But we say ...
Bush is fighting a “war on terror” and therefore has the authority to do whatever he feels is necessary as commander in chief.
Nothing in the Constitution supports this view. “War on terror” is a public relations slogan. The Constitution says only Congress can declare a war, and Congress has not done so. It is cynically self-serving for a president to initiate a war and then grant himself extraordinary powers because we’re “at war.” Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (a Reagan appointed) dismissed Bush’s argument, stating bluntly, “A state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the nation’s citizens.
Bush’s illegal actions are a matter for the courts.
The courts don’t really have jurisdiction over a president who breaks the law. Impeachment is the Constitution’s remedy for how to deal with a president who breaks the law.
If we remove Bush, Cheney will be in charge.
Cheney is a tremendous power behind the scenes. He would have no more power if he were forced into the open. We should impeach and remove Cheney as well as Bush, because both have committed impeachable offenses. Let’s go ahead and impeach Cheney first. Urge your Congress members to support H.Res. 799, which would impeach Cheney.
The public doesn’t want impeachment.
A Zogby poll found 53% of the people favored impeachment if the Bush/Cheney administration lied about the reasons for the war in Iraq. Other polls show especially strong support for impeaching Cheney.
Impeachment would take a year to accomplish. False!
The U.S. Senate tried the Clinton impeachment in 21 days. Impeaching Bush and Cheney would be quick because so much overwhelming evidence already exists on the re-cord, and much of it is not even disputed. If Congress decides to act, it could complete the whole process in just a couple of months.
Impeachment is futile because the Senate does not have a 2/3 majority ready to vote for removal.
In a court of law, the jury does not vote until after the prosecutor has presented the evidence and the trial has run its course. If impeachment were to proceed and evidence amass, more senators would feel the need to vote for removal – especially as public pressure mounts. It’s not a partisan matter; rather, it’s about saving the Constitution. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) criticized Bush for riding roughshod over the senate, stating, “This is not a monarchy.”
Impeachment will be seen as partisan.
Each member of Congress takes an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Impeachment supporters can frame this as a Constitutional matter, not a partisan one. When evidence is presented, the public will recognize this as a matter of Constitution and law, not politics.
Impeachment will dis-tract Congressional De-mocrats from their other agenda.
Nothing is more important than restoring the Constitution and the rule of law in this country. Any good laws the Democrats may pass can be wiped out by Bush’s “signing statements.” Anyway, only 20 Representatives (10 Democrats and 10 Republicans) out of 435 members would conduct the initial impeachment investigation.
Removing Bush and Cheney would be divisive and hurt the country.
The Bush/Cheney administration has been terribly divisive. Impeachment is necessary to re-store the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law. Impeaching Bush/Cheney will heal the grievous harm they have done since January 2001, help pull our country back from the brink of dictatorship, and restore the public’s – and the world’s – faith that the U.S. is still a functioning democracy that can solve its problems and move ahead.
This lame duck administration will leave office in January 2009, so why bother?
Bush and Cheney will continue to damage our nation every single day they remain in office. The American people and Congress must hold them accountable for their many crimes, or else the Bush/Cheney behavior becomes a precedent for all future administrations. If we fail to impeach Bush/Cheney, every future president can claim the right to lie to get us into war, spy on us for any reason without a warrant, arrest us for any reason and deny us due process, torture us, and refuse to follow any law passed by Congress. For this reason, we should pur-sue impeachment all the way up to their last day in office.
From Glen Anderson,
Citizens Movement to Impeach Bush/Cheney
Olympia, WA
www.citizensimpeach.org
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