Is Impeachment a Priority?

THE REMEDY Issue #7

IN THIS ISSUE:
Is Impeachment a Priority?
Update on the States
Vermont
New Mexico
Washington
Impeachment is Everywhere

In an attempt to keep The Remedy on a more manageable schedule and open our pages to more voices in the fight for accountability, we begin with this issue what we hope will become a trend: guest contributions. Today's issue features a second such feature from Richard Mathews, addressing the oft-made objection – herein revealed to be a myth – that impeachment will impede Congress' ability to address other high priority issues.

Is Impeachment a Priority?
by Richard M. Mathews
RescueOurDemocracy.org

I have heard so many times from people who say we need to be doing this or that instead of impeachment. They are right that there are other important things to do, but they are wrong that doing those things precludes also impeaching the president.

Congress must work on many important issues such as the minimum wage, health care, energy alternatives, and conservation. Impeachment can happen while those other things happen. Passing those will do no good, even if Bush signs the new laws, if Bush can then write a signing statement that throws away all of the important parts.

We can look to the case of Richard Nixon to see what good Congress can do while fighting abuse of power by the president.

While Congress was holding hearings on the Watergate Scandal, they passed the Endangered Species Act!

Also while considering the impeachment of Nixon, they passed bills that included:

increasing and expanding the minimum wage,
extending the Environmental Education Act,
expanding and making permanent the Youth Conservation Corps,
creating and expanding wildlife refuges and preserves,
creating the National Institute on Aging,
funding research for cancer and SIDS,
and providing disaster relief to Pakistan, Nicaragua, and the Sahel region of Africa.
Impeachment is not something we do instead of all these important things. It is something we do together with all these important things.

And what of bipartisanship? Shouldn't we be trying to be nice to Republicans by overlooking criminal actions in order to ensure that they don't filibuster everything in the Senate?

What bipartisanship? The Republicans have now twice filibustered even a weak resolution on Iraq. They filibustered the minimum wage increase until Senate Democrats agreed to add an unconstitutional revenue provision to a non-revenue bill (only the House can do that). If the bill passes, expect Republicans to fight in court to have the whole law thrown out because of that unconstitutional provision that they added. This bipartisan strategy is not working. It will not work.

Yes, we should not be petty. We are sick of the pettiness we endured for 12 years of Republican rule in the House and for 6 years of Rovian politics. But that does not mean we must look the other way over something big. There has never been anything bigger than the usurpation of power represented by the Unitary Executive Theory.

Nixon adviser John Dean said this was Worse than Watergate, and he was right. And as Democrats have looked the other way, it has gotten much worse than when Dean said that. As we continue ignoring it, it will get even worse.

Bush's signing statements overriding over 1000 laws represent the abandonment of separation of powers. Bush now legislates and executes the law. Feeding false, misleading, and incomplete information to Congress has also prevented Congress from balancing executive power. Together with the purge of U.S. Attorneys, ignoring the need for courts to issue warrants, and ignoring the need to bring the accused before a court or even allow access to a lawyer, Bush is now taking over the duties of all three branches of government. The longer we look away, the worse it gets. We must work on many things to fix the problems in this country. That means increasing the minimum wage, providing universal health care, and protecting the environment; but it also means putting a check on runaway executive power. We must impeach Bush at the same time that we do all these other things.

Update on the States
Three state legislatures have seen action on the impeachment resolution front this year, and some 20+ are considering resolutions disapproving of the escalation in Iraq. While we of course welcome action opposing the escalation, it should be borne in mind that a clear majority in Congress is already determined to take up such legislation (albeit non-binding at this point, which leads to an entirely separate debate regarding tactics). State legislators might therefore be justified in asking themselves whether the limited time frame their shorter business calendars afford them is better spent reinforcing action the Congress has already consented to consider, or offering them political support for the actions they have yet to agree to take up.

No one truly expects this administration to be responsive to constraints imposed by Congress, non-binding or otherwise. When the Congress has exhausted its arsenal of lesser measures to no avail, as many think is inevitable given the administration's clearly stated positions on the supposed supremacy of the executive in matters of military policy, and is left with nothing but the prospect of impeachment, the support of the political movers and shakers at the state level will be imperative. Only by expressing that support in advance of the coming constitutional crisis can state legislators put themselves on record in support of the one remedy which gives teeth to all the rest.

What follows is a progress report on our efforts to see that eventuality prepared for.

Vermont
Vermont becomes the first repeat player in the impeachment resolutions sweepstakes, with Rep. David Zuckerman's (P-Burlington) reintroduction of a revised bill on February 15th. The bill, House Joint Resolution 15 (JRH015, see:http://tinyurl.com/2k8t85), currently has 19 additional cosponsors, and has been referred to the House Judiciary committee, whose chairman, William Lippert (D-Hinesburg) says, ""I'm guessing I would share many of the sentiments. But our own congressional delegation has expressed its reluctance to engage in the impeachment process in Washington. ... I think that suggests to me it may not be the best use of our time in the Vermont Statehouse." (see: http://tinyurl.com/3x6kbw) Although the Vermont legislature just passed (in one day) a resolution disapproving of the escalation in the war in Iraq, House Speaker Gaye Symington (D-Jericho) says, even in February of 2007, "I think we should be focusing this energy on the next election cycle." (see: http://tinyurl.com/2y7l8y)

New Mexico
New Mexico's impeachment resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 5, see: http://tinyurl.com/2h4s2j), introduced by Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque), was reported favorably out of the Senate rules committee by a 5-0 vote on February 16th. The bill still faces hearings and votes in the Senate Public Affairs and Judiciary committees. While this may yet prove to be an uphill battle, the bottom line is that this is the first of the seven resolutions introduced (in six states, Vermont being the only repeat player so far) that has seen significant committee action, much less a vote in favor. A first-hand account of the hearing and vote can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/2xxej5

Washington
Washington state Senator Eric Oemig (D-Kirkland) has introduced a bill, Senate Joint Memorial 8016 ( http://tinyurl.com/2rhmu6), calling on the Congress to "determine whether there is sufficient evidence" to charge both Bush and Cheney with the bill's detailed list of offenses, "and, if so, to follow the Constitutional process of impeachment."

Notes of interest here include the fact that Oemig is a freshman Senator, represents a traditionally Republican district, and is a retired Microsoft millionaire. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, politicians with more of a vested interest in their seats as careers – including the Speaker of the Washington House, Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) – offer comment on the bill along these lines: "It's unlikely we will do that." Chopp also offered this now-familiar refrain: "We have 105 days to get done on time and we have a lot to get done," he said. "I have very strong opinions on what a DISASTER the Iraq war has been, but do I need to say it by passing something on the floor and take up a lot of people's time on that?" (See: http://tinyurl.com/3dwk8s )

Impeachment is Everywhere
The Nation magazine: http://tinyurl.com/35fpz6
Robert Scheer: http://tinyurl.com/2ruf5p
Elizabeth Holtzman: http://tinyurl.com/3ckxpc
New Haven, CT: (Richard Dreyfuss changes his mind?) http://tinyurl.com/2d532f
Boone, NC: (coverage of ImpeachBush.org ad) http://tinyurl.com/2xvhbb
Washington, DC: (coverage of Keith Ellison's previous support) http://tinyurl.com/2ykdgk
Albuquerque, NM: http://tinyurl.com/2jfely
Vermont: http://tinyurl.com/2sw3jk
Salt Lake City, UT: http://tinyurl.com/2ufbew
Detroit, MI: http://tinyurl.com/2p595q
Utica, NY: http://tinyurl.com/2ld8uu
Concord, NH: http://tinyurl.com/3d58zp
Ewing, NJ: http://tinyurl.com/2tbss6
Anniston, AL: http://tinyurl.com/2q53dn
Pasadena, CA: http://tinyurl.com/2wbbzu
Brighton, MI: http://tinyurl.com/2554xo
Des Moines, IA: http://tinyurl.com/2af69u
South Lake Tahoe, CA: http://tinyurl.com/2bbc5v
Monrovia, CA: http://tinyurl.com/2x9l62
Huntington, WV: http://tinyurl.com/yssopu
Vallejo, CA: http://tinyurl.com/24otnm
Belleville, IL: http://tinyurl.com/22whvk
Northport, AL: http://tinyurl.com/27debp
Bluffton, SC: http://tinyurl.com/yoyl2n
Clinton, IL: http://tinyurl.com/ywtdtx
Bellmawr, NJ: http://tinyurl.com/2euerh
Delray Beach, FL: http://tinyurl.com/yr8dh6
Murfreesboro, TN: http://tinyurl.com/2ohp4w
New Paltz, NY: http://tinyurl.com/2pdvyx
On the Wrong Side of History:
Tacoma, WA: (Rep. Smith says no) http://tinyurl.com/37djs2
Grafton, VT: (Selectboard says no) http://tinyurl.com/2yrn7c
Franklin, VT: (Says no) http://tinyurl.com/2e76hq

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