OP/ED: Impeach Bush Now!, page 3

Originally posted by Saint Michael
Now, as conspiracy theorists, I'm sure you can conjure up all sorts of anecdotal evidence that President Bush has committed crimes; but an important fact remains...You have no proof, never had any proof, never will have any proof. Michael Moore's best efforts are still just fiction, and not terribly entertaining fiction, at that. And there is no federal judge seriously considering a serious charge against this president. You'd have to convince the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings, and that ain't happening either.
[edit on 20-4-2006 by Saint Michael]

I think that some would argue that the "lack of proof" is a direct result of an Administration which is using Executive Privelege (which is a shaky concept as applied by the current Administration at best) as an excuse to hide/cover up/conceal any indication of wrongdoing.

A cogent argument can be made for impeachment solely on the basis of dilution of separation of powers by this Administration. Of course, the big Catch-22 is that impeachment is EXACTLY the recourse that the Legislative Branch has to remedy any lack of balance in the overall balance of power and the GOP ain't likely to play that card any time soon. Most folks calling for impeachment are likely, deep-down, most upset not simply at the fact that the Administration has behaved as it has, but that Congress has implicitly colluded with the White House to facilitate the unbalancing of our branches of government by never calling the Executive Branch's activities into question.

Some contend that the domestic wiretapping incident is not against the law because Gonzales says that it isn't. That's like letting a batter call his own pitches. Believe it or not, the Department of Justice is an executive branch, not a judicial one. The only folks who can put the "LEGAL" stamp on Bush's activities are the courts, not the DOJ.

Some contend that leaking a top-level CIA operative is not illegal if, under an Executive Order, the behavior is condoned. Two things there...1) Executive Orders are not above the law and can be mitigated by either legislation or a court ruling...2) Even the Executive Order only allows for the President to identify intelligence as being declassifiable. Once that determination is made, our healthy bureocracy kicks in and a PROCESS OF DECLASSIFICATION is undergone, evidence of which seems lacking at this point.

Some contend that the President was well within his rights to unilaterally decide to wage war against Iraq even if the underlying rationale for that engagment is different than the rationale used to explain the engagement itself. (Actually, to some extent, I agree here because there are likely many geo-political forces at work which the American public likely wouldn't even be able to understand, let alone would "need to know" in all cases leading up to war.) Even if the REAL reason for a war was beyond the public's "need to know" and the war was begun anyway, the American People as the financiers of such an operation DO still have the final say as to whether the conflict continues. Bush sent us to war as part of his Presidential perogative...I can live with that. Don't continue to lie to me though when I know you are lying...it belittles us both and, frankly, is conduct unbecoming a President.

Here's the kicker...crimes and misdemeanors. Let's look at the last word, shall we?

Mis - Prefix for wrong or incorrect
Demeanors - behavioral attributes, or the way a person behaves toward other people

On this basis alone, it is clear that Bush is impeachable. Heck, even our State Department issued a memo telling Americans to be less boorish and arrogant when travelling because it gives our Nation a bad name. Guess what...we've got the poster-boy for boorish and arrogant sitting in the White House. All we have to say as a group is that we simply don't like the way Bush is representing us as a Nation...grounds for impeachment.

Unfortunately, I feel that while Congress is GOP controlled, this thread is nothing more than typing exercise. Even if the Democrats manager a power-shift in Congress come November, many will be afraid to wield that power to begin impeachment proceedings because, down the line, everyone needs a favor in Washington.

I would like to close with one thought...I'll offer an initial apology in the fact that I am not attempting to equate this Administration with the Nazi regime which brought about WWII, but I do feel that even if the historical entity against which a comparison is drawn is inherently evil, it does not mean that I am equating the two entities, but drawing a lesson from history...here goes...

The big lie - tell a lie big enough, loud enough, and often enough and people will believe it. This method was employed to great effect in Nazi Germany as a massive campaign was undergone to both vilify the Jews and deify the Arian race. I see another big lie at work here...

I believe that the current Administration's efforts to place "terror" and "terrorists" at the front of American hearts and minds as the greatest evil America will face in the near future is nothing more than terrorism itself. In condemning Al-Qaeda, the Administration is implying that terrorism is scary, it's real, and it's something suicide-belt-wearing Muslims do to Westerners. In fact, terrorism is simply the effective use of fear as a motivational tool to cajole a group of people to come to your way of thinking. Take a look at the threads on this board surrounding an impending nuclear strike against Iran and you'll see fear. The vast majority of American's are scared to death about the repercussions of detonating a nuclear weapon above the heads of thousands of Muslims. The boon of this Administration is that they have managed to get Americans more scared of the possibility that Iran will do the same to us...but first. That's terrorism folks...I don't want a terrorist in the White House. Let Hamas and Iran elect them...we're supposed to know better!