By David Swanson, 7/11/07
Congressman Sam Farr (D., Calif.) is the latest member of Congress
to respond to intense pressure from his constituents and co-sponsor H
Res 333, articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.
The official list of co-sponsors at thomas.loc.gov includes 11 names,
plus the original sponsor Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio). That
makes 12. In addition, Congressman Bob Filner (D., Calif.) has said he
will sign on, and has said so publicly in media interviews including
this one: http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0189.html
That makes 13, or 14 with Farr. Then there is Congressman Jesse
Jackson Jr. (D., Ill.) who has not signed onto H Res 333 or introduced
his own articles of impeachment against Cheney or Bush, but who
recently released this statement:
“In her first weeks as leader of the Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi
withdrew the notion of impeachment proceedings against either President
Bush or Vice President Cheney [actually she did that 8 months earlier,
and Jackson began parroting her line right away, but who’s counting].
With the president’s decision to once again subvert the legal process
and the will of the American people by commuting the sentence of
convicted felon Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, I call on House Democrats to
reconsider impeachment proceedings. Lewis Libby was convicted of lying
under oath to cover up the outing of active, undercover CIA agent,
Valerie Plame. It is beyond unthinkable that the president would
undermine the legal process to protect a man who engaged in treason
against the United States government, threatening the security of the
American people. In November’s election, voters put Democrats in charge
of Congress because they believed our pledge of oversight and
accountability. Now it’s time for us to honor that pledge. The
Executive Branch should be held responsible for its illegalities. Our
democratic system is grounded in the principle of checks and balances.
When the Executive Branch disregards the will of the people, our
lawmakers must not be silent. Today’s actions, coupled with the
president’s unwillingness to comply with Senate and House inquiries,
leave Democrats with no other option than to consider impeachment so
that we can gather the information needed to achieve justice for all
Americans.”
If Jackson signs onto H Res 333, there will be 15 cosponsors.
Sam Farr represents Santa Cruz, California, the first city in the
country to have passed a resolution demanding impeachment. Santa Cruz
city council passed that first resolution in 2003, and passed another
in 2006. Santa Cruz is also home to COIN (Coalition for Impeachment
Now) led by local organizers Sherry Conable and Louis LaFortune.
Following Santa Cruz’s lead, a total of at least 79 towns and cities
have passed resolutions demanding the impeachment of Cheney and / or
Bush: http://impeachpac.org/resolutions-list
Of all the polling companies in the United States, only one has ever
polled, and only once, on whether Americans want Cheney impeached. 54
percent of Americans and 76 percent of Democrats said Yes. http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/polling
Counting Farr and Jackson, a total of 3 percent of Congress Members
and 6 percent of Democratic Congress Members have taken the position
shared by over three-quarters of Democrats, 51 percent of Independents,
and 17 percent of Republicans around the country.
Meanwhile, Cheney’s popularity has reached a record low, with 13
percent of the country in favor of his performance. And that figure
actually comes from May, prior to the most recent few scandals and
exposed abuses of power: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/polls-cheney-nears-quayle-as-least-popular-veep
What will it take for Congress to act? The majority of the people
want it, and the least popular Vice President in history can’t be all
that intimidating, can he? Isn’t it time we started intimidating him? http://www.impeachcheney.org
People from around the country are headed to Washington on July 23rd
to find out whether pressure from the citizens of this republic counts
for anything anymore: http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/24450