HOWARD DEAN on KTLK (LA): America doesn't want impeachment

I was listening to the drive time show on Air America's LA affiliate and heard an interview with Howard Dean that was deeply disturbing.

He said Americans didn't vote the Democrats into power to get impeachment or partisanship. Apparently, he hasn't read any polls. The first one on impeaching Bush showed more support than impeaching Nixon had the day before he was run out of office.
http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2007/10/poll-numbers-on-impeaching-bush-like.html

And the majority want Cheney impeached.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24390

He claimed Americans had more important things on their mind like raising the minimum wage. We are worried about economics, but if Democrats wanted to do something, they could at refuse to approve any more job-killing trade deals until we get a new president.

He also said that the Democrats can't end the war until they get a Democratic president too, never mind that they could end the war at any time by not letting a funding bill get to the floor.

A lot of us wanted Howard to be DNC chair so his no bullshit, grassroots style would rub off on those corporate-bootlick, lobbyist-wannabee pieces of shit in DC. Instead, it sounded like the shit rubbed off on him.

No one could fault the Democrats for not getting much done with Bush as president to veto or flout legislation with signing statements, but we do expect them to make more than token efforts, and if they aren't going to go for impeachment, at least investigate the core offenses of the administration like coercing analysts to produce phony intel, issuing orders to violate the Geneva Convention which soldiers are in prison for obeying, and the Cheney Energy Task Force back in early 2001 where they were salivating over the oil maps of Iraq. If they were doing that, investigating those things, I would not be able to find fault with them. Instead, they are essentially rubberstamping much of what Bush does, just not as gleefully as the GOP would.

Oy, Howard!

your common sense.

The American People need to have the issues displayed to them on TV. The WGA strike is an opportunity. They'll watch the hearings. They'll be aghast.

Every day I have folks coming up to the tell me "the latest" travesty committed by the regime. I bite my tongue and nod, knowing that many here on DU have been trumpeting it over the last four years.

The American people, the ultimate Sleeping Beauty, will awaken from the "kiss" of clear unadulterated media coverage (C-Span on the big three networks, and CNN/MSNBC)--the rosethorns surrounding the collective conscious will fall away and the regime will fall. (OK, enough with the pathetic metaphor)

MS (a.k.a., Flora Fauna or Merryweather?)

:shrug:

Should be interesting. I wish he would lay off the immigration debate though. I have heard some pretty ignorant comments from some of his callers regarding illegal immigrants and he hasn't called them on it.

They want CHIMPeachment, and they want it now.

What is happening to our leaders? Do they actually believe their own BS? Even if Americans didn't want Impeachment it would still be their duty. You don't just turn a blind eye to treason, illegal invasion and murder.

I am so sick of this. First we couldn't do anything because we were the minority and not enough Americans were against the war. So I patiently waited for the rest of America to catch up while thousands more died. Now Americans are awake, we have power in Congress and our "leaders" seem to be deaf. Something very odd is going on here.

in same position.

But we know that a majority of Americans do. So please Howard, use the tricks when necessary.

I just want the law enforced and this maladministration properly investigated. I know, it's too much to ask.

it sure didnt take long for him to turn into a DC Dem did it

This is unsurprising to anyone who knows him.

Bush from damaging our country further through removal anyway. Like others have said, he could saw a baby's head off on the White House lawn, and the Republicans would not vote to convict, even if we passed articles.

67 votes. We just don't have them.

We have to do the best we can to prevent more damage through congressional legislation. That's what we have to work with.

Dr. Dean uses his common sense. Maybe we should listen to him.

I'm all for impeachment hearings- let's get it moving, but don't think for a moment they'd act as an inhibiting factor on bush/cheney. After all, Clinton bombed the Sudan while in the midst of impeachment and bush/cheney is much crazier.

Kucinich included in his articles of impeachment Cheney how Intel was manipulated by Cheney to lie to Congress and the American people about the (non)threat posed by Iraq to the US/world. Kucinich also included Cheney's apparent use of the same techniques to drum up support for a war on Iran.

From Hissypit's thread that I linked to:



The article in that thread is stunning. It shows that cheney is repeating the steps that they took to lead us into Iraq to take us into Iran. These accusations are included in the articles of impeachment. Will it stop an attack on Iran?--not likely. But I think that the outside chance that impeachment could prevent the bombing of Iran is a large motivating factor for Kucinich and other politicos who are supporting the impeachment process--it is too important to not do everything in their/our power to stop it from occurring.

Howard Tells you like it is, even if you don't want the news.

I think if you got out of the impeachment box and looked at it from a standpoint of Bush and Cheney et al suffering some consequences, Howard would say something more to your liking.

I want to pursue the impeachment of Cheney in the House.The hearings would be great.

just totally unbelievable.

I really believed Howard would be the best to lead the DNC but God help us this is just f****** unbelievable.
The disappointment with Pelosi is enough but Howard, too???

:banghead:

why is he chirping pelosi talking points?

Ed Shultz' show today. And Ed would not back down, insisting the American people DO want impeachment. She was totally obstinate and bull-headed. These Congress clowns need to go out during lunch and talk to other people besides the same group, day in, day out, who seem to have blinders and earplugs on. :grr:

This is too fucking serious ..it has to be cut out at the core. Just like getting out of Iraq NOW.

It's not going to happen but that's what I think should happen.

I don't think these criminals should be allowed
to continue with their plans OR slink off after
the next election.

They need to be exposed on a grand scale. If
there is another guaranteed way besides impeachment,
I'd be interested in hearing about it.

about that! Thanks for the important reminder..

"I don't think these criminals should be allowed
to continue with their plans OR slink off after
the next election.

They need to be exposed on a grand scale. If
there is another guaranteed way besides impeachment,
I'd be interested in hearing about it."

Excellent post, PassingFair!

Shrub and
Darth gone every bit as much as you do, but I sure don't want any of the Pub current c andidates nominated as a NEW VP! Not a year before the election! With the eternal secrecy of this admin, an impeachment would take a LONG TIME! Do you really want the entire presidental campaign to be about impeachment? I DON'T! I want to see many more over-ridden vetoes, I want to see this POS demoralized, but keep his face in front of the camera to show just how sad an example of a human being he really is!

But I can't think of a better warm up for an election than to warm up the audience with a litany of Republican failures. :)

:toast:

DEAD ON!!!! Bravo

It's the same "far left Wackos" that pressed for the new deal, minimum wage, the end of the Vietnam war & the recognition of the global warming problem, so fuck off.

It happens.

The dems have a concerted effort to squash this.

No way around it

They are acting like the other side.

And at this point... you have to wonder what is the damn agenda and WHY they are willing to cover for these criminals?

WTF is going on?

DFA is headed by Howard's brother.

Well, that's more money I can give to candidates who give a shit about the constitution.

One more Org on my no give list.

I thought we already raised the minimum wage, like 8 months ago. $7.21 an hour, in another year or two. whoopi.

And it is getting tiresome.

He's simply pointing out the facts.

Maybe they should also attenmpt to get NAFTA enacted.

:evilgrin:

I wish these politicians would stop pontificating about what the American people REALLY want. Very few of them have a clue.

Food for thought.

:shrug:

Maybe something straight out of Star-Trek even :shrug:

Either Dean is trying to get back into the good graces of the DNC crowd, or he really believes this. Either way, it's like another kick in the gut. I expect this sort of stuff from Liebermann, but Dean? If someone kills your kid, you don't just 'let it go'. You expect justice, and you will take ANY measures to obtain it. These are serious transgressions we're talking about. These people have killed countless kids and adults, and if they walk, you can expect it to happen again.

Reconsider, Mr. Dean.

That's all that matters to them.

I think they are, unfortunately, wrong. The numbers have been skewed to the point of torture and the lies aren't holding up under the reality of street-level observation. The idea that they can just keep whistling past the graveyard for another year is just insane and only demonstrates how far out of touch they are with those they are supposed to represent.

around.

Out of sight, out of mind.

That's what happened when Nixon left.

By the '76 election, Carter won, but in a squeaker.

And they are doing a great job. Because these bums, pelosi et al will not see one single dime sent them this election from me.

try being rich and powerful. That'll probably work.

criminals of the Watergate era led to Iran Contra and Reagan's disastrous presidency, so failing to impeach the openly criminal Bush Administration is going to lead to great trouble down the road.

Our Constitution has been trampled in the last 7 years, and this country desperately needs an affirmation that the law still means something and that our system still works. Congress' failure to perform it's duty here is going to have a long lasting, and very corrosive effect on the fabric of this nation.

100 or so sputtering cranks on this website support Kucinich's asinine plan and that's about it for the entire country. Just knock it off with the impeachment crap. No one gives a shit. We're trying to focus on the election. You try to paralyze the country at a time like this and we'll lost by a landslide.

and nearly twice as many support it as supported impeaching Clinton.






Nine months before that, there was far LESS support for impeaching Nixon than Bush:



Do you think those numbers would go up or down if we actually had hearings on what Cheney and/or Bush have done?

Who are you trying to protect? Those Democrats who voting Bush's war crimes and trampling of our democracy or the wealthy few who are profiting from Bush's abuses?


MORE ON NIXON vs. Bush impeachment numbers

http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2007/10/poll-numbers-on-impeaching-bush-like.html

:wtf:

BTW Howard-you are flat out wrong. :grr:

It is the DUTY of Congress to impeach in the event of crimes and misdemeanors by those in power. They didn't write as part of the Constitution that a poll must take place first so people can use it as a copout to their DUTY, especially when on the whole the people may be too uninformed due to the media being in the back pockets of those who committed the crimes and misdemeanors. So that will be the copout by Democrats and others who do not do their duty that Americans didn't want it? Well gee, how nice of them to finally give a shit about what we want. :sarcasm:

I suppose that the DNC chair can not be seen to be in open dissent with the Democratic Congressional leadership. Whatever his true feelings on the matter--and they may be exactly what he said in the interview the strategic reasoning has its points--the man has two choices. These choices are:

1. Support the congressional leaders
2. Resign.

I doubt very much that he wants to resign over this and leave the next election to be run by the likes of Raum Emmanuel and Chuck Schumer. If he walks out the door the 50 State strategy and everything he's worked to do at DNC is pretty much dead.

That being said, I'm hoping that Howard Dean hasn't gone totally Beltway on us.

Remember when Bob Shrum made the statement that the campaign couldn't talk about BCCI because it 'confused voters' who didn't understand why Kerry would be targeting the BBC?

Wanna bet that conclusion was GIVEN to Shrum in the form of a poll designed to make sure BCCI was not a bigger issue?

I can see DNC being fed bad poll and focus group numbers by those who want to continue the secrecy and privilege for BushInc.

Bill Clinton is pushing this point recently, too, as if corruption WASN'T the top concern during 2006 exit polls.

Since when did it change?
>>>>>>>
Any shot at the current president is an automatic applause line with a Democratic audience. But rather than taking the easy ovation, Clinton gently deflected an audience member's suggestion that President Bush be included in his list of global problems.

"Yeah, Bush and Cheney," he said. "I could sit here all night and make you laugh and cry and stand up and cheer talking about the president and the vice president. But the country is over that. Let's get the show on the road again."

http://www.lvrj.com/news/11044976.html


Moving past serious illegal operations of Bush1 helped BushInc to grow stronger throughout the 90s while left unchecked by any oversight and led us straight to Bush2.

http://consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html

Do Democrats want to repeat that exact same mistake and move past Bush and Cheney?

cui bonno?

you with the righties. While you're giving them a hand up, they're giving you a shiv in the gut.

agenda was being pushed through with NO COVERAGE by a newsmedia uninterested in what the senate and congressional banking committees were up to in the 90s. Or that a Dem president would not facilitate the access to documents that were long needed to shine a light on outstanding matters that were still relevant to our foreign policy re BCCI and IranContra, Iraqgate and CIA drugrunning.

Unbelievable.

Howie's taken the plunge.

Afterdowningstreet.org has tried to commission the major pollsters to do a survey, but no one will take their money.

Pew's Putrid Excuse for Refusing to Poll on Impeachment
http://www.democrats.com/why-pew-refuses-to-poll-on-impeachment

Harris Does Online Poll on Impeachment, Does Not Publish Results
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/23715

As far as I'm concerned, dragging this country through another impeachment process does us no good in the long run. It may make us feel better, but quite frankly, I'd rather see an end to this war, a boost in the economy, better health care, lower fuel prices, stable international relations, better ideas at combatting global warming, help for the middle class, stronger schools, less crime and a whole bunch of other things.

Seriously, I think there are much higher priorities now than a vindictive impeachment crusade. Sadly, that ship has sailed, and Howard Dean is merely using common sense. If the DNC keeps pounding impeachment over everything else, they're toast. Plain and simple.

Flame me if you want, but I feel there are more important things that need to be done. The most effective way to get rid of Bush/Cheney? Vote for a Democrat next year.

not impeaching them... is becoming a nation of men

By the way how are you doing with those priorities?

Cheaper gas? I laugh at you.

Stable international relations... HAH!

And I could go on.

other nice things if Bush a couple of hundred billion a year on the war, the equivalent of the whole federal budget not that long ago.

You shills in DC must think the rest of us are pretty fucking stupid.

What you want to do is continue the war, AND screw us with more NAFTA type trade deals, while giving us dribbles of domestic spending that you think will distract us from your real middle class killing agenda.

just passed... only 3% of our people will loose jobs, yes that was on the floor

:(

i love the wording used in the graphs from that first link! lol

'if bush didnt tell the truth'
'if clinton LIED'


why didnt they pose the question as LIED when speaking of bush?

http://www.democrats.org/a/party/chairman/index.php

Here's my note:

Dear Governor/Doctor/Chairman Dean:

I have long been in political agreement with you. I enthusiastically backed you for President in '04 and I campaigned vigorously for your chairmanship position after the election, writing letters and meeting with committee members. I was even privileged to read out the resolution endorsing you for Chairman from our district in Michigan, and it was a GREAT DAY for me.

Since that time, you have remained an inspiration for me. When the Democratic "leadership" in Washington rolled over, time after time, after time, I counted on you, working behind the scenes, to do what needed to be done for the PEOPLE of our country.
The fruits of your efforts were seen with the success of the '06 elections. We were NOT disappointed.

Today, however, I was DISMAYED to hear how wrongly you have interpreted the mood of the population concerning the impeachment of Bush, Cheney, et. al. To hear you parrot the same talking points as the democratic centrists is a HUGE disappointment for me. Impeachment, successful or not, is the ONLY opportunity the country will have to expose and enumerate the crimes of this administration. It is our DUTY to impeach. To say that we don't have TIME to impeach because we have other legislation to pass is LAUGHABLE. If we cannot override his veto, we cannot PASS any meaningful legislation. We cannot get out of Iraq, we WILL NOT have health care, our JOBS will continue to be outsourced and devalued and on and on and on. The American people DO want impeachment. The people who supported and CONTINUE to support YOU want impeachment MORE than most.

Surely you realize that.

Surely you are playing some kind of game.

That is NOT like you, Dr. Dean.

Sincerely,

but the Democratic leadership directs Dean on what he's allowed to say or do.

the GOP shapes it.

The GOP understands politics, and that's why they win.

I don't give a rat's ass whether impeachment succeeds. It's about airing the crimes
of the * administration and showing them to the american people.