[Sosfbay-discuss] [SVIC] Fred published in Merc: Arguments against impeachment don't stand up

[Gerry Gras]

Sometimes the Merc publishes items on line, but not
in the paper itself.  So I went out to buy a paper
here in Palo Alto.  Fred's article took the bottom
quarter of the first opinion page (page 16A).

Gerry


Drew Johnson wrote:

> http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_6945527
> 
> Another view: Arguments against impeachment don't stand up
> By Fred Duperrault
> Article Launched: 09/20/2007 01:33:01 AM PDT
> 
> Impeachment should be a hot topic in the halls of Congress and on the
> front pages of newspapers. But, since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took
> impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney "off the
> table," most Democrats, including Silicon Valley Reps. Anna Eshoo, Mike
> Honda and Zoe Lofgren, are marching to Pelosi's drum beat.
> 
> Because of the media's self-imposed gag order on impeachment, most
> Americans are unaware that articles of impeachment to indict Cheney have
> been submitted to the House Judiciary Committee. The House Resolution
> Articles (HR 333) were submitted by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, months
> ago. Since then, 19 Democrats, including Bay Area Reps. Lynn Woolsey of
> Santa Rosa, Barbara Lee of Oakland and Sam Farr of Salinas have signed on.
> 
> However, Silicon Valley representatives continue to obey Pelosi's edict.
> 
> The obvious question is why?
> 
> Why are Pelosi and her entourage refusing to honor their responsibility to
> challenge, through constitutional impeachment, the illegality of Bush's
> and Cheney's use of self-appointed powers? Why are they avoiding charging
> Bush and Cheney for fraudulently leading our country into an illegal
> "shock and awe" assault on Iraq, a relatively defenseless sovereign state.
> Why have they not defended our Constitution - the foundation of our
> democratic federation and the guardian of justice and civil rights? And
> why do they remain complicit - by their silence - to the deceptive and
> Advertisement
> impeachable escapades of the Bush-Cheney administration? Why?
> 
> Following are four general answers offered by Pelosi and the three
> representatives from Silicon Valley. After each answer is a rebuttal by
> the Silicon Valley Impeachment Coalition.
> 
> ANSWER: There are not enough House votes to impeach Bush and Cheney.
> 
> REBUTTAL: Only by exposure of their crimes and misdemeanors, made possible
> by impeachment investigations, would they gain the number of votes
> necessary to impeach and indict. When the public realizes the severity of
> the Bush-Cheney violations, opposition to impeachment should quickly melt
> away.
> 
> ANSWER: There isn't enough evidence to prove that they are guilty of
> violating the trust they were given to exercise power.
> 
> REBUTTAL: Baloney! Many renowned constitutional scholars and lawyers, and
> millions of informed political buffs, can easily identify the impeachable
> White House vices. How can those who have the power to impeach dismiss the
> proliferation of evidence documented in volumes across the land? How can
> they honestly say there isn't enough evidence?
> 
> ANSWER: Congress doesn't have the time to impeach. Conducting oversight
> investigations and passing important legislation pre-empts any attempt to
> invoke an impeachment process to preserve the validity and the democratic
> viability of our Constitution. A political strategy for the next year is
> more important.
> 
> REBUTTAL: There's strong consensus that the Bush-Cheney administration has
> been the most corrupt, most incompetent and most dangerous of any
> throughout the history of the Union. Plus, the severe damage to the
> integrity of the United States and the offices of the presidency and vice
> presidency have been tragic.
> 
> ANSWER: Impeachment would divide the country.
> 
> REBUTTAL: Both political parties and the whole nation are already divided,
> but the polls show that the country's approval rating of President Bush
> has been consistently below 40 percent. Upon commencement of impeachment
> proceedings, the overwhelming evidence of Bush and Cheney's crimes and
> misdemeanors would be so convincing, most of America would become of one
> mind regarding the validity to impeach.
> 
> Sweeping the impeachment debate under the congressional carpet will not
> heal the nation. Nor will a healthy revelation of the truth through the
> impeachment process destroy the unity of America.
> 
> Area activists for impeachment are urging voters in the 14th, 15th and
> 16th congressional Districts to participate in making impeachment a hot
> topic. The best way to do so is to contact their representatives and tell
> them to sign on to impeach Cheney, and then Bush.
> 
> FRED DUPERRAULT is a member of the Silicon Valley Impeachment Coalition.
> He wrote this article for the Mercury News.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>