Senator and Presidential candidate Chris Dodd thinks it’s a waste of time for Congress to impeach Dick Cheney for all his criminal activities. Here’s what he told a Rochester, NH audience yesterday about the subject of impeachment:

“There are too many other issues out there the American public were hoping Democrats would decide to address and focus on. That’s the choice you make. Others may make a different focus. My choice would be to focus on other agenda items,” he said.

The crowd did not erupt into applause as it did after many of the other things the longtime Democratic U.S. senator from Connecticut had to say.

Dear Senator Dodd, let me explain something to you. The people want Cheney impeached. The more we learn about his involvement in fixing the Iraq intelligence, in promoting torture and illegal wiretapping, in outing a covert CIA agent thus jeopardizing a CIA program to limit the proliferation of nuclear weapons to countries like Iran, the more we want his head on a plate. He’s a very dangerous threat to our freedoms, our democracy and the peace of the world. He’s responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Iraq, and if he gets his way, Bush will attack Iran with “tactical” nuclear weapons. Does that sound like the kind of man we should allow to remain as our Vice President, and unofficial Rasputin of the Bush administration?

And what exactly is Congress going to accomplish with Bush vetoing every Democratic initiative, anyway? There is nothing — repeat, nothing — more important than exposing the lies, deceits and unconstitutional crimes against the American people that Cheney and Bush have committed, and calling these two miscreants to account for their crimes. Impeachment isn’t something we can ignore at this point, or a lesser priority than other matters. It’s a necessity.

We are living during an ongoing constitutional crisis that only the impeachment of Bush and Cheney can resolve. Because Cheney would succeed Bush, obviously he must be impeached first. The failure to do so now, in the face of such clear crimes and misdeeds by both men, sets a bad precedent for future Presidents to exploit, significantly weakens the authority of the Congress, and denies the American people the justice they deserve for all the lies told, rights violated and deaths caused by the policies of our President and Vice President.

There is nothing more important you as a Senator could do than impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, unless it would be the simultaneous impeachment of his sockpuppet, President Bush. That you and other Democratic Leaders fail, or deliberately refuse, to see this truth, speaks volumes about both your priorities and your individual characters. Craven is not a word I use lightly, but it describes the inaction and passivity of Congress regarding this constitutional crisis, and especially of Democratic Leaders such as yourself, perfectly.

Prove me wrong, Senator. Listen to the people. They know better than you do what our country needs right now to right the ship of state.