SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@earthlink.net
POSTED: 6 NOVEMBER 2007 - 11:00am HST
Kucinich motion to impeach Cheney
In an effort to avoid embarassement, the Democratic House leadership tried to table (kill) the motion. Most Democrats went along with this strategy, but Republicans, sensing an opportunity, decided to vote against tabling the motion so that the Democrats would have to go on record on the issue. As a result, at this moment, it is likely that the Kucinich motion will pass and Kucinich will be given one hour to make his case for an impeachment vote. At this time no one really knows where the outcome of events in the House will lead us. All we can say is GO DENNIS!
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SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@earthlink.net
POSTED: 6 NOVEMBER 2007 - 4:30pm HST
Impeachment Resolution Sent to Committee
by Paul Cane on 6 November 2007 in The Washington Post
The House voted today to send a resolution considering the impeachment of Vice President Cheney to the Judiciary Committee, a move that embarrassed Democratic leaders who were forced into the parliamentary tactic to avoid a floor debate on impeachment.
Led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the long-shot anti-war candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, scores of Democrats were joined by scores of Republicans in initially supporting a Kucinich resolution that would have prompted a full debate on impeaching Cheney.
Democratic leaders long ago rejected any consideration of impeaching Cheney and President Bush as an irresponsible move supported only by the far left, so they tried today to table Kucinich's impeachment resolution. After initially having more than enough votes to kill the resolution - the "yea" tally to table impeachment topped out at 291 - Republicans decided they had a chance to politically shame Democrats into a full debate on the sensitive issue. Republicans gleefully said they wanted the debate to show the public how many Democrats would actually support impeaching Cheney, which they consider a move supported only by a fringe element of anti-war activists.
More than 120 members, predominantly Republicans, then switched their votes in favor of holding a one-hour debate on the issue, with a final vote of 251-162 supporting a debate on impeachment. Rather than allow a debate fraught with political risk, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) moved to send the Kucinich resolution to the Judiciary Committee, whose chairman, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), has publicly speculated about impeaching the president or vice president but has declined taking any action since taking the gavel in January.
Defusing any chance of an actual impeachment debate today, the House then voted 218-194 to send the motion to Conyers's committee, with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting the move.
Today's resolution from Kucinich (D-Ohio) was essentially the same as the legislation he introduced earlier this year, which included three articles of impeachment against Cheney based largely on allegations that he manipulated intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war. The last article accuses Cheney of threatening "aggression" against Iran "absent any real threat."
"In all of this, Vice President Richard B. Cheney has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Vice President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and the manifest injury of the people of the United States," Kucinich said on the floor today, reading his resolution. "Wherefore Richard B. Cheney, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office."
Kucinich, who had 22 co-sponsors for his articles of impeachment measure, predominantly members of the left leaning Out of Iraq Caucus, has been angry that Democratic leaders would not allow impeachment to be considered. He took to the floor today to offer his impeachment articles as a privileged resolution, which under the chamber rules can be offered by any member and must be considered within two days of its offering.
