The following article appeared in the LA Times 7/5/07:
A place to push impeachment
By Howard Blume, Times Staff Writer
July 5, 2007
If President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney were ever to be
impeached, their foes could cite this Independence Day as a milestone –
the day that the nation’s first “impeachment headquarters” opened its
doors in a storefront near the Beverly Center.
“This is an impeachment 4th of July,” Byron De Lear, a Green Party
activist, said Wednesday. He called removing Bush and Cheney “a
patriotic duty to restore the integrity of the United States.”
Those assembled cited various Bush actions or policies, including “lies that led the U.S. into war.”
They also said that Bush–Cheney policies precipitated torture, illegal
spying on American citizens, and the curtailment of privacy and civil
rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
The latest irritant was the president’s decision to commute the prison
sentence of former Cheney aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, whom a jury
convicted of obstructing justice.
“Isn’t it ironic that Paris Hilton will spend more days in jail than Libby?” said De Lear.
The day’s star power was provided by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los
Angeles), who had vigorously defended then-President Bill Clinton when
he faced impeachment in 1998.
“This is one of the most important efforts this country has ever seen,”
said Waters, speaking to about 300 gathered for a noon rally at nearby
La Cienega Park.
In an interview, she added: “We can make changes through organizing. If the numbers are in the streets, Congress will listen.”
Any impeachment motion – ultimately voted on by the House of
Representatives – would have to pass through the House Judiciary
Committee, to which Waters belongs.
Organizers could not definitively name another “pro-impeach” representative on that committee.
In the House at large, they tally 14 like-minded lawmakers, most of
whom have signed on to articles of impeachment against Cheney that were
introduced by Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), who is running for president.
When asked who might lead the cause in the Senate, Waters paused, then said she would have to defer that question for now.
In the end, removing Bush or Cheney from office would require a two-thirds vote by the Senate.
In the mid-term elections, many more Democrats – and some Republicans –
spoke out against the war, including some who had originally voted to
permit the Bush administration to invade Iraq.
But concluding the war and impeaching Bush don’t look like
compatible policies to most members of Congress, said progressive
Democratic columnist Harold Meyerson, executive editor of the American
Prospect, in a telephone interview.
“Impeachment is a distraction since it’s not going to happen,” said Meyerson.
“At the root of this is the notion that Bush lied us into war and
that’s been out there 4 1/2 years. Impeachment would stop everything
else in Congress and the Democrats think they actually need to
accomplish stuff instead of fighting unwinnable battles, especially
with poll numbers falling for Congress. The main thing is to defeat
Republicans electorally.”
Republican analyst Arnold Steinberg said an impeachment drive would
help his side: “This gambit will excite the leftist base but
marginalize reasonable Democrats and alienate independent voters – and
motivate Republicans. I can only say, ‘Grow up and get a life.’ Or,
better yet, ‘Go for it.’ You’ll end up sinking Democratic Party
prospects for 2008.”
Critics seeking to define the headquarters opening as a conclave of the
political fringe could point out the largely middle-aged, deeply
left-wing audience or the accordion player in floppy shoes who opened
the rally with a version of “America” that substituted “siblinghood”
for “brotherhood.”
But the audience also included fresh recruits Trevor Torquato, 19, and Lauren Kuzma, 17, of Murrieta.
“I’m actually new to politics,” said Torquato. “I’m here to be educated. I’m going to register with the Green Party today.”
“I’m just hoping all of this will get Bush out of office,” said Lauren,
“so we can get our troops out of Iraq. They don’t really talk about
that in school. They talk about past history, not what’s going on now.”
The impeachment center was sponsored by Progressive Democrats of Los
Angeles, Westside Greens, Santa Monica Democratic Club and the Los
Angeles Greens.
Activists plan to meet every Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m. at the 3rd
Street storefront, where they’ll stuff envelopes, do phone banking,
spread the word about http://www.bcimpeach.com
and make plans to circulate petitions and lobby elected officials. They
report that 79 municipalities and townships nationwide have passed
impeachment resolutions.
Former Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, who spoke at the event, insisted
that principles ought to trump narrow political imperatives.
“Leadership requires that people step out,” she said. “It is not
hopeless. Stand up. Do something for your rights.”