in this action and actually become the more eager actor. The courage, however, must come from the Democrats in the knowledge that in removing this Executive, they will surely be helping the Republicans. They will be helping the nation more and that should be the only calculus. This will require a determination and strength that the country has not witnessed in Congress for many years. If the strength is found to rein in the Democratic presidential aspirants, who benefit so much from this weakened Presidency and will surely fight this action, the earth will shake underneath the White House.

The march up to the White House by Congressional leaders of both parties will be a day for the history books. The weakened Executive will give in to all demands and step down because power will give them no choice, and that they understand. As part of the process, Cheney must be made to step down first and a new VP selected to address the fears of a Cheney or Pelosi presidency. The new VP/President would have to be a Republican and it must be someone like Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is familiar with Iraq, diplomacy and who, ostensibly, has the experience to guide the country. It would be nice to have a promise from him or her not to run, but that is probably not enforceable. Democrats will just have to take their chances, but again, their charge is not re-election but to construct an effective government now.

The new cabinet should be bi-partisan so that a unity government is assured and justified public suspicion further ameliorated. The possibilities for this executive branch are breathtaking if it employs the most experienced and pragmatic negotiators, peace makers and war fighters from all parties.

Most importantly, America can renew herself before a startled, yet immensely relieved world. No longer will our allies and much of this nation withhold their valuable resources in a desire to see this strange and destructive administration fail. The delight of watching the hated American executive branch twist into oblivion will no longer affect decision-making across the globe. The only logical benefit to our allies and even some foes will be to change rather than abet the violence in Iraq and the Middle East. Congress will move ahead with a level of respect and support that it will hardly know what to do with and with a common cause rather than half of the government benefiting from failure. Campaigning can resume after the nation’s business is taken care of. The new government's course in Iraq is another item of discussion.

James Clare Woodside

Architect.Planner