Case for Impeachment

A few days ago I came across a couple articles having to do with the prospect of impeaching Bush and Cheney. This is what I emailed at the time:

A new poll of registered voters has a result that is both wonderful and disturbing. The wonderful part is 64% say that Bush has abused his powers as president and 55% say that the abuses are serious enough to warrant impeachment. What's not to like? 21% (included in the 55%) say that while Bush committed impeachable offenses he should not be impeached. That's what's disturbing. Has our morality been so twisted that we're all hot and bothered about law and order issues, ready to impose death penalties, yet many of us think the prez is guilty of some pretty serious crimes and don't want to prosecute him?

As for Cheney, 70% believe he has abused power, 52% think he deserves impeachment and only 9% (included in 52%) think he has committed impeachable offenses but should be given a pass.
A summary:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5296
The raw numbers, including candidate standings:
http://americanresearchgroup.com/

An organization called Peace Action celebrated its 50th anniversary (so why haven't I heard of them?) and Rep. John Conyers attended the Detroit chapter banquet. The Keynote Speaker, Randi Rhodes, listed Bush's failures then noted that Dennis Kucinich last week introduced another bill to impeach Cheney. Before Pelosi could kill it some House GOPs supported it as a way to embarrass Pelosi (strange how politics works) and as a joke. That means the bill will go to Conyers' Judiciary Committee. Conyers has been the one to gather documents that would be used in impeachment proceedings, but has refused to act on them since Dems took House leadership. Asked what would happen to the Kucinich bill Conyers was evasive -- but did not say he would kill it. Perhaps it is time to tell Conyers what he should do with the impeachment bill -- act on it!
http://www.metrotimes.com/%5Ceditorial%5Cstory.asp?id=12025

A friend with similar view of our government responded:

While I lust for a pound of Cheney's and Bush's political hides as never before, impeachment would be a mistake. All the voters who poll "impeach" will vote next year for change. Starting the impeachment engine would divert all that energy into "Democrats seeking [well-deserved] revenge for the abuse of Bill Clinton" and that would fix Hillary in the media headlights for the wrong reasons.

So, my lust remains a nice simmering fury with a long memory.

Here is my response to him:

It is rare that I disagree with you so completely.

Fortunately, I can respond from the comfort of my own home with time to think through my arguments and to look up what I written in the past. So you're going to get the full benefit of all that thinking.

Have Bush and Cheney committed "high crimes" according to the Constitution? In addition to our opinions in the matter, the evidence mounts that they have. I could go into details, but I don't think that's what this discussion is about. Let me know if you want those details.

They have committed high crimes. They should be impeached, tried, and removed from office. Period. My morality is flexible, but not that flexible. This is too important.

I don't want Bush (and Cheney) to continue to do what he is doing. Yes, I know it is only 14 months, but Bush has shown he can get into a frightful amount of mischief in that amount of time.

I don't want another president to do or condone what he is doing. He (and the GOP) has remained unchallenged in his nastiness. Many GOP congressmen have shown they are quite willing to keep doing all kinds of mischief because the Dems won't simply say it is wrong. Impeachment is a way to define what the presidency is and isn't as well as defining what is acceptable behavior and what isn't.

Bush was elected on a platform of values and places himself as a beacon of morality, yet is the most immoral president we've had. Even without that contradiction I don't want Bush to be a continuing example of morality in this country. Lots of people (lawmakers to corporate CEOs) see that Bush is getting away with it, they can too. I don't want to see his kind of amorality emulated and cherished.

I am disgusted with the argument that having Bush around as a whipping boy increases the chance of Dems sweeping the government a year from now. As much as I despise the GOP having Dems willing to use the death of the Constitution as a convenient way to gain power is just as despicable. Having Dems with insufficient backbone (which they, alas, have demonstrated many times) to say that a proposed bill or action is unconstitutional isn't a recommendation to give them power. I would have much more respect for and be more inclined to vote for Hillary (or any other Dem) if they left their calculations behind and said that Bush is wrong, he is hurting bedrock principles and institutions, he should be removed, even if it hurts the Democratic chances. That person would show values worthy of leading the country and world. That Dem would certainly gain the respect of the world.

Will the GOP raise a stink? No question. They're masters at that game. It is time the Dems stood up to it, doing something not because of politics but because it is right. That ideal is way too rare in this country.

Now back to the pragmatic side. If indeed 55% of voters think Bush has committed impeachable offenses (and that's 70% for Cheney) going through with impeachment won't give the Dems the black eye you think it would.

He responded:

Very good arguments, principled and well grounded in morality. I'll give them more thought. I'm no happier with these Democrats than you are nor confident of them.