House Bill to Impeach Cheney Grew Legs Today

Get yer Patriot Gear here: http://www.cafepress.com/beatbushgear/1103339

Oddly enough, coming in the wake of news of Cheney's meddling in foreign affairs such as with Pakistan (see post below) & his ongoing "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" campaign, today Dennis Kucinich's House bill to impeach Cheney got some movement despite Republicon efforts to kill it outright.

Could it be a measure of Americans' impatience with "enabling" Democrats in Congress?

"The House voted today to send a resolution considering the impeachment of Vice President Cheney to the Judiciary Committee, a move that embarrassed Democratic leaders who were forced into the parliamentary tactic to avoid a floor debate on impeachment.

"Led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the long-shot anti-war candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, scores of Democrats were joined by scores of Republicans in initially supporting a Kucinich resolution that would have prompted a full debate on impeaching Cheney.
Democratic leaders long ago rejected any consideration of impeaching Cheney and President Bush as an irresponsible move supported only by the far left, so they tried today to table Kucinich's impeachment resolution. After initially having more than enough votes to kill the resolution - the "yea" tally to table impeachment topped out at 291 - Republicans decided they had a chance to politically shame Democrats into a full debate on the sensitive issue. Republicans gleefully said they wanted the debate to show the public how many Democrats would actually support impeaching Cheney, which they consider a move supported only by a fringe element of anti-war activists.

"More than 120 members, predominantly Republicans, then switched their votes in favor of holding a one-hour debate on the issue, with a final vote of 251-162 supporting a debate on impeachment. Rather than allow a debate fraught with political risk, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) moved to send the Kucinich resolution to the Judiciary Committee, whose chairman, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), has publicly speculated about impeaching the president or vice president but has declined taking any action since taking the gavel in January.

"Defusing any chance of an actual impeachment debate today, the House then voted 218-194 to send the motion to Conyers's committee, with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting the move."

Get info on the text of Kucinich articles of impeachment here: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/11/cheney_impeachment_resolution.html

Hoyer, however, sez his Committee will take no action on it, miming the cowardly party line that they've got more important things to do than to reassert the rule of law by allowing Americans to avail themselves of a Constitutional remedy to rid themselves of an increasingly belligerent, unresponsive, & corrupt government:

"UPDATE: Hoyer: 'Impeachment ... Not on Our Agenda'
After the vote on the impeachment resolution, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) unequivocally said he expects no action taken by the Judiciary Committee to consider the Kucinich articles of impeachment against Vice President Cheney. 'The speaker and I have both said impeachment, either of the president or the vice president, is not on our agenda,' Hoyer told Capitol Briefing." http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/11/update_hoyer_impeachment_is_no.html

But, even conservative constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein argues, here, for Cheney's impeachment (in case you missed it): http://www.slate.com/id/2169292/

More info at AfterDowningStreet.org, including a means to contact the Judiciary Committee & your Congresspeople.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/cheney