Impeachment

Bill Moyers talked with Bruce Fein and John Nichols about impeaching Vice President Cheney and President Bush. The conversation was picked up from the PBS broadcast and posted on Crooks and Liars webblog.

Moyers described the use of impeachment as if it were an axe taken to the heads of state. The two constitutional scholars, one from the left and one from the right, both said that was not a true picture of impeachment.

They said that impeachment was a way for Congress and the American people to challenge the actions of the Administration and have the Senate then have the authority to remove them from office and replace them constitutionally. Neither man would be caused physical harm. Both could retire to their own "San Clementes" and not face any jail time. But it could mean the removal from office for the violations of the law of which they are guilty.

My argument has been that they will obfuscate and politicize the process to such an extent that it will take years to complete the process.

The Republicans had so cheapened and politicized the process when they used it on President Clinton that I can't blame the House leadership from taking impeachment off the table. But if we do not use the tool, it will rust and may never be used again. That means future Presidents will not feel threatened by it, the two argued.

Lindsay Graham has already given Congress the way to stop the war: end the funding. The investigations being held by Congress and the legislation being offered are other steps that do not appear to be as partisan as impeachment (in light of the Republican use of it).

Maybe we can't use impeachment in this generation. At least not without silencing the loud voices in the media who will scream and pout and twist and spin everything to make it look unfair and unbalanced.

How close can we let them drag us to a monarchy before we act? How willing are people to be cynical or to be unwilling to let the process work before they clamor back to Paris Hilton? Are the majority of us really willing to be sheep?

Democracy . . . ???

In the church, we wait out bad leadership by letting term limits take care of what nature does not. Who's got the time, energy, and willingness to actually hold leaders accountable?

Again, I have not come to any resolution over a major concern.