Impeachment a duty, not a ploy [View All]

Impeachment a duty, not a ploy
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2007-10-08 21:20. Impeachment

The president and vice president should be investigated to show that the law covers everyone.
By Mark Lawrence, Portland (Maine) Press Herald

Mark Lawrence is the York County district attorney and is a candidate in the Democratic primary race to run for Congress in the 1st District.



When I was elected district attorney for York County, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. This is not just the first act that all elected officials take, it is the most important act.

It is the acknowledgement that our nation is based on principles, not simply the whim of certain people. It is a pledge that each politician will put the fundamental rights of the people above allegiance to any political party, partisan agenda or personal ambition.

George Bush and Dick Cheney took that same oath when they entered their offices.

Yet there is substantial information that the Bush administration has acted far beyond the scope of powers allowed it, and in doing so, undermined the fundamental rights granted to Americans under our Constitution.

There is a currently a debate about whether it is the best political strategy for Democrats, who as the majority party in Congress control the rules, to commence an impeachment investigation of the president and the vice president.

But this should never be the question.

The true question, the only question, must be whether it is the duty of members of Congress pursuant to their oaths of office to protect the public from alleged encroachments on their constitutional rights by commencing the process to determine the validity of the allegations.

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