Dennis Kucinich: Standing Tall in the House as Cheney Impeachment Bill Advances
By Dave Lindorff
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Republicans clearly don’t want impeachment hearings, but have recognized something that the Democratic leadership, lame and tactically deficient as it is, does not, namely that particularly among Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning voters, impeachment is enormously popular. According to polls, some three in four Democrats, and a majority of all Americans, favor impeaching the vice president (a majority of Americans also favor impeaching President Bush).
As long as the Democratic Party leaders keep blocking impeachment, they lose support and anger voters among this group. Clearly Republicans saw a chance today to further alienate those voters by forcing the Congressional Democratic leadership, which has stalled Kucinich’s bill for over six months since it was filed last April 24, to more actively and visibly block it.
But Democratic leaders have an alternative. They can recognize the growing disaster of Pelosi’s “impeachment is off the table” position—which has contributed significantly to Congress’ record-low poll ratings (now well below Bush’s)--and can turn around and get those impeachment hearings going. If they were to do this, with just a year to go until the presidential election, they would electrify progressive voters and independent-minded voters, who are frightened and disgusted by what this administration has been doing to the country and to the Constitution.
I was just at a polling station today in my Republican-leaning area (Montgomery County, PA), and when a Republican activist standing outside the polling center saw my “Impeach Bush and Cheney” T-shirt, he said,
“It would be great for Republicans too, if they could dump both those guys.”
Clearly, the public, even including many Republicans, wants Congress to act.more at:
http://www.democrats.com/node/14804