So much for crashing the gate! Give a blogger a little credibility and attention and he quickly becomes part of the problem, just like the rest of the worthless Democratic establishment that believes the party should never, ever, put principle above politics.
No impeachment says Kos? How disappointing. Sure, you say, Bush violated umpteen laws and at least three of the first ten amendments, but let’s not make a big deal out of it. The Democrats shouldn’t take any controversial stands. The meek shall inherit the Earth, remember.
Bullshit!
Kos’s position is not only unprincipled (which he can’t deny) it’s bad politics. Let’s be honest. The legislative accomplishments of the 111th Congress are likely to be pretty limited given the presence of the Bush veto. Better trade policy? Veto. Real health care reform? More veto bait. Ethics reform can be done by Congress alone, but don’t hold your breath for anything significant there either. It will be windowdressing at best. And what little this Congress will achieve will likely happen in the first few months, long before any impeachment effort will get rolling. To say impeachment will somehow get in the way is just garbage.
I don’t buy the idea that impeachment is bad politics for the Dems. Kos must be spending too much time listening to the “political insiders” these days. You know, the ones who view any move by the Democrats that doesn’t include holding their ankles as fraught with political peril. Those people make me ill.
Was impeachment bad politics for the Democrats in 1974? Of course not. They cleaned up in the congressional elections that year and elected Jimmy Carter in 1976. And even the blatantly political and highly unpopular impeachment of Clinton didn't hurt the Republicans. They followed up two years later by electing W.
Here’s what impeachment does. It puts the Bush lies, war crimes and abuses of power front and center in the political discussion of this country for months. Frankly, I couldn’t care less whether the House or Senate ultimately votes to remove him from office. Impeachment tells America and the world that an American president can’t get away with what Bush has done, without at a minimum having the Congress stand up and hold him to account. An impeachment proceeding that reveals once and for all the degree of this man’s wrongdoing is absolutely essential. That is the only way that it becomes an official, incontrovertible part of this nation’s history, and a lesson for everyone to consider in the years to come. It’s not a question of removing him from office. It’s a question of laying out the record for the world to see. Let the Republicans stand up and defend the people behind Abu Ghraib, the Iraq bloodshed, illegal wiretapping, and the suspension of habeas corpus. Let America see what these people are really all about.
If Kos thinks that’s bad politics, he must be out of his mind.
When this Democratic Congress takes its oath of office, it will pledge to uphold the Constitution. If they fail in that mission, by shying away from its legitimate duties, it would a damning indictment indeed. For this disenchanted Democrat, it just might be the last straw.