“We won’t rest until they’re frog-marched out” or otherwise resign in disgrace. Goodbye Rumsfeld. This website is still dedicated to exposing crimes and punishing hypocrisy. I’ll be pushing for accountability and vigorous oversight. At the same time, I do not want, or expect, the new House to push for impeachment. What I want them to do is conduct public hearings of White House officials, under oath, and investigate pre-war intelligence, the energy plan, war profiteering, NSA wiretapping, officially sanctioned torture, and violations of our treaty obligations. I expect those hearings to expose criminal wrongdoing in a very organic way.
We should pursue Cheney first and foremost. If facts emerge that are so damning that even Republicans have to concede that Cheney must be leave office, then we should have them quietly go up to Naval Observatory and ask him to resign (for health reasons if necessary to save face). If he refuses, we impeach. But we only impeach if we are virtually assured of winning in the Senate. And we will only be assured of that if the facts that emerge from honest and open hearings warrant it.
The goal should not be to impeach. The goal is to get the facts and hold people accountable.
I also expect Sherrod Brown to make fixing his vote over Miltary Commissions his first act in the Senate. Sherrod Brown must atone for his cowardly vote that was wholly unnecessary. He’s a good man. I hope he does the right thing.
Even as we conduct oversight, though, the American people want solutions and relief. The Democrats seem to have a good slate of legislation lined up for the new year. I will be supportive of their agenda, and I hope they can get some cooperation from across the aisle.
