An Open Letter to Nancy Pelosi - Put impeachment back on the table before they bomb Iran.

Posted By: Scott Manley
Posted on: Aug. 19, 2007 at 1:07 PM

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Dear Speaker Pelosi,

According to McClatchy newspapers, It looks like Cheney is on the precipice of convincing Bush to bomb Iran. So, here's my question to you, Madame Speaker. If attacking Iran with nuclear weapons is on the table, how the heck can you say that impeachment is off the table? Making Republicans "lame ducks" may be "good enough" for you, but you see, they don't care. Cheney is trying to start WWIII. Cheney is the real force behind this push, and he MUST be stopped, but from the way congress has let the executive branch run roughshod over the constitution, I don't have much hope. That's why I'm writing you. We need you to be a strong leader and put impeachment back on the table. This is not about "hating Cheney" or partisan politics. It's about restoring the constitution and preventing WWIII.

Impeaching Cheney would have many benefits. It would immediately lower the blood pressure of the world by eliminating everyone's fear and anxiety, thereby lowering the risk of global conflict. If Cheney convinces Gates to bomb Iran, it's all over, and from the track record of the Democrats, they are not going to stop it. My only hope is that you will put impeachment back on the table.

It would also be a important civics lesson to the world that future politicians like Cheney cannot get away with mass murder and war profiteering during their reign of terror, only to be pardoned after leaving office.

And finally, don't be afraid of being labeled a "flip-flopper." R.W. Emerson said, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."

Please support Dennis Kucinich's H.R. 333.

Thank you,

Scott Manley

Coordinator - Operation Democracy of Greater Pittsburgh

Do Democrats have any spine whatsoever?

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www.MoronInCharge.com

Aug. 19, 2007 at 01:25:43 PM

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This may be unrelated to that excellent letter to Speaker Pelosi, but here is an email I received from Harry Mitchell's office, and my response:

Dear Michael:
Thank you for contacting me in support of the House Energy Package. I
appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

Like you, I believe that energy policy is in need of a change.

In January, when the House convened, we made a commitment to our
constituents to change the way we produce and use energy now and into the
future.Since then, nearly every committee has contributed pieces to broader
energy legislation.

The House Energy Package consisted of H.R. 3221, the New Direction for
Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act and H.R.
2776, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act. H.R. 3221 offers an
energy policy that emphasizes clean innovation, and H.R. 2776 provides tax
incentives for clean energy investment. This is a dramatic shift away from
previous energy policies, as it invests in American innovation over fossil
fuel exploration.

You will be pleased to know that I voted for and the House passed both H.R.
3221 and H.R. 2776.

Once again, thank you for contacting me on this important issue. If you have
any other questions or concerns on this or any other issue, please do not
hesitate to contact me in the future.
Sincerely,

Harry E. Mitchell
Member of Congress

This is was response to Harry:

Dear Congressman Mitchell,

I applaud your efforts on the House Energy Package. Every good deed
deserves credit.

Unfortunately your vote to update FISA deserves great criticism. An expansion of FISA powers for a President who has already unconstitutionally abused them is NOT an update, and you have now made legal a shameful action of Executive criminal misconduct that makes the crimes of Watergate seem trivial. I am not happy. We (the liberal Democrats that elected you) are not happy. I've read your explanation to your constituents, and frankly I found it lacking.

Please contemplate your future votes carefully. The Energy Package will not make up for your FISA vote, and you have a deep hole to dig yourself out of. If you continue to align yourself with the centrist Blue Dog Democrats, when the center is so far to the right that it makes Nixon look progressive, you will find yourself without a base of support for your next election. If I wanted a Republican to represent me, I'd vote for one.

Sincerely,

Michael

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indie616

Aug. 19, 2007 at 01:45:12 PM

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Good letter, Manley.

One of the reasons that I have heard for not impeaching is that it might not succeed and the Dems are afraid of the fallout.

Clinton was impeached, but not convicted. George Bush won the election in 2000, so that excuse is useless.

Another reason? The Dem's don't have enough people in Congress to impeach/convict.

I have said for a long time that impeachment needs to go forward. The country needs to see what has transpired behind the veil of secrecy that is the White House. If, at the end of the hearing, there is nothing impeachable, then so be it. The system worked, and the citizens can be reassured that ours is a nation of laws.

However, I believe that when the doings of the Bush administration are laid bare, even Republicans will not be able to defend them any longer.

The bottom line-
There are a lot more reasons to impeach then there are not to impeach.

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www.MoronInCharge.com

Aug. 19, 2007 at 02:23:12 PM

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Yep. In the words of Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones, "If you build it, they will come."

If we began impeachment, and the investigative process that is part of it, there will be no way for Administration officials to: ignore subpoenas; insist upon testimony that is back-room, unsworn, and off-record; hide behind executive privilege; pardon each other. If you thought the revelations about the criminal conduct of the Bush Administration were unbelievable up to now, just wait until they start rolling over each other. That will be the beginning of the end, and congressional Republicans will have no choice but to jump off the sinking ship and vote for impeachment if they want any chance of reelection in 2008.

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Zanubiyah

Aug. 19, 2007 at 02:43:20 PM

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There are many more forces at work here than Mr' Cheney and you all know who they are. There are the Hagee fans, AIPAC, Israel and the other political and radical Zionist interests at work here. There are also the corporate interests, big oil and military dealers. All we have to prevent a war with them is a paper wall, the Democrats...oh...excuse me FradyCrats who crumble at the slightst hint of being called cowards or anti semites.

We simply have no more leadership we can count on to preserve our best interests as a nation. I belive that we will go to war with Iran and it will be before the end of the Bush presidency. Don't be fooled into thinking that impeachment will stop them.

I am not sure now if there is any real difference between the FradyCrats and the Fearpublicans. I think it is all an illusion to keep us from turning to insurrection. We are in an illusion that there is a choice, but look at the commonalities. Follow the money trail. Who cares if one hates homosexuals and the other likes them.

Face it...we ARE going to war with Iran. All the impeachment in the world will stop that. The only thing that will stop it, is that we get a grip on the fearmongerers, and retake our rationality. Stop living in the illusion that someone can take care of you and your cherished ones better than you.

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www.MoronInCharge.com

Aug. 19, 2007 at 04:34:59 PM

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"Face it...we ARE going to war with Iran. All the impeachment in the world will stop that. The only thing that will stop it, is that we get a grip on the fearmongerers, and retake our rationality."

What DOES that mean Zan? We will prevent a war with Iran by . . . getting a grip on the fearmongerers and retaking our rationality? Hey, I think both those things are great, but they don't prevent a war. They just make me calm and rational as I'm marched off to the concentration camp.

There are two things that will prevent a war with Iran as a last-minute Bush Administration desperate gambit to retain power: Impeachment or violent Revolution (do you think it won't be violent?). If you are not quite ready to get fully behind a revolution (which I guess is the case, as you pull your punches and stop short of advocating the violent overthrow of the tyrants), then I think you should at least support the other option.

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Zanubiyah

Aug. 19, 2007 at 06:17:56 PM

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MiC

There are some things left un said in a public forum. There are some feelings left un touched. I suppose you will have to learn this, and you will have to learn not to ask. Perhaps you will have to learn to read between lines, and look back with your experience of the person to understand what they mean. I perfer a peaceful solution to this problem, but doubt that those we have intrusted to do it have given in to politc, money, partisanship, and preserving their reputation. However, the sinister thing they are forgetting, is that if we fall to the tyrants, all of that will not matter.

I know that at this time a insurrection is not productive. We, as Americans are to divided, too partisan for an organized effort. I think that was part of the neocon design. If somehow the central government collapsed, we form loose, tense alliances to rid ourselves of the percived enemies (forigeners, Muslims...perhaps as distateful as it might seem to you, it would be merciful in my opinion to be one of the first to go) and then when that is done, they will turn on each other, fighting for every inch of "holy ground" free of the "other". It would be just as confusing and "sectarian" as Iraq is now.

Perhaps the statement you commented on is my way of girding myself for what I belive is coming. Perhaps standing in the face of what I fear with a game face is what I am doing. I have done it before, and that is my hope it can be done again. I really do not know what I feel. Angry, sad, foolish to think that I could hold back the evil intent of men by hiding behind a piece of parchment, expressions in writing of hopes and dreams of men of vision from 200 plus years ago. Perhaps I will hold fast until I pass through the gates into my exile, and loss of my freedom. Maybe I will look down from the other side of the gate, and at least know my tears are free. My evidence that I once stood there. I am fighting my own personal jihad now, deciding what kind of person I will become. I thought I fought this long ago, but the enemy of my experience has peaked his ugly head again.

I guess you might say that it is that I will be calm and rational as I am marched off to concentration camp.

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Average American

Aug. 19, 2007 at 06:33:00 PM

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Do you carry a bucket with you for the tears you shed?

"Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh."

I know Jesus and Nanci Pelosi is no Jesus Christ...

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Scott Manley

Aug. 19, 2007 at 06:40:50 PM

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Indie616, you said, "One of the reasons that I have heard for not impeaching is that it might not succeed and the Dems are afraid of the fallout." But historically, whenever an opposing party impeached the other, there was no fallout, so what are they so afraid of? The Dems are spinless cowards, and I will hold my nose when I vote for them next time, and I wish there were some other alternative.

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indie616

Aug. 19, 2007 at 06:57:31 PM

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Make no mistake, Scott. I too wish there was an alternative.

I wasn't defending the Democrats and their lack of action. I was only pointing out one of reasons that I have heard them give for not pursuing impeachment. I don't buy it for a minute. And even it was true (as we both note, it is historically not), WHO CARES!!!! Doing the right thing is more important. The rest of take care of itself.

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www.MoronInCharge.com

Aug. 19, 2007 at 08:35:00 PM

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I have defended the Democrats on multiple occasions in the past, and to the extend that I can defend some of their actions in the future, I will. For one thing, unlike Republicans, the Democrats have never voted as a single monolithic entity -- it is their greatest strength, and as we just saw with the FISA reauthorization vote, their most abhorrent weakness. I cannot condemn every Democrat for that vote, just the faulty leadership and the individual traitors. Should I not vote for Feingold as punishment for Mitchell's cave in? That's just silly.

But for the moment, let's consider all the Republicans as one entity, and all the Democrats as another. At the end of the day, there is a huge difference between the killer who pulls the trigger, and the timid bystander who didn't have the courage to tackle him. In this case, the victim is the Constitution. If I had to pick who to put in charge of protecting the Constitution, I suppose I'll choose the Democrats, until someone else comes along who will do a better job. I'm afraid we don't have any other realistic choices for 2008.

One more teeny defense of the indefensible. Those spineless Democrats who cave in so easily on Iraq funding or FISA updating are not simply worrying about their own hide when it comes time for reelection. They are also worrying about doing something that will jeopardize the tenuous Democratic majority in the House and Senate, and if Republicans retake those two bodies, then we can kiss it all goodbye. Now I vehemently disagree about their concern that standing strong against further Iraq funding or enabling the Justice Department to wiretap Americans at will would somehow be turned against them during the upcoming elections. I think they fundamentally misunderstand their base, and the calculus that any votes they might lose by acting like men with principles will more than amply be made up for by new votes in their favor. So it isn't all about cynical CYA. I'm sure many of these disappointing Congressmen are under the misapprehension that they are only trying to help the party, and as a result, the country.

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