Democratic Party cannot be trusted to defend the United States

The shameful vote on H. Res 333, the Cheney Impeachment Resolution, which states that Cheney lied to get our country into war in Iraq, is lying to get us into another war in Iran, and has engaged in eggregious abuses of power.

Not only has our Congress abrogated its powers to an imperial Presidency, but it fails to uphold its oath to defend and protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

The vote was simple. A vote to table (kill) H.Res 333, was a vote for Cheney:

Dem 149 voted for Cheney, 71 against Cheney

GOP 58 voted for Cheney, 133 against Cheney

Total 207 for Cheney, 204 against.

If the Democratic Party cannot be relied upon to protect the Constitution and our civil liberties, how can we trust it to defend the United States?

Congratulations!

Where?

Talk about reaching, I expect this headline from free republic, not here! You are better than that Indiana Green!

If you want to live in a dictatorship, go ahead!

but dammnit you have to know this is a long time right wing talking point against the Dems, and it doesn't help anyone to repeat this ancient lie about the Dem party.

National security is also our security. Our right to be secure against an all powerful government.

free republic discusses congress abrogating its power to an imperial presidency?

Where?

Thanks for your concern.

Why did our "leaders" have to let the Blue Dogs get away with making them look stupid?

Thank you for supporting the Bush dictatorship!

who need primary challenges

"You had no right to expect us to stop evil. It's ENOUGH that we hold hearings!"

Impeachment is off the table, sayeth Cheney's main House enabler, Nancy Pelosi.

What he was saying was, and nobody can seriously argue with this, that the leadership betrayed everything the party stands for by killing the impeachment resolution. Why were they working to stop it?

It would have HELPED us to put it up for a final vote and MAKE the GOP vote against impeaching Cheney. That would have been a huge political victory for us and we'd have lost nothing.

And as for those "more important issues", can anybody tell us if the party leadership has actually managed to PASS anything? Other than helping Bush keep torturing by passing FISA?

WHY DO THEY SURRENDER OVER AND OVER AND OVER?

Will our leaders EVER stand and fight?

What this party stands for is equal opportunities for all Americans. It stands for social justice, and sensible foreign policy. Political retribution is pretty low on the list.

No one is above the law!

However, the prime purpose of the Congress is not political show trials. Given that Bush has only a year remaining, I think Congress can find more important things to do than to waste three months in a futile bid to impeach.

Cheney is the biggest advocate for war on Iran. If he is distracted by impeachment, he may become ineffective in his warmongering.

Impeachment hearings will save American lives!

Impeachment hearings will not save lives. Though Cheney might be "distracted," really, he won't be. This is no more a threat to him than any DU thread is. However, this is a distraction to the Congress, as it will waste time that otherwise could have been used on environmental, energy, or health-care issues.

you who feel all warm and fuzzy about the Dems who voted against impeachment for Cheney - tell us why Green is wrong.

of killing the whole thing, fragmenting the Democratic caucus.

This just makes me puke. Stop it now.

The repubs voted against tabling the motion so that they could force a vote on the impeachment resolution which, I predict, will be unanimously opposed by the repubs in congress.

Hearings is what we want!

It doesn't call for hearings. It is a recitation of articles of impeachment. If the resolution itself is voted on, its a vote either to adopt those articles (sending the proceedings to the Senate for trial) or to defeat them (ending the process once and for all).

There is nothing in the resolution about authorizing or conducting hearings.

against the Constitution and the Republic.

We should be having hearings.

He could've drafted a resolution that authroized and directed the House Judiciary Committee to conduct and investigation and hearings and to report back on articles of impeachment. The type of resolution that was used to start impeachment against Nixon and against Clinton. But for whatever reason (ego? bad advice?) he chose to go for the jugular. Maybe he felt that if all he did is call for hearings, it wouldn't be a privileged resolution and he couldn't get it voted on, although the privileged resolution in the Judge Swayne case expressly called for referral to the House Judiciary committee for an investigation.

In any event, I suspect that the game is nearly played out.Sadly, as I've long feared and suspected, the ending won't be anything we like.

Hearings were never scheduled! This parliamentary maneuver was intended to force the hand of those that are blocking hearings by at least having a debate on VP Cheney.

on a resolution that called for the House Judiciary committee to undertake an inquiry and report back.
Of course, the result might not have been any different.

and then he called the cops to arrest the citizens.

Why our "leaders" couldn't just ONCE stand up and fight for something?

Can't they accept it that this kind of thing DOESN'T please "moderate independents"?

Moderate independents vote for leadership, not surrender.

If Reagan could get them without moving an inch to the left, we can get them without moving 20 miles to the right.

House and Senate show support for the pnacer neo-cons, we will lose more of our kids.

The people the pnacer neo-cons have selected to fight and kill with collateral damage to us - those people getting killed over there know that there are many people in this country who do not approve of the corporate war that is being run against them. We just showed them that those we have elected are on the side of the corporate killing machine that is taking out their mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandparents and have destroyed their country and heritage and caused thousands and thousands of exiles. Cheney represents and is the political face ruler for the corporations.

Look what we showed these people we're killing - today.

The coup has taken place.

There are no Republicans-Democrats.

We are now a nation of killers and non-killers for corporate industrial barons and a ragtag of religios fanatics.

The labels should be officially recognized with some consideration given to euphemisms.

What can I say but I disagree strongly with all of that! anyway, go ahead and post this as a thread, it sure is controversial.

can move into a higher class. ;-)

5 virtual bucks says every Blue Dog and Free Dem was a part of that 71.

Here's the added kicker, if this were the actual vote (and not a motion to table it) the number of ayes would have definitely shrunk.

Though this should be the death kneel for the "Impeach Now!!!!1!" crowd. It won't, but is does take away from most of their justifications. The same goes for the "Fuck Pelosi!1!!" crowd too, especially those who justify their opinion by using Pelosi's "not on the table" comment.

"The vote was simple. A vote to table (kill) H.Res 333, was a vote for Cheney"

That's quite obviously NOT the case, since GOP 58 voted for Cheney, 133 against Cheney. 133 GOPs did not vote "against Cheney."

QED

When a measure is the subject of partisan shenanigans and vote-switching there's nothing "simple" about it.

:crazy:

Don't you support the Constitution, or is it a piece of paper that puts too many restrictions on government?