Monday, January 07, 2008

A High Colonic for Washington


George McGovern the Democrat who challenged, and lost, to Richard Nixon in 1972 has written an op-ed piece in the Washington Post calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

"Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly "high crimes and misdemeanors," to use the constitutional standard.

From the beginning, the Bush-Cheney team's assumption of power was the product of questionable elections that probably should have been officially challenged -- perhaps even by a congressional investigation.


In a more fundamental sense, American democracy has been derailed throughout the Bush-Cheney regime. The dominant commitment of the administration has been a murderous, illegal, nonsensical war against Iraq.
That irresponsible venture has killed almost 4,000 Americans, left many times that number mentally or physically crippled, claimed the lives of an estimated 600,000 Iraqis (according to a careful October 2006 study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and laid waste their country. The financial cost to the United States is now $250 million a day and is expected to exceed a total of $1 trillion, most of which we have borrowed from the Chinese and others as our national debt has now climbed above $9 trillion -- by far the highest in our national history.

How could a once-admired, great nation fall into such a quagmire of killing, immorality and lawlessness?

It happened in part because the Bush-Cheney team repeatedly deceived Congress, the press and the public into believing that Saddam Hussein
had nuclear arms and other horrifying banned weapons that were an "imminent threat" to the United States. The administration also led the public to believe that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attacks -- another blatant falsehood. Many times in recent years, I have recalled Jefferson's observation: "Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."

The basic strategy of the administration has been to encourage a climate of fear, letting it exploit the 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks not only to justify the invasion of Iraq but also to excuse such dangerous misbehavior as the illegal tapping of our telephones by government agents. The same fear-mongering has led government spokesmen and cooperative members of the press to imply that we are at war with the entire Arab and Muslim world -- more than a billion people.

Impeachment is unlikely, of course. But we must still urge Congress to act. Impeachment, quite simply, is the procedure written into the Constitution to deal with presidents who violate the Constitution and the laws of the land. It is also a way to signal to the American people and the world that some of us feel strongly enough about the present drift of our country to support the impeachment of the false prophets who have led us astray. This, I believe, is the rightful course for an American patriot.

As former representative Elizabeth Holtzman, who played a key role in the Nixon impeachment proceedings, wrote two years ago, "it wasn't until the most recent revelations that President Bush directed the wiretapping of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Americans, in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- and argued that, as Commander in Chief, he had the right in the interests of national security to override our country's laws -- that I felt the same sinking feeling in my stomach as I did during Watergate. . . . A President, any President, who maintains that he is above the law -- and repeatedly violates the law -- thereby commits high crimes and misdemeanors."


I believe we have a chance to heal the wounds the nation has suffered in the opening decade of the 21st century. This recovery may take a generation and will depend on the election of a series of rational presidents and Congresses. At age 85, I won't be around to witness the completion of the difficult rebuilding of our sorely damaged country, but I'd like to hold on long enough to see the healing begin.

There has never been a day in my adult life when I would not have sacrificed that life to save the United States from genuine danger, such as the ones we faced when I served as a bomber pilot in World War II. We must be a great nation because from time to time, we make gigantic blunders, but so far, we have survived and recovered."

12 comments:

rabbit said...

So is every president who lasts more than one term to be impeached now? Is this the future of politics in America?

Democrats know that what goes around comes around. Most probably prefer that Bush just end his term and move on.

I don't think the American people would be well served by the massive distraction that impeachment entails. And given that Bush has one year to go, to so little purpose!

The Mound of Sound said...

You're linking the foiled Clinton impeachment bid with the very real crimes and misdemeanours of the Bush/cheney regime. I saw the Republican counsel to the Clinton impeachment initiative discuss the Bush/Cheney situation. This Republican veteran and legal professional argued that impeaching Bush and Cheney was essential to correcting the imbalances and unconstitutional precedents they will leave to their successors if they're not impeached. This is more about restoring American constitutional democracy than the mere distraction you imagine.

rabbit said...

And just what could they prove about Bush? At best that he was selective, biased, stupid, or mistaken in his interpretation of the facts over Iraq's WMD. Hardly a constituitional crisis in that.

It may be that Bush intentionally lied in the affair for the purpose of deceiving congress, but proving it would be virtually impossible. Bush isn't that dumb, and neither are his lawyers.

And Democrats would drop in the polls as voters interpret the impeachment as a last minute effort to "get Bush while we can", rather than to serve the interests of the American people.

This drive to impeach Bush is Bush Derangement Syndrome in the extreme. I credit most Democrats with the ability to bank their partisan instincts long enough to know a dumb idea when they see it.

The Mound of Sound said...

What could they prove about Bush? According to America's top constitutional experts, plenty. This goes far beyond a stained dress. Now you may find it easy to call the beliefs of those who've fought for their country and served it in high office "dumb ideas" but then again you're obviously smarter and more experienced than they.

rabbit said...

Really? All of America's top constituitional experts, or just some of them? And how many are long-time Democrat supporters?

Good ad hominem attack though. Had a real bite to it.

The Mound of Sound said...

Look bunny, you were the one who referred to the McGovern opinion as a "dumb idea." I have heard several American constitutional lawyers back the call for impeachment but have yet to hear one claim there aren't ample grounds for it. The particular lawyer I was referring to, however, was Bruce Fein, former deputy AG under Ronald Reagan, who you may safely consider a "long-time Republican". If this link works you can actually view his discussion of the case for impeachment given to Bill Moyers.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/profile.html

If you view it or read the transcript, all your questions will be answered. You can thank me for my efforts on your behalf when you're done.

Mike said...

Yes, whenever a right winger doesn't want to talk about Bush's crimes, he screams "Bush Derangement Syndrome".

Hey, here's an idea, how about impeaching him and Cheney because they criminals and need to be stopped before the try to create a war in Iran. They and any president who follows needs to know they cannot abuse the US constitution and lie to Congress and get away with it.

Or would you, rabbit, like to have a Democrat be able to get away with the same kinds of things Bush has? I mean, imaging rabbit's apopolectic reaction had it been Clinton that lied into a quagmire war in the Middle East.

Impeach the jackass, even if it means a trial on his last day in office. A Bush Cheney under impeachment won't try attacking Iran.

rabbit said...

Calling something a dumb idea is not an ad hominem attack, calling someone dumb is. Even smart people have dumb ideas. Bill Clinton was a smart fella, but that Monica idea was off-the-charts dumb.

Actually naming a specific constituitional lawyer is vastly better than baldly stating "According to top constituitional experts".

Now Finn, so far as I can know, doesn't attack Bush for the Iraq thing. Finn is more concerned with surveillance of U.S. citizens and the like.

The biggest problem with this is that much of Bush's transgressions here (which I strongly object to, by the way) were done with feable objections by, and at times the outright cooperation of, the Democrats.

The Patriot Act, which is the most egregious violation of basic rights in the U.S. that I can think of recent history, was passed with a strong bipartisan majority (357-66 in the house, 98-1 in the senate). Panic due to 9/11, perhaps, but how do you justify the act's repassing in 2005?

This puts in the Democrats in the awkward position of having to impeach themselves, a point not likely to be missed by the American public.

The Mound of Sound said...

Bunny, please. I didn't call you dumb. In fact, in reference to George McGovern and Bruce Fein, I called you "obviously smarter and more experienced."

Fein is certainly but one of several American constitutional experts endorsing this impeachment. Do a bit of your own research and you'll come up with others.

I take it that you didn't reward my efforts on your behalf by taking the opportunity to watch the video or read the transcript. I was so wishing you would thank me. Oh dear.

rabbit said...

Mike:

News flash - I'm not a right winger, lack of BDS not withstanding. More of a "classic liberal". Don't really have a strong partisan alliance right now.

And I strongly disagreed with Clinton's impeachment. It was a bloody fishing expedition that discredited the political process and distracted both parties while the governing of the nation went neglected.

Sorry to disappoint.

Anonymous said...

Impeach, hell. They should both be brought before the international war crimes tribunal.

The Mound of Sound said...

Okay Foot but who has to spring for the final cigarettes and the blindfolds?