DINO incumbent Leonard Boswell sees the writing on the wall. After seeing what happened to Al Wynn over in Maryland, he has reached the conclusion that it pays to be an actual Democrat instead of a pretend one. So he has belatedly signed on to Dennis Kucinich’s articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney.
David Swanson writes at OpEdNews.com:
Boswell is being challenged by Ed Fallon, who – like Edwards – seems to inspire more courage in the incumbent than he himself actually exhibits. Fallon’s website says nothing about impeachment. Edwards said she was for it when asked, but never brought it up, and kept it off her website.
Swanson goes on to write:
The Iowa Independent quotes Fallon as responding to Boswell’s cosponsorship of H Res 333:
‘It’s a little late to start impeachment proceedings,’ said Fallon. ‘The time to impeach Cheney and/or Bush would have been when we first discovered the administration had misled us into the Iraq war. This current attempt by Kucinich was introduced in April of last year. If Rep. Boswell were serious about impeachment, why did it take him 10 months to sign on to the measure? It’s clear to me that Boswell is trying to act more like a Democrat now that he has an opponent.’
There are dozens of candidates for Congress this year who do make impeachment a prominent part of their campaigns, even though they won’t reach office until 2009 if they are elected. Perhaps supporting some of them would be the most effective way to win over some more incumbents, either to cosponsorship of H Res 333 or to signing onto Congressman Robert Wexler’s letter to Chairman John Conyers calling for impeachment hearings to begin.
54% of Americans want Cheney impeached, as do 64% of Vermonters.
Never mind the cowardice of wimps such as Anthony Wade, who only help stifle efforts to hold the shrub and his gargoyle accountable for their crimes — thus guaranteeing Democratic losses in November. Make no mistake, the majority of Americans want Bush and Cheney impeached. And history shows that impeachment is good for the political party that brings it against sitting executives. The threat of it drove Richard Nixon from office, and Gerald Ford’s pardon of the criminal-in-chief resulted in a backlash that cost him the 1976 election. Similarly, despite public opposition, Republicans kept control of Congress and successfully stole the White House following their impeachment of then-president Bill Clinton.
By contrast, voters tend to punish political parties that block impeachment when it is warranted. After failing to impeach Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush for high crimes and treason for the Iran-Contra scandal, Democrats lost ground in 1988 and the elder Bush went on to become president. No one likes a political party that won’t stand up for the Constitution and the rule of law. Which is why the GOP lost working control of Congress in 2006, and why November shall see the legislature change hands again unless Democrats get their acts together and begin impeachment proceedings NOW.
As I pointed out in my previous entry, Kucinich acknowledges that there is a “throw the bums out” mentality. Leonard Boswell knows this. If you think otherwise, ask yourself why he’s making this desperate and obviously belated attempt to score points with his newfound support for impeachment. He knows what’s coming, and he wants to salvage his political career while he still can.
Ed Fallon has done a good job so far of bringing home to roost all of Boswell’s chickenshit. Let’s help him win Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.