Why have you taken impeachment off the table as an option for President George W. Bush?
Which seems like a reasonable question, and is one I would have asked the speaker, if given the chance. The speaker's response was totally not what I expected.
I took it off the table a long time ago. You can't talk about impeachment unless you have the facts, and you can't have the facts unless you have cooperation from the Administration. I think the Republicans would like nothing better than for us to focus on impeachment and take our eye off the ball of a progressive economic agenda.
So Nancy Pelosi Admits that the main reason she isn't pursuing impeachment is that the Bush administration isn't cooperating.
This is what passes for leadership in the Democratic party.
8 comments:
All I have to say is: what the hell is she smoking?!
This from Jonathan Turley...
After blocking any serious investigation or impeachment hearings on crimes committed by President Bush, Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally addressed the allegations of presidential crimes on that forum of deep intellectual and legal thought: the television show The View. She agreed to answer a question from Joy Behar, who will have to suffice as a substitute for Peter Rodino. In a perfectly bizarre moment, Pelosi stated that there is simply no evidence of any crime committed by the President despite the findings of the International Red Cross, various international groups, and a legion of constitutional experts. It seems that America has now had its impeachment hearing before the august body of Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Joy Bahar, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. If you feared that our democracy is de-evolving into a caricature of itself, just watch this video. Full article here
She and a lot of Democrats are paper tigers. They know they want to impeach him, but they don't want to take the political hit for doing so three months before the election. This just shows they are more interested in power than in principle. They should be ashamed.
As you can probably guess, I'm not a Pelosi fan, but this is strange logic even for her.
I agree with Anthony.
Impeachment not only makes the president look bad, it makes you look bad, and it makes your country look bad. Yes, I did not support the impeachment process of Clinton either.
For once I agree with Pelosi. An impeachment would be "eye off the ball."
That's my 2 cents worth anyway.
"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else." -Theodore Roosevelt, Kansas City Star, 149 May 7, 1918 (http://tinyurl.com/g7ldy)
Anthony, I think that the impending election is simply an excuse for the Democrats to sit on their hands. One of the first things Pelosi said after taking over as Speaker was that impeachment was "off the table." That was 22 months before the election.
Khaki, indeed it is.
Freadom, I don't see how holding our leaders responsible for criminal activities is going to make us look bad. Since pretty much the entire world knows about BushCo's alleged malfeasance, I would think that impeaching him and making all of the facts known would only serve to elevate the status of the US. Aside from that, though, if Bush committed a crime (or many crimes) shouldn't he be held accountable?
EvilPoet, thanks for the link to the Turley piece. It's certainly enlightening, though not in a pleasant way. And that Roosevelt quote is a gem.
You're very welcome.
If I were Nancy, I would have answered this way: "Because we don't want to embolden our enemies."
Good post.
Post a Comment