Posted on 02/01/2006 12:57:17 AM PST by RWR8189
WASHINGTON — As President Bush prepared to address Congress, some members of the House began calling for his impeachment — a call that has been growing over the last few months, when only the far fringes of the American left called for his ouster.
On Tuesday, eight-term California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters said the president should be impeached for authorizing the warrantless surveillance of some Americans through the National Security Agency.
"If a president's untruthfulness about sexual relationships is an impeachable offense, then surely spying on American citizens, undermining the Constitution and contravening current standing law are impeachable offenses," Waters said comparing Bush's alleged crimes to ones former President Clinton was tried for.
But not all Democrats are on board yet. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told FOX News that he doesn't think the threshold for impeachment has been crossed yet.
"As far as I'm concerned at this stage it's too early to talk about impeachment. We'll have to see if there's more to this," Reid said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
• Rep. Maxine Waters: The report cites a December 2004 Los Angeles Times investigation disclosing how members of the congresswoman's family have made more than $1 million in the last eight years by doing business with companies, candidates and causes that Waters has helped. Before publication of the Times investigation last year, Waters declined to be interviewed, but said of her family members: "They do their business, and I do mine."
"... generally, all over the heads of my constituents."
It's going to be difficult to impeach when you don't have Congress.
Even if by some freak accident the democrats took over the House and impeached the President, it is highly unlikely that they could garner 2/3 of the entire Senate to convict him.
If Democrats can't stick together to defeat a fairly unpopular bankruptcy bill, or a trade agreement that not that many people outside of the beltway feel much love for, I doubt they could find the votes to impeach in the House, even if they had majority after November.
The chorus really isn't all that loud as soon as you toss a half gallon of Tums into all that flatulence coming out of Massachusetts.
Waters and her ilk in Congress ought to be censured and then thrown out of the country.
Since when is Maxine Waters not "fringe?"
I know that Waters is dumb, but DAMN! He wasn't impeached for lying about his affairs. He was impeached for suborning perjury thus denying a citizen her civil rights.
"chorus..."
A chorus sounding only slightly more discordant than the first cut on American Idol...
I question the veracity of the 13 most corrupt list because Corrine Brown is not listed among them.
I am convinced there must be some money dems, political consulting dems, and plain old moderate dems that must be pulling their hair out right now over this looney left. Can you imagine if the Dems got controlled and Conyers is head of the JUdicary committee with subpoena power. These folks think their on a "mission from God" as to impeaching Bush and trying to put him in jail for goodness sakes too. Its like viva revolution and damn the consequences for the Country. I was not too thrilled about Impeachment against Clinton I will admit. BUt if this happens even if just articles are submitted a horrible precedent is unleashed. Some grownups in the Democractic party better take control quick. I mean we would get short term political gains from this lunacy , but I would hate to see the result of our institutions at the end. And this happening while we are at war. Unbelievable.
Thus far it seems that the voices calling for impeachment are the extremists in the Democratic party. In fact, many of the people calling for impeachment could be said to be ultra-left wing "ideologues".
"He [Clinton]was impeached for suborning perjury thus denying a citizen her civil rights."
If you can't keep your promise to tell the truth to a jury, how can you be trusted to keep your promise to defend, preserve, and protect the Constitution of the United States?
Yeah,the impeachment precedent does leave us with some concerns. Many Democrats never got over it and would love to return the favor. Will we now impeach every successive President for light and transient causes or will we reserve our judgement for appropriate situations? Only time will tell. That is , however, why the threshold for Conviction and removal from office is so high in the Senate. You have to be pretty unpopular to get convicted.
I agree there were grounds for impeachment but I really wouldnt have minded a sort of "plea deal" there. In my mind what the end result was Impeachment looked like some heavy duty censure by Congress in the end. If Dems are able to do this have hearings even on impeachment again a horrible precedent is set. Hopefully the power that be in the Dem party will tell them(if God forbid they got the House) quit wasting your efforts on impeaching a lame duck President that will be lucky to get get Tv Time in a year.
But not all Democrats are on board yet. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told FOX News that he doesn't think the threshold for impeachment has been crossed yet.
Even many important Democrats are not onboard with the impeachment. In the above statement Harry Reid indicates that impeachment is not a trivial thing to venture into. Impeachment is one of the most potent powers granted to the Congress and it should be exercised with extreme care because it overturns the normal Constitutional Procedures set forth in our Constitution. Wield that power with care or we may come to rue the day.
Impeach Bush? I don't have a problem with President Dick Cheney!
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