Dennis Kucinich is just old enough to have been one of Ken Kesey’s “Merry Pranksters” – those wild and crazy post-beat generation prophets of the psychedelic age whose cross country trip on a bus named “Further” has captured the imaginations of rebels and reprobates for 40 years.
Immortalized in one of the most manic, most hilarious books of the 1960’s, The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe, the Pranksters made it their business to try and alter the consciousness of America by getting everyone to drop acid and turn on to the psychedelic experience. The Pranksters themselves were quite the crew. “Pranking” unsuspecting citizens from coast to coast with elaborate hoaxes, the Prankster’s in your face method of revolutionary activity made them all seem larger than life.
Kucinich may not be quite ready to contaminate the Congressional water supply by dumping LSD into the cisterns. But he’s got a great head start on trying to alter reality:
Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich expressed satisfaction Tuesday with a series of procedural twists on the House floor that resulted in the Ohio congressman’s impeachment articles against Vice President Dick Cheney being sent for committee review.A series of strategic maneuvers on both sides of the partisan aisle ended with a 218-194 vote along party lines to deliver the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee, the panel of jurisdiction for such matters.
“This vote sends a message that the administration’s conduct in office is no longer unchallenged,” Kucinich said after the vote.
The vote also sends the message that Dennis Kucinich is a certified loon. And his Democratic colleagues, scrambling like hell to avoid being lumped together with the Shirley McClaine of the House, tried desperately to avoid the impeachment issue alltogether by trying to kill the resolution outright. Alas, the Republicans decided not to be Pranked by their opponents and pulled a fast one:
Republicans, changing course midway through a vote, tried to force Democrats into a debate on the resolution sponsored by longshot presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.The anti-war Ohio Democrat, in his resolution, accused Cheney of purposely leading the country into war against Iraq and manipulating intelligence about Iraq’s ties with al-Qaida.
The GOP tactics reversed what had been expected to be an overwhelming vote to table, or kill, the resolution.
Midway through the vote, with instructions from the GOP leadership, Republicans one by one changed their votes from yes to kill the resolution to no, trying to force the chamber into a debate and an up-or-down vote on the proposal.
At one point there were 290 votes to table. After the turnaround, the final vote was 251-162 against tabling, with 165 Republicans voting against it.
“We’re going to help them out, to explain themselves,†said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. “We’re going to give them their day in court.â€
The exquisite irony of watching Democrats fall all over themselves trying to kill impeachment after spending most of the last 7 years accusing Bush/Cheney of the most dire impeachable offenses was almost too delicious to watch. It showed the Democrats to be shallow political hacks, eager and capable of using rhetoric to undermine the presidency during a time of war but without the balls to match their actions to their words.
A truly pitiful performance.
Once again, I issue a challenge to those Democrats. If Bush/Cheney are truly guilty of all that you have charged them with over the last 7 years, stop talking and start acting. You own Congress now. There’s no real excuse you can use to delay any further. You have it in your power – not to mention an eager beaver Judiciary Committee Chairman in John Conyers – to begin serious, substantive hearings on everything you have accused this administration of doing for the last 7 years which would, if your rhetoric can be believed, lead to Articles of Impeachment being sent to the House floor.
If you are not willing to do so, STFU. Your apocalyptic rhetoric about the perceived sins of this Administration doesn’t match reality. It never has and never will. It proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that all the speechifying and wailing and gnashing of teeth has been nothing more than pandering to your rabid dog base of internet extremists. And the way they are turning on you today should tell you all you need to know about the viability of that strategy.
Kucinich is serious about impeachment because he is deranged. The rest of you may be more grounded in the reality found on this planet but nevertheless should be taken to task for your shameless, shallow political gamesmanship that has done almost as much damage to the United States as the Administration’s incompetence.
The fact that you won’t recognize that by either putting your votes where your mouths have been or toning down the rhetoric to a more civilized level of discourse reveals yourselves to be a collective of scumbags, unworthy of holding high office with responsibility for the safety and security of the American people.
By all rights, 2008 should be a hugely Democratic year. I daresay your actions yesterday along with other indications of your unfitness to be in the majority may yet save the GOP from disaster.
And if that happens, you’ll have no one to blame but yourselves.
11:20 am
Holy crap that was good!
Since this post is linked on Malkin; I only ask that, for the joy such collective laughter will bring, you not delete the mouth foaming, spitttle flecked, thorazine withdrawl, lunatic-left comments your post is sure to generate.
I’m gonna go make popcorn and wait.
12:37 pm
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 11/07/2007 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
12:51 pm
Fantastic,Rick!
2:45 pm
“Kucinich is serious about impeachment because he is deranged. ”
I used to think that until I actually read all of what he put forth in the house. I noticed in your rant that you didn’t address any of that. Perhaps it was unworthy of your attention. I kinda like this guy now.
2:59 pm
“a collective of scumbags” – a great description for the damn Democrats; why are Republicans so polite? why aren’t they willing to point out the bullshit that the Democrat party turns out 24/7? We need a Mack the Knife, not Barney Fife, which is why I’m supporting Rudy…Okay?
6:34 pm
Great writing as usual. Kucinich, actually more loopy than Ron Paul. (Mix up the letters and you can spell Porula, Dr. Pornula)
6:44 pm
bhmason, I’m starting to think that Kucinich and Paul actually have the biggest balls in the entire government right now.
I guess it’s easy to have huge stones when you’re right so often.
I would have loved to see a full house debate about Cheney. I would have loved to see anyone at all come to his defense. Anyone who defends Cheney is almost guaranteed to become unelectable.
8:30 pm
Dennis for president. Ron Paul for Secretary of Peace. Cynthia McKinney for Secretary of State.Michael Moore for Health Secretary. How can we go wrong?
9:19 pm
Key Thompson backer has drug record…
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has been crisscrossing the country since early this …
2:05 pm
Does anyone realize what value Kuchinch, Teddy, Obermann, Rosie, Matthews, and the like are to conservatives and even Republicans? More than valuable, they are priceless.
2:49 pm
#7
If Kucinich and Paul were really serious about impeachment, they’d be holding press conference upon press conference excoriating Pelosi for taking the option off the table. What you mistakenly characterize as “big balls” are what we in the real world refer to as “millstones around their necks.”
6:40 pm
Given Kucinich’s tendencies, “The Washington Post”’s Tony Kornheiser must be jumping for joy that Kucinich is doing this even though Kucinich is trying to get Kornheiser off of ESPN with the Fairness Doctrine.
11:28 am
Chip,
Nah. I’m pretty sure it’s big balls. Taking on the establishment isn’t exactly easy. I’m a big fan of accountability, which is why I’m a fan of the Kucinich effort. That’s not to say I’m a big fan of Kucinich himself. I read all of what he put forth, did you? I seriously long for the day that someone is forced to come out on the floor of the house and actually defend Dick Cheney.
5:27 pm
[...] While catching up with stuff, I read with interest the story on Rick Moran’s Right Wing Nut House about whacky Dennis Kucinich’s pandering to the Far Left Pro-defeat crowd by sponsoring impeachment articles against Dick Cheney; Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich expressed satisfaction Tuesday with a series of procedural twists on the House floor that resulted in the Ohio congressman’s impeachment articles against Vice President Dick Cheney being sent for committee review.A series of strategic maneuvers on both sides of the partisan aisle ended with a 218-194 vote along party lines to deliver the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee, the panel of jurisdiction for such matters. [...]
11:54 pm
Polls show that 54% of Americans support the impeachment of Cheney while Cheney has a 9% approval rating….and you all think Kucinich is the nutty one? LOL, you all are so lost its sad.