I got a kick out of reading this in the WaPo today regarding Nancy Pelosi’s promise not to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Bush:
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) told her caucus members during their weekly closed meeting Wednesday “that impeachment is off the table; she is not interested in pursuing it,” spokesman Brendan Daly said.
Some House Democrats, including ranking Judiciary Committee member John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, have called for impeachment hearings into allegations that Bush misled the nation about Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction and that he violated federal law by approving warrantless wiretaps on Americans. In an interview with The Washington Post last week, Pelosi said a Democratic-controlled House would launch investigations of the administration on energy policy and other matters. She said impeachment would not be a goal of the investigations, but she added: “You never know where it leads to.”
GOP activists seized on the remarks to warn potential donors of Bush’s possible peril if Democrats pick up the 15 net House seats they need to become the majority. The National Republican Congressional Committee republished The Post’s Sunday article in a letter to supporters and donors that stated: “The threat of the Democrats taking the majority in the House this November is very real.”
Some Democratic activists criticized Pelosi, saying she made the party appear extreme while drawing attention away from more useful issues such as gasoline prices and Republican lobbying scandals.
Is this anything like the Democrat’s promise not to try and filibuster Judge Alito? You will recall that the “Gang of 14″ solemnly declared that blocking the Supreme Court nominee was also “off the table” and then, lo and behold! John Kerry initiates a filibuster that set off the lefty blogs (who had been skewering their own for not having the courage to buck the Republicans on Alito) into paroxysms of joy. The netnuts scrambled for a few hours but only managed to corral 25 votes for the filibuster. But this is after two-faced Harry Reid promised that the attempt wouldn’t even be made.
Pelosi is living in La-La Land if she doesn’t understand what is boiling and frothing on lefty websites from the very largest to the very smallest. These loons live, eat, breathe, and fornicate impeachment. As of this writing, there are almost exactly 71,000 posts in Technorati that mention impeachment. And while I’m sure there are some posts (like this one) that find the idea of impeaching a President during a time of war abhorrent, I would hazard a guess and say that the overwhelming majority of those blog posts are rabidly in favor of the idea.
This is the political class of the Democratic party. They are activists and contributors. Almost to a netnut, they vote. The Democratic establishment couldn’t ignore these people during the 2004 election (which is a big reason Kerry lost) nor could they ignore them during the Alito debacle. How do they figure on ignoring them in January when, flush from a victory that they will claim complete credit for, will start agitating to have George Bush’s head on a pike?
Does talk of impeachment really hurt Democratic chances and boost the Republicans? Personally, if I do vote this November, the only reason I can think of supporting Republican candidates is to keep the Democrats from trying to remove the President from office. So in my tiny corner of the universe, it makes sense for Republicans to trumpet this to the skies. If I were a Republican strategist, I would have someone glued to lefty blogs from now until November relaying what the netnuts are saying about impeachment on a daily basis to conservative websites. It may be the only thing that gets many of us out of the recliner and into the voting booth on election day.
12:01 pm
If ever we needed reminding that our votes do matter this November….
3:34 pm
hmmm…I wonder if you felt similarly when the republican pundits/senate/congress were foaming at the mouth in the 90s because all this strum und drang seems a bit silly coming from the right.
8:35 pm
Until the next press conference when the donks will trot out their new, new plan for America. Their plans come with a 48 hour half life, within 48 hours half the donks have abandoned the plan, the other half are down at the pub tipping a few with Pat.
12:32 am
The President’s speech monday should be interesting.
I expect a lot of spin about border security, troops, etc. to get the mass amnesty and free citizenship for illegal aliens through the Senate. After that, everybody goes home and it’s open border business again as usual.
If that is what happens, you can start getting ready to brush up on impeachment because the GOP will tank in 2006.
If we had any real investigative reporters left, it would be interesting to have them follow the money in Mexico and in the US from the drug cartels.
1:09 am
Rick, Rick, Rick. I read one of your skits assessing the President of Iran as “messianic”. Would could be more rediculously messianicer than Ashkenazi (who did not ascend from Abraham), make a claim that Abraham and god signed an agreement to a land called Israel (a name not of geography until 1948). Balfour is messianic. The President of Iran is understating the immediate result of any agression against Iran. Oil will not flow into the US or Europe.
Iran is within it’s rights and obligations under the NPT. The US needs to lookout for it’s citizens and not risk priced oil or never ending expensive black project defpense procurements. Watergate hookers are expensive - but this is a bit much, wouldn’t you say? It has to stop. Look at the bill 1.5 Trillion since 2001 - that’s just principal - interest flows every 6 months (5%..8% x 6/12) x 1.5Trillion - you do the math smart guy.
Now if you, Rick, want to play chicken, and you want to stay on the second string favored son’s side (he looked so darling in his little cheerleading outfit - soooo Todd!), the same side that has mucked everything up,if you need to do that.If you feel the need to go GI Joe. If you need a 4000$ heating bill or 20$/Gal gasoline, then could you like work it out with your other right wing smarty pants friends and like move to Israel or the UK or France or Gernmany and just leave the rest of us fools here? Please. Fool us once, it’s our fault, fool us twice - err well err you ain’t going to fool us twice - err - ehh!
What are you thinking? That the next rock will have less cut and it might make it worth the risk and expense to connect with a dealer? The next “rock” is just as shatty as the the first one. It don’t get better. Is that air you’re breathing? hmmm..
8:31 am
Can someone please translate the above comment for me? It seemed viscous and angry. But vacuous.
8:38 am
Vacuous? How about “incoherent?”
What can you expect from a cadaver?
9:36 am
See I’m not a Democrat or a Republican, I’m just a very angry American citzen! I think the entire US Government should be brought to swift justice. Same thing for the liberal corporate media whores! I think our borders should be secure if we are at war with the blowback of terrorist tactics, although I think its a bit overhyped! The best way to stop terror is to stop f**king around with other countries like supporting the Shah of Iran, The Saddam of Iraq, the Al Queda and Taliban. Israel needs to grow up! Americans like to think they are brave and noble, but looking at both sides of the aisle all I see are fat bloated cowardly ugly Americans! USA! USA!