Letters to the Editor
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ondelete...
...we in the blogosphere should pepper the journalists who don't mention in their articles that people are talking about it, with letters like: I hear so-and-so talked to you about impeachment yesterday, but I didn't see you write about it today, why is that? Really, why is that?
You'd think that if they like War so much, they'd at least be tempted by a good old-fashioned impeachment... or, maybe it just wouldn't be bloody enough for them?
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Sorry!!!
I meant ondelette!
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@ Karen M
Do not delete the little wave, terrible rents in the fabric of space-time almost always result.
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In the meantime..
arrest and lock up Harriet Miers.
Until Congress gets the balls to do that, at minimum, there is absolutely no way they can commence an impeachment proceeding.
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@Karen M @WT
Yeah, you'd think. As for space-time, 'tis safe on this end.
Yours Truly,
Undelete
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I call this one for Kovie...
I may not be quite as much in the middle as William T. (i.e., I lean a bit more in Kovie's direction than Che's), but I am willing to be convinced that immediate impeachment would be the best course, and sometimes it gets a little bit close, but so far, I still agree that Pelosi and Reid are playing a better game than we know, just close to the vest, which is probably best, given that the M$M would be more than willing to carry the water if Boehner were considering impeaching a Democratic president, but not, as we all well know, in this case.
The reason subtext is subtext is because it is not confirmable, but is like a dog whistle, discernible only to those with an ear for it.
There is no way that Pelosi could even hint at impeachment prematurely without being accused of an unconstitutional power grab (given her place in the line of succession), and that would just be by the press. One can only imagine what the Publicans would say... not to mention how it would roil the waters (and not in a good way) when it comes to the 2008 election.
However, once the case is so inexorable and inevitable that EVEN some key Publicans agree that something MUST be done, and that short of impeachment, there is nothing else that can be done with GWB (stubborn man!) or Cheney (scarier man!), then something will happen. Warner and Hagel are shifting their position now... and there will be more.
Right now, anything along the lines of a vote on impeachment would be considered an empty threat by Rove/Bush/Cheney, who until Nov 2006 have managed very well at "counting" the votes.
Would I like to see them all impeached and Pelosi as president? Absolutely! But certainly not by anything resembling the French Revolution, and preferably not by another revolution similar to our own.
Another vote for the post by Ian Welsh at FDL:
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/07/14/when-all-they-understand-is-fear-or-force/#more-10317
Go read it, and you'll feel more hopeful.
[Remember, there are people of influence reading both this blog and that one... among others, like, say Digby's. She had a open-ended post re: the impeachment question and was undeservedly abused for it.]
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@Jebbie
arrest and lock up Harriet Miers.
Please, please, please give it a go! See my post @12:39 PM
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This is just silly.....
It may not be time to impeach yet, but it is past time to show them they can't walk on our representatives. And if Dead-Eye Dick tells any more Senators to fuck themselves, he should be arrested on the spot, patted down, relieved of his jewelry and belt, handcuffed, and thrown in a paddy wagon. Contempt is contempt, and his behavior has already been contemptuous, he should already be forced to look over his shoulder. -- ondelette
Sorry Ondelette, but this is a classic example of overreaching into absurdity. I presume you are referring to the single occasion Cheney said something to Leahy? Yes?
* Like it or not, even the Vice President is entitled to free speech.
* We do not have an Imperial Congress, noone is going to kneel and tug their forelock in obeisance.
* Threatening to arrest and indict someone for a fruity "f--- off" is overbearing, authoritarian, and just petty meanness.
It's also childish.This is representative of most of the bloviating on this subject. What do you have that will stand up in court? Has any crime actually been committed? Perhaps you should listen to Kovie and cool your jets. OTOH throwing around absurdities like criminalizing opinion can only help Republicans. It's your choice.
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re: Tillman
Well, now that Tillman and Lynch have become discredited attempts to make heros, does anyone know who should replace them? Surely there are examples of heroism to extole, feats of daring, bravery under fire? Is the entire army to be represented by Lyndie England as icon? Apparently so.
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A moment's tinfoil
If I were to speculate on the Grand Scheme, it would go something like this:
Because the Republicans have made Impeachment a joke, have trashed the Constitution, have blindly supported a disastrous war, have propped up one of the most criminal and incompetent presidencies in the nation's history, the first priority is to curb Republican excesses, even if it means nothing gets done in Congress for the remainder of the term.
Second priority is to build the infrastructure that will enable the election and re-election of Democrats to the House, Senate, and White House in 2008, even if the vote is manipulated in favor of Republicans as it apparently has been for many a year. Thus, Democrats have to be seen as a) serious, b) committed to the well being of Americans, c) determined to restore America's standing in the world in order to enhance national security. Whatever detracts from those positive perceptions of Democrats must be eschewed.
The third priority is to curb the White House overreach and abuse(s) of power. This must be done methodically, determinedly, and incrementally. But ultimately no one can curb the White House from the outside, the White House must curb itself. That may mean precipitating the resignation of Cheney or Bush or both, and/or any and all members of the cabinet. Pressure must be applied, sternly and consistently, to force certain actions, and to prevent other actions.
That's what the reception on my tinfoil antennae is telling me is "really going on." That's why some of the things We The People are demanding are not happening; the wars are not ending or even winding down and there is no impeachment effort, among other things. The signs are the Congressional Leadership has another agenda which they are pursuing, and which they believe they must pursue first. Unless they can confine Republican depredations, can get more Democrats elected, and can reduce or eliminate White House power abuse, nothing else they try to do is going to matter.
BTW, kovie, not sure where you get the idea that I am either obsessed with or particularly negative about Nancy Pelosi. Adjustments to your own tinfoil might be in order ;). Once it dawned on me that she wasn't fooling around, and that she wasn't about to push for or support or tolerate impeachment of these bastards, I thought, well, she must have some other idea in mind. And when she came out of the White House one day after meeting with Bush (and Cheney?) she had the look of the sternest schoolmarm I'd seen in many a year. And she talked like one too. Ah ha! As long as she maintained this personna, very strict, very insistent, there was a chance Bush, et al, would eventually collapse and stop fighting.
She's a mother and a grandmother and she's been in political environments since she was born. She's dealt with these sorts of creeps most of her life, and it seems to me she thinks she knows how to do it. And she went to Catholic School. Never underestimate the lingering aftermath of a Catholic education. Never.