As Congress nears the end of this year’s session, Rep. Cynthia McKinney introduced articles of impeachment of President Bush. As McKinney put it on her speech on the House floor Friday, Dec. 8:
We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has refused to hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe the stakes for our country are high.
No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, at the most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and then continue to govern, without a process for holding him accountable-what does that say about our commitment to the truth? To the Constitution? To our democracy?
Click below for: McKinney’s speech on the House floor introducing articles of impeachment McKinney’s speech at World Can’t Wait teach-in Dec. 4 at George Washington University Congresswoman McKinney Speaks Up for the Majority of Americans: David Swanson refutes the media attacks on McKinney |
The lies used to justify war on Iraq:
“From mushroom clouds to African yellow cake to aluminum tubes, the American people and this Congress were not presented the facts, but rather were presented a string of untruths, to justify the invasion of Iraq.” (McKinney’s speech on the House floor)
The illegal NSA warrantless wiretaps:
“When President Bush signed an executive order authorizing unlawful spying on American citizens, he circumvented the courts, the law, and he violated the separation of powers provided by the Constitution. Once the program was revealed, he then tried to hide the scope of his offense from the American people by making contradictory, untrue statements.” (McKinney’s speech on the House floor)
In introducing articles of impeachment, McKinney is boldly stepping out of sync with official politics, while doing what the people in the US and the world over are demanding: that the arrogant war criminals and fascists currently holding the reigns of power be removed from office. McKinney is acting outside of bounds of the Democratic Party, whose House speaker elect Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly declared impeachment “off the table”.
Cynthia McKinney is a rarity in the Democratic Party: she has spoken out and acted to stop the war and the whole direction Bush is taking society. She was one of three members of the House to vote for immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Moreover, her unapologetic opposition has made her the source of outrageous attacks in the media, and lost her the Democratic primary last August (and thereby her seat in Congress) when the Democratic Party leadership refused to support her.
While the articles of impeachment are unlikely to get anywhere in Congress with the “opposition” party the way it is, McKinney’s courageous act has put before all the impeachable offenses this regime has committed, challenged those in Congress on their complicity to this regime’s crimes, and put a challenge to all of us to act to change this intolerable situation.
As Cynthia McKinney put it at a recent teach-in held by World Can’t Wait Dec. 4 at George Washington University:
When the World Can’t Wait began its initial campaign in 2005 to rid the world of the George W. Bush Administration, I immediately loaned my name to their effort.
We all know that George Bush and the Republicans stole the 2000 election, and in my mind, are of questionable legitimacy because of it.
Despite the obvious theft, explained to us by Greg Palast and shown to us in the film American Blackout, George Bush was sworn into office without so much as a whimper from the Democratic Party.
The Democrats’ refusal to fight such an obvious wrong, from 2000 to 2004, has brought us to this.
And sadly, the Democrats have been handmaidens to the Republicans ever since. If we are to believe the news reports, they even went so far as to find Republicans willing to run as Democrats, what I’ll call neo-Democrats. So, what can we expect for all the issues that led to the founding of World Can’t Wait? I say we’d better expect to stay busy sending our message out, across our country, and holding our national leadership accountable. Regardless of party!
We cannot accept elected representatives of any Party who vote to authorize and fund the War in Iraq!
We cannot accept elected representatives of any Party who tolerate prisoner abuse and torture!
We cannot accept representatives who vote to erode our civil liberties, fail to pursue the truth about September 11th, remain silent on the Administration’s so-called War on Terror that has become, for some, a license to conduct war on the streets of poor white, black, and brown America!
We cannot accept representatives who do precious little to address the searing economic, health care, and social justice disparities now exposed to the world by Hurricane Katrina!
We cannot accept.
And now that the Democrats control Congress–and we are excited about that, wish them success, and applaud the first woman Speaker of the House–but we’re being told by them to *wait* on ending the war; wait on torture; wait on civil liberties; wait to learn the truth about September 11th; wait for justice for Hurricane Katrina survivors!
All you dispossessed and marginalized Americans who have been waiting far too long for justice, the Democrats have told you to *wait*!
*Wait* on impeachment!
Well, we are here tonight because deep in our loins we know . . . The World Can’t Wait.
Rep. McKinney’s floor statement on the impeachment of George W. Bush
By Cynthia McKinney, December 8, 2006
Mr. Speaker:
I come before this body today as a proud American and as a servant of the American people, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
Throughout my tenure, I”ve always tried to speak the truth. It’s that commitment that brings me here today.
We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has refused to hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe the stakes for our country are high.
No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, at the most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and then continue to govern, without a process for holding him accountable-what does that say about our commitment to the truth? To the Constitution? To our democracy?
The trust of the American people has been broken. And a process must be undertaken to repair this trust. This process must begin with honesty and accountability.
Leading up to our invasion of Iraq, the American people supported this Administration’s actions because they believed in our President. They believed he was acting in good faith. They believed that American laws and American values would be respected. That in the weightiness of everything being considered, two values were rock solid-trust and truth.
From mushroom clouds to African yellow cake to aluminum tubes, the American people and this Congress were not presented the facts, but rather were presented a string of untruths, to justify the invasion of Iraq.
President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney and then-National Security Advisor Rice, portrayed to the Congress and to the American people that Iraq represented an imminent threat, culminating with President Bush’s claim that Iraq was six months away from developing a nuclear weapon. Having used false fear to buy consent-the President then took our country to war.
This has grave consequences for the health of our democracy, for our standing with our allies, and most of all, for the lives of our men and women in the military and their families-who have been asked to make sacrifices-including the ultimate sacrifice-to keep us safe.
Just as we expect our leaders to be truthful, we expect them to abide by the law and respect our courts and judges. Here again, the President failed the American people.
When President Bush signed an executive order authorizing unlawful spying on American citizens, he circumvented the courts, the law, and he violated the separation of powers provided by the Constitution. Once the program was revealed, he then tried to hide the scope of his offense from the American people by making contradictory, untrue statements.
President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust of the American people.
With a heavy heart and in the deepest spirit of patriotism, I exercise my duty and responsibility to speak truthfully about what is before us. To shy away from this responsibility would be easier. But I have not been one to travel the easy road. I believe in this country, and in the power of our democracy. I feel the steely conviction of one who will not let the country I love descend into shame; for the fabric of our democracy is at stake.
Some will call this a partisan vendetta, others will say this is an unimportant distraction to the plans of the incoming Congress. But this is not about political gamesmanship.
I am not willing to put any political party before my principles.
This, instead, is about beginning the long road back to regaining the high standards of truth and democracy upon which our great country was founded.
Mr. Speaker:
Under the standards set by the United States Constitution, President Bush-along with Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of State Rice-should be subject to the process of impeachment, and I have filed H. Res. _ in the House of Representatives.
To my fellow Americans, as I leave this Congress, it is in your hands-to hold your representatives accountable, and to show those with the courage to stand for what is right, that they do not stand alone.
Thank you.