Support the Kucinich Impeachment Hearing on Friday

OK, it’s in vain, still history and human decency demand acknowledgment that at least some among us tried to hold GW Bush accountable for his cruelty, ignorance and many crimes against humanity. Therefore, I’m posting the following from www.Democrats.com. If only the Democrats in Congress were this diligent and principled. Skip to the end for a list of Bush crimes and misdemeanors from a recent blog.

Tell your Representatives to support impeachment by cosponsoring H. Res. 1345:
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/142

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has led the fight for impeachment since April 2007, when he courageously introduced 3 Articles of Impeachment (H.Res. 333/799) against Vice President Cheney. On June 10, Kucinich introduced 3 5 Articles of Impeachment (H.Res. 1258) against President Bush.

When Speaker Pelosi refused to allow hearings on any of the 38 Articles, Kucinich returned to the floor of Congress to introduce one more Article of Impeachment against President Bush (H.Res. 1345).

Thanks to massive pressure from Democrats.com and our pro-impeachment allies, Speaker Pelosi finally allowed Chairman Conyers to hold a hearing this Friday. Kucinich will get a few minutes to argue for impeachment along with Rep. Robert Wexler, former Rep. Liz Holtzman, and former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson. Kucinich made a video to thank us for our efforts.

H.Res. 1345 focuses on Bush’s ultimate crime - invading Iraq on the basis of lies. The evidence is overwhelming that George Bush and other top officials manufactured those lies to “sell” an invasion whose real purpose was to gain control of Iraq’s oil and establish military bases in the heart of the Middle East - the agenda of the Project for a New American Century that Bush and McCain fully embraced.

When Kucinich testifies on Friday, he will naturally face hostile questions from rightwing Republicans who impeached President Clinton. But Kucinich will also face hostile questions from key Democrats who oppose impeachment.

Some of these Democrats supported the invasion of Iraq: Howard Berman (CA28), Rick Boucher (VA09), Adam Schiff (CA29), Brad Sherman (CA27), and Anthony Weiner (NY09).

But most of these Democrats oppose impeachment because they are cowering in fear of a counterattack from the White House and FOX News: John Conyers (MI14), Artur Davis (AL07), Bill Delahunt (MA10), Zoe Lofgren (CA16), Jerry Nadler (NY08), Linda Sanchez (CA39), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL20), Bobby Scott (VA03), Betty Sutton (OH13), and Mel Watt (NC12).

Only a few Judiciary Democrats understand that the Founding Fathers gave Congress the power of impeachment as the only way to stop a President from defying the Constitution and becoming a dictator, as Bush has done: Robert Wexler (FL19), Tammy Baldwin (WI02), Steve Cohen (TN09), Keith Ellison (MN05), Luis Gutierrez (IL04), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX18), Hank Johnson (GA04), and Maxine Waters (CA35).

If anti-impeachment Democrats get their way, Friday’s 2-hour hearing will be the only “impeachment” hearing for this entire Congress - and then Bush will try to pardon himself and everyone else before leaving office next January, just as his father pardoned six Iran-contra criminals.

So it is crucial for all of us - now over 500,000! - to tell our Representatives today to support impeachment by cosponsoring Kucinich’s H. Res. 1345:
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/142

And if you can do more, please make free calls to every Judiciary Democrat who opposes impeachment through CauseCaller:
http://www.causecaller.com/causes.php?c=House_Judiciary_Democrats_Impeachment
Simply enter your phone number and click the “Start Calling” button. (Click “Call me back if I accidentally hang up” in case you hang up by mistake.) In a few seconds, your phone will “magically” ring and CauseCaller will say the name of the first Representative on the list. Listen carefully for the name of each Member so you can repeat the name to the receptionist - or just say “The Representative.” Don’t hang up between calls - let the receptionists hang up and CauseCaller will dial the next Representative.

If you want to do even more, call your favorite radio or TV talk shows and tell them how important Friday’s hearings will be, and how strongly you support impeachment for whichever reasons are most important to you. Prepare your thoughts in advance so you sound informed and determined.

And if you’re near Washington DC, join Veterans for Peace to lobby Congress on Thursday and hold a pro-impeachment rally on Friday:
http://www.democrats.com/node/17211

Lots more details and actions here:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34943

1. The Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, IndyMac, Bear Stearns fiascoes, brought on by lack of oversight and myopic planning.

2. Historic high oil prices caused by an inability to manage his relationship with the Saudis. (Read Greg Palast’s book, Armed Madhouse, for more.

3. The re-arming of Sunni warlords in Iraq—a flavor we’ve yet to taste, but we will, we will….

4. Ratcheting up war fever against Iran, which makes silent diplomacy almost impossible.

5. Alienating many old friends with his go-it-along policies.

6. Politicizing the Justice Department.

7. Allowing the cover-up of details surrounding Dick Cheney shooting the old guy in the face, with impunity.

8. Failure to rescue New Orleans as Katrina drowned a thousand of her citizens and otherwise laid waste to the city.

9. Causing ethnic cleansing—that too polite phrase by which one means the murders of thousands–by Shia and Sunnis in Iraq.

10. Emasculation of the EPA and sabotage of lawsuits against polluters.

11. Creating a matrix for gulags, kidnappings, torture, murder and other evils in the name of fighting terror.

12. Permitting the Navy to use deep sonar off the coast of California that results in bleeding ears, disorientation and unknowable pain in whales and dolphins. Yes, this counts too.

13. Sabotaging investigations into 9/11 by limiting testimony and access to evidence.

14. Destruction of humanity’s common cultural heritage by allowing the plunder of priceless artifacts from the cradle of civilization along banks of the Tigris and Euphrates.

15. Shock and awe against Iraq based on a pack of lies.

16. Allowing the smearing of reputations in the 2002 and 2004 elections, as Republicans compared patriots like Max Cleland to Osama bin Laden for opposing the war in Iraq.

17. Doing nearly nothing, until now, to stop the genocide in Darfur.

18. Illegal spying on Americans

19. Destruction of habeas corpus, open testimony, trial by jury and other human liberties on which our nation was founded.

20. Allowing top Taliban and al-Qaeda—possibly including Osama bin Laden–to escape the noose at Tora Bora and flee to Pakistan.

21. Lying about stockpiles of weapons, phony connections between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein and much else in Iraq.

22. Using bribery, torture, distortion, character smears and other suspect means of gathering evidence to bolster the case for war against Iraq.

23. Distorting the news through Orwellian language, intimidation, phony stories, planted shills, outright lies, exaggerations, paid sources, and threats of violence against international news agencies.

24. Covering for Dick Cheney as his office publicly identified and smeared CIA operative Valerie Plame.

25. Being asleep at the wheel on 9/11 and failing to protect our nation.

26. Refusing to meet with anti-terrorism experts appointed by Bill Clinton, despite repeated requests.

27. Unparalleled lying and cover-ups regarding global warming.

28. Secret meetings with top energy companies, arms manufacturers and others before formulating an energy policy that would make us more dependent on foreign oil and contribute to momentum carrying us to war.

29. Placing foxes in charge of hen houses throughout the government.

30. Governing as if he had an overwhelming mandate despite losing the popular vote in 2000.

31. Making outrageous promises not to engage in nation building, to promote a green presidency, to reach across the aisles, and many others that he began breaking as soon as selected president by Republicans on the Supreme Court.

32. Allowing Karl Rove’s associates to smear the names of good men (including John McCain in South Carolina) in the 2000 campaigns, with lies and innuendos.