I think it was back on December 9th that I said the evidence was in and there was no longer any way to avoid impeaching both the President and Vice-President. I can’t write about this everyday, but it needs to be repeated. We have to remove this administration from power. We do not want it to be done by violence, we certainly do not want the military to do it. And if we want to avoid those things, we have the means to do so through a legal, constitutional vehicle called impeachment.
What, after all, can you do when you have lost a war and the commander-in-chief refuses to concede defeat and insists on fighting on? On July 20th, 1944 mutinous German officers exploded a bomb in an unfortunately unsuccessful attempt to kill Hitler. We do not want to witness something of that type here in the United States. Unlike Nazi Germany, here in the United States we have, through our elected officials, the means to remove a delusional and dangerous administration from power in a peaceful manner. The military knows this. And the military must rely on Congress to do their duty.
Our top Middle East commander has just announced his retirement. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are openly disagreeing and defying the President. Republican wise men from Jim Baker to Colin Powell are openly opposed to the President’s strategy. What would you have the military do?
It is time for people to stop thinking about impeachment in the context of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. That was a sham. We need to start thinking about the needs of our military men and women. They cannot openly defy their commander-in-chief for long. They require Congress to draw the correct conclusions.
It could not be any clearer that we have lost the war in Iraq and that we need to enter a new phase in the Middle East. That phase will involve an effort at re-stabilization, but it cannot occur with American troops as the instrument. And this Bush-Cheney administration is not up to the job. They are too tainted by and too invested in the decision to invade Iraq. They cannot remain in power. It’s that simple.
If virtually everyone can see this, then it is irrelevant what the polls say. It will not be a problem getting 18 Republican Senators to agree to a change if only people like Baker and Powell will acknowledge the problem and send the signal to Congress.
Yes, it will be messy. Yes there are all kinds of questions to be answered, like what are the specific charges, and who will become President, and how we can do that constititionally. This is not about seizing power for Democrats or making Nancy Pelosi the President. That is not the solution. The solution is to hammer out an agreement that will make some caretaker the President. Maybe John Danforth, maybe Bob Dole, maybe even Jim Baker. We need someone that will agree not to run for re-election. And we need someone that both parties trust and that the international community respects. That is what we need. Are you listening Republicans? Are you listening Congress?
