via Consortiumnews.com.
By Jason Leopold
January 14, 2009
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers says President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney committed impeachment-worthy offenses which must be thoroughly investigated even after the two men leave office as a means of reaffirming U.S. constitutional principles.
Rep. John Conyers (D) MI-14
“The Bush Administration’s approach to power is, at its core, little more than a restatement of Mr. Nixon’s famous rationalization of presidential misdeeds: ‘When the President does it, that means it’s not illegal,’” Conyers said in a foreword to a 487-page report entitled “Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush.“
The real problem here is that the imperial President was never reigned in at all. NOW, he comes out all two-fisted and ready. Now that it’s all over and the biggest criminal ever to be elected to the White House is about to high-tail it out of town, the sheriff decides it’s time to investigate. Dennis K. had it right back then but Conyers wasn’t listening.
Conyers also seemed to acknowledge what many Bush critics had long suspected, that the Michigan Democrat evaded an impeachment battle the past two years out of concern that the political repercussions might have kept the Democrats from winning larger congressional majorities and the White House in Election 2008.
Noting that “some ardent advocates of impeachment have labeled me a traitor – or worse – for declining to begin a formal impeachment inquiry in the House Judiciary Committee,” Conyers said he disagreed with some of their political judgments but concurred with their assessments of the seriousness of Bush-Cheney misconduct.
…“They are individuals [Rep. Dennis Kucinich] who care deeply about our Constitution and our Nation, and who have stood up to fight for the democracy they love, often at great personal cost. However, as I have said, while President Bush and Vice President Cheney have earned the dishonorable eligibility to be impeached, I do not believe that would have been the appropriate step at this time in our history.”
Look. No one is calling Conyers a traitor but he has a lousy sense of history. If not then, when?
Because someone, probably Pelosi, said, “Don’t rock the boat, John. We have to win this election first,” politics trumped justice again. Conyers is no better than John McCain when it comes to letting a party’s political gains influence and reverse your personal values. When will there ever be someone in a position of oversight in the House who is willing to stand on principles?
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) OH-10
Why do I keep thinking of Dennis for this job? Is it because he is perhaps the most principled member of Congress?
From Wikipedia:
“As of January 29, 2008, 24 other Congressional representatives have become cosponsors [of House Resolution 333, Kucinich's resolution calling for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney]. Six of these are members of the House Judiciary Committee: Tammy Baldwin, Keith Ellison, Hank Johnson, Maxine Waters, Steve Cohen and Sheila Jackson-Lee. In addition, Congressman Robert Wexler, supported by Representatives Luis Gutierrez and Tammy Baldwin, have begun openly calling for impeachment hearings to begin.”
It seems that this was too little too late, especially when a mover and shaker like John Conyers didn’t have your back. When Kucinich was trying to get the attention of Conyers with H. Res. 333, Conyers said he didn’t believe that it would have been appropriate at that time in our history. Well, when would it be appropriate? When Bush has left town? Coward. Fire Conyers and hire Kucinich.
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