A Democrat-controlled House wouldn't impeach, Pelosi says
[Let Pelosi know your opinion: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov ]
Edward Epstein, San Francisco Chronicle Washington Bureau
Washington -- House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco has told her caucus that the idea of impeaching President Bush isn't in the cards if the party takes over the House in November's elections.
Pelosi, who Republicans have charged intends to lead an impeachment effort, dismissed the idea when she spoke Wednesday morning at a closed-door caucus of the House's 201 Democrats. Pelosi also restated her opposition to the idea of censuring Bush over his decision to invade Iraq in March 2003.
"We want oversight and checks and balances,'' Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said she told the caucus. "That certainly isn't being done in this Congress (under Republican control). Impeachment was never her interest.''
Even though she said impeachment wouldn't be on the table, Pelosi supports investigations into such issues as prewar intelligence about Iraq and contracts awarded in Iraq to Halliburton Corp. and other companies.
Pelosi, who is likely to become the first female House speaker if the Democrats win in November, has been forced to strike a delicate balance between her party's left, where the idea of impeaching Bush has found a positive reception, and moderates who say raising the issue would repel voters in the swing districts that Democrats must win to regain the House majority they lost in 1994.
Pelosi already had been cool to a House resolution that calls for creating a special House committee to investigate the administration, proceedings that could lead to Bush's impeachment over such issues as prewar intelligence and warrantless eavesdropping on Americans' phone calls.
The resolution has the support of three dozen House Democrats led by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan. Bay Area House members co-sponsoring Conyers' resolution include Reps. Barbara Lee of Oakland, Pete Stark of Fremont, Lynn Woolsey of Petaluma, Mike Honda of San Jose and Sam Farr of Carmel.
Under the Constitution, impeachment proceedings originate in the House. If the House votes for impeachment, a trial is held in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is needed for conviction.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is co-sponsoring a resolution by Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., calling for Bush's censure, a type of proceeding not mentioned in the Constitution but that has been done before.
In late February, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution calling on the city's congressional representatives to seek Bush's impeachment.
The issue resurfaced after Pelosi appeared Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press.'' Host Tim Russert pressed her on Conyers' push for his impeachment resolution, notable because as the ranking minority Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Conyers is in line to become committee chairman next year if the Democrats pick up the 15 seats they need to win a House majority.
Russert asked her: "Is impeachment off the table?''
Pelosi said, "Well, you never know where the facts take you, but -- for any president -- but that isn't what we're about. What we're about is going there and having high ethical standards, fiscal soundness and a level of civility that brushes away all this fierce partisanship.''
Republican campaign officials responded to Pelosi's TV appearance by saying she was preparing to impeach the president. The Republican National Committee charged that Pelosi's televised comments showed that impeachment was a part of her agenda for 2007.
"In a broad sense, it could energize the Republican base,'' Carl Forti, spokesman for the Republican National Congressional Committee, the House GOP's campaign arm, said on Friday.
"She's trying to walk a fine line. In the past few weeks, she's fallen off on both sides,'' he added.
While Forti assailed Pelosi from the right, David Swanson of the pro-impeachment group AfterDowningStreet.org hit her from the left.
"She's thinking in terms of the election. It's disgraceful to put electoral politics ahead of checks and balances and the Constitution," Swanson said Friday.
Swanson accused Pelosi of timidity that won't bring a victory in November. "We should learn for once in our lives to stand up and show that the Democratic Party is fundamentally opposed to the current administration's agenda," he said.
Pelosi's comments were her strongest yet on possible impeachment proceedings. In January, at a town hall meeting with constituents at Marina Middle School, she said the best way for Bush opponents to express themselves was to help Democrats take back Congress rather than push for impeachment.
In March, after the supervisors' vote in San Francisco, she distanced herself from City Hall.
"I have a full-time job here. I am not a member of the Board of Supervisors, and I am not the mayor of San Francisco. If I got involved in all of the resolutions, I would not have the time to do my day and my night job, which is to win the House for the Democrats.
"But I will say this -- elections have ramifications. If they don't like the policies of our country, I encourage everyone to mobilize to change who is in power in Washington, D.C.," Pelosi said.
In a memo sent to supporters this week, Pelosi stressed her priorities in the new Congress if Democrats win -- raising the minimum wage, implementing all recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, cutting subsidies for oil companies, reducing student loan rates and making prescription drugs more affordable.
E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein@sfchronicle.com
[Let Pelosi know your opinion: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov ]
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www.VelvetRevolution.us
Balls - WHO HAS THEM?????
Jesus H. Christ! Has there ever been a more useless leader than Nancy Pelosi! No wonder even Democrats look with disgust at the Democratic Party and its future! For Christ's sake, get someone in leadership who's a LEADER!!!! Why not Jane Harman or Harold Ford or John Conyers??? And Harry Reid as leader in the Senate?? Get serious! You guys deserve to be buried in the next election if you keep the leadership you now have! And what about the "NO IMPEACHMENT" pledge that Pelosi is making??? Jesus Christ! If this president isn't impeached, then you might as well strike the impeachment clause from the Constitution! If there is still no move for impeachment of George W. Bush after all the lies, corruption and illegal acts, then impeachment should be struck from the Constitution. You guys are becoming more and more spineless every day that goes by! What an incredibly useless party. Perhaps it is best if the Democratic Party ceased to exist and have it replaced by the liberal wing of the Republican Party! At least Chuck Hagel has the courage to stand up to his own party leadership! And the same with John McCain (although he has recently been turning into what some call a "political whore".) Get some "balls" Democrats!!
I forgot to say you need to consider Joe Biden, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein and Russ Feingold for leadership positions in the Senate – not Harry Reid! And where’s the backing for Russ Feingold’s censorship of Bush?? Everyone runs and hides under a rock!! And what about support for John Conyer’s articles of impeachment?? Everybody is again running and hiding under rocks! What a sorry group of spineless cowards you all are! And what some people fear is that if you vote for a Democrat, that even when they are in power, they will be too cowardly to vote their conscience because they are afraid that the Republicans will “come after them” and they will lose their seat! What an incredibly useless bunch. If you don’t get your act together soon, by this next election, I, and many others, will turn away from the Democratic Party and look for some other party with some “balls”!! You guys are letting the whimps take over the party!
impeach bush 'n cheney!
god bless! i wish i could meet you, and shake your hand!
WE NEED MORE REPLIES SUCH AS YOURS!
IT IS HIGH TIME TO STAND...UNITED, AND SIMPLY SAY;
NO MORE LIES!
NO MORE DENIALS!
NOMORE DECEPTION!
NO MORE DISTORTIONS!
NO MORE DISHONOR!
NO MORE RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR THE TRUTH!
NO MORE DISREGARD FOR COURTS, AND LAW!
NO MORE GEORGE BUSH!
NO MORE DICK CHENEY!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
UNITED WE STAND! FOR WHAT?
FOR TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND LIBERTY!
Iraq
I am delighted that Nancy Pilosi is the new speaker of the house.
However, I was disappointed to hear her say tht she would not stop the funding to Iraq.
I thought she of all people had realised that we are simply funding the insurgents!
Having lived in the middle east I think I have some knowledge of the hatred toward any American/european interfering in their way of life.
They say we are decadent not democratic ( which we know to be true) and they want no part of it.
Please Madam Speaker bring our boys home. Yesterday not in months when another 100 or so will be dead.
For what!!!
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but the shear pigheadedness of a lame duck President.
Balls - WHO HAS THEM?????
Wow! You must hate the bush scum even more than I do. I agree 100%. Impeach the arrogant little prick. Then, HANG him!
weak response to ovrerwhelming oppression
Representative Pelosi,
Pushing for raising the minimum wage, implementing all recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, cutting subsidies for oil companies, reducing student loan rates and making prescription drugs more affordable. Are not even bread and butter issues, thay really will not sway the majority of the electorate.
You need to go after Bush and his administration. Their flagrant disregard for the rest of the worlds opinions. There disregard for the constitution, i.e. wiretaps, holding prisioners indefinitly, torture, lying to the American people about the war, all the solders and Iraqis who have died and the countless who have been maimed and on and on.
If you don't have the stomach to attack the administration head-on you should step aside and let someone else try.
Barry Lowe
weak response to overwhelming oppresion
Sir, you have made one of the truest statements that I have read on these boards. If the present house members don't have the guts to go after the leirs and theifs in the Bush administration then they need to step aside and let people with the guts to do what the American working class want and need.
Primary Challenge?
Please tell me Pelosi is going to face a primary challenge.
bush impeachment
I think that the whold bunch needs to go From President Bush, his whold cabinet, his cronies, and Tony Blair and his cronies as well. They are all crooks, liars, theives, and just look out for a select few big businessess.They don't give a damn about the average citizens of America and Grean Britian. Send them all to the war crime trials they deserve to be tried for and sentenced to the MAX. Neither country had a problem when the Nazi's went and were sentenced this is no different, also the Jews who dictate how the policies are set in each of these above mentioned countries need to have the same punishment along with the trials. Does Israel have 55% of their military involved in the illeagal invasion and occupation of Iraq, and are they in Afganistan which is probally questionable, How come they haven't caught Osama bin Laden, and who let him escape anyway?
James Verthein
Disabled American Veteran
ISRAEL
Before you spout about Israel,try getting some facts first.
What proof do you have Israel dictates policies to America and England.?That is absurd.
If Israel was dictating our polices in Iraq,we would have won by now and not keep killing our brave men and women. America and England should take some advise from Israel,on tactics and get that invasion done with.
I agree they turned they're backs on Israel,when Hitler was slaughtering the Jewish people,by the millions.
Why you would blame Israel for the mess we find our selves in,is rather stupid.
But I guess bigots can't help it
NO SUCH PLACE
Israel is not a real State or Country at least not leagaly.
They have tried unsucessfully many times to steal some other nations land. Now finaly they have found a people weakend by Colonial & Imperial DICTATORS (Presidents,Prime ministers)and are sucessfully stealing killing and ultimately destroying a place of actual culture and religon. Something that no matter how much land they steal they will never attain. Best thing we could do is assist North Korea and Iran to defeat the SNAKES HEAD and the TAIL Israel will slowly decompose and any that the Palistinians miss we could send to GERMANY as they know what you do with a JEW..........................
zionism = racism
i think you should get your facts straight. israel didnt even exist when the nazis were slaughtering the jews. and yes our (US) foriegn policy in the middle east is dictated by the jews aka AIPAC the most powerful lobby on the hill.
pelosi
A refusal to back impeachment of this president on political strategy lines is exactly why the Democrats have lost votes in the past. Putting meaningless, clever, second guessing before principles.
How on earth can it be acceptable to impeach a president on sexual misconduct and not on constitutional and illegal and immoral misconduct causing death?
The Democrats in charge are not the opposition they were voted in to be.
Upcoming Elections
It's time to take back our country! The Republicans and Democrats have merged under the black sail of PNAC. Vote Independent or 3rd party! Let's replace them with people we can trust to do what's right for the country.
The following quote by Mr.
The following quote by Mr. Swanson, "It's disgraceful to put electoral politics ahead of checks and balances and the Constitution," is incredibly stupid. How are we going to have checks and balances and save the Constitution if we don't take over at least one House of Congress in 2006? You also mischaracterized Ms. Pelosi's comments on Meet The Press -- she most definitely did not say that a Democratic House would not impeach the President, she said that investigations would be conducted and that "you never know where the facts take you..."
People like Mr. Swanson are in effect Republican enablers. Stop helping the Republicans with your inane and inaccurate postings.
Nancy Pelosi says impeachment is not on the table
Yes Ms.Pelosi says she wants investigations,but I ask,"What good is any investigation when it has already been made very clear that there is to be no indictment. So they investigate and find that Bush did lie, commited felonies, acted contrary to the Geneva convention without an indictment he can not be tried and without a trial he can not be convicted and without a conviction he will walk away a free man whom we all well have to continue to pay for his security, office space,and all the other benefits which he will recieve. How much will it cost us? 3 to 4 million a year. It is good to be rich and one of the elite in this country, because you will be protected by your peers and worshiped by the lower class.
I curse myself everyday for having served in two combat zones in this nation's army, because now I see clearly what I and others was really fighting and I hate it.
guilty of war crimes is not impeachable?
It is obvious to every Person on Planet Earth that nothing was going to stop Bush from invading Iraq, especially not the truth:
1. Bush Lied about WMD.
2. Bush Leaked Secret Information but false information to Build case for war.
3. Bush suggested to Blair that he Paint US Spy Plane in UN Colors, fly low over Iraq and let them shoot it down, so he could say Saddam started the war. Blair said no.
4. Bush lied about Iraq getting yellowcake uranium from Niger.
5. Bush lied about Iraq using Aluminum Canisters for Nuclear Weapons
6. Bush lied about Iraq having missile delivery capability.
7. Bush lied about Iraq having capability to hit Los Angeles with Nuclear Weapons
8. Bush lied about Iraq having Chemical War Capability
9.. Bush lied about Iraq having Biological War Capability
Then to top it off, subsequent to the invasion:
1. Bush lied about Mission Accomplished
2. Bush lied about a few rag tag Red Guardsmen killing US Troops after fall of Baghdad
3. Bush lied about peace after establishment of Bush Puppet Government
4. Bush lied about peace after parliamentary elections
5. Bush lied about peace after constitution written
6. Bush lied about peace after general elections
7. Bush lied about peace after formation of Iraqi Government. Jury still out as they
have not formed government in 5 months.
Bush Impeachment
Bush lied about WMD as well prevented any real investigation on the WTC attack.
Impeachment Blues
If you follow the yellow brick road...Pelosi may have been under duress of acquiring sudden "Heart attack" or "suicide".
If the Democrats take over the House in November...
Unless the Democrats get some backbone and start opposing the Bush
neocons, the only thing they are going to take over is the toilet.