There's been plenty of bluster on the left about impeachment. At various points over the last few years, I've advocated impeaching Bush and/or Cheney plenty of times—just last week I nearly engraved it on my car. I'll pull together some links about the pros and cons of going after the big fish later, but one guy Congress should definitely get in their sights NOW is the Attorney General. It's the most politically doable, publicly supported and actually possible to get a conviction and remove him from office. Congressional GOPers would close ranks around Bush or Cheney, but I'm not so sure they are going to go that far out on a limb to support Gonzo.
Make it happen. Once Gonzalez is removed from his role as Chief Obstructor of Justice and Cover-Up Artist for the Administration, other investigations might pick up some steam. They all deserve their day in front of the klieg lights, but Gonzalez is the logical place to start.
MORE:
NY Times: “He’s Impeachable, You Know”
Kleiman: "Impeach Gonzalez?"
Digby: "Depends On What The Definition Of Program Is" (ie: Gonzo? Bring it on!)
Digby: "The 34 Senator Gambit" (ie: Bush? Not So Fast...)
UPDATE: The ball is rolling...
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) is introducing legislation that would require the House Judiciary Committee and the House of Representatives to begin an impeachment investigation into Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in the wake of his damaging testimony last week. The legislation reads:
Resolved: That the Committee on the Judiciary shall investigate fully whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to impeach Alberto Gonzales for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Think Progress has the story and the video here.
3 comments:
Not a bad idea in the here-and-now, but at the big picture level this is like excising a pimple to cure cancer.
Granted. But holding off on Gonzalez because you want to set your sights higher is a bad move.
He is the lower hanging fruit, and his infractions are easier to prove, and he stands a chance of being convicted in the Senate. If you leave him in place to run interference for Bush/Cheney, you'll never lay a glove on them.
Though I want to look at things through a pure right/wrong lens, the fact is the politics matter. Making GOP Senators vote for OR against Gonzalez helps the cause for '08.
You go after Bush and/or Cheney without the goods they will be acquitted. If you go after Bush/Cheney WITH the goods they will still likely be acquitted. The chance that their victory sets precedent or even rebuilds momentum for the GOP is risky.
As Digby summed up:
No matter what happens in the congress over the next year, I hope that everyone recognizes that the single most important thing that has to happen is that we kick the Republican party so far out of power they have to have a passport to get back in.
I don't want to look at it from a mirror-image Rovian perspective of "as long as my side wins," but the truth is there is a huge mess to clean up when these fuckers leave office, and we will need to be in control to do it.
Ending up with President Guiliani (or Romeny, etc) is worse to me than letting Bush and Cheney "get away with it." Realistically, they are going to "get away with it" anyway.
Unlike Republicans, I plan to actuallly watch what my governement and party does with it's power. If in six years the Democrats are abusing the Constitution, I will be equallly pissed off.
Yeah, I gots to agree with Mr. F on this one. And I don't think Gonzo is all that small of a small fry. He seems to be right at the middle of alot of the wrongdoing these guys have been up to. Bust his ass, get lots of the gruesome details in front of the public, and see where it goes. And yes, get on record just which GOP senators support Gonzo.
Post a Comment