Good news -- the impeachment process is already underway! Dennis Kucinich did an end run around Nancy Pelosi, introducing a bill to impeach Cheney in April (House Resolution 333). It is acquiring cosponsors and has now been referred to the subcommitte on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. Here is a link to the subcommitte's web page:
http://judiciary.house.gov/...
We now have something tangible to focus on -- making sure that H Res. 333 is sent back to the full Judiciary Committee with a positive recommendation. The subcommittee is comprised of 8 Democrats and 5 of those other things, so we have a majority. However, if we lose two Democratic votes for the measure it could fail. Two votes!
I spent several hours over the 4th of July holiday following links from the subcommitte site to the individual sites of the eight Democrats. The composition of the group is fascinating -- I recommend this exercise to anyone who wants to see impeachment happen. I found it especially useful to look a the bills that they cosponsored, to see how they align in ad hoc groups with reps not on the subcommittee. Each of us in is a district that has worked closely with many of these members on select issues, and that could be a path of leverage.
The group is 60+% Southern, 60+% black, probably due to its additional role in reviewing civil rights matters. John Conyers serves as an ordinary member of the committee, but would have tremendous influence over everyone else, especially the black members.
One of those is Keith Ellison, freshman congressman and cosponsor of the impeachment bill. Keith is quite famous as the first Islamic member of the House, sworn in with his hand on the copy of the Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson. He seems to be very savvy, likable, and may have a real impact on the deliberations.
The Chairman is Jerrold Nadler from Manhattan, whos district includes the WTC site. He is considered to be a solid Progressive and probably would not be afraid to stand up to Nancy.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is the only woman on the committee, originally from New York but now representing a district in Southern Florida. She is Deputy Whip of the Democratic delegation and in many ways could be an understudy to Nancy, with whom she probably works closely. Frankly, I worry about her vote.
Other subcommittee Democrats are Artur Davis, ,Bobby Scott (Chairman of the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee), Mel Watt, and Steve Cohen. Each of these members is a highly visible public figure with a constituency to represent, so their decisionmaking takes place within a local context that cannot be ignored.
It is quite possible that the impeachment motion could fail in the subcommiittee due to Democratic absences, or nay votes referenced to negative feedback from home districts. If we lose the bill in Subcommittee then we have set a precedent that even a strongly Democratic group, polled at an early stage of a process that will be decided ultimately by others, cannot come to the point of voting against Cheney.
We need to support the Democrats on this subcommittee and help them make the right decision. Two lost votes and our best chance at impeachment could be over!
Sorry, I'm not a policy wonk. This is all quite new. You all out there know a lot. How can we focus our collective energies on getting a positive result on H. Res 333 from the subcommitte proceedings? I'll donate time and money. Just tell me how to proceed!
Thank you!