Rep. Wexler Wants Cheney Impeachment Hearings
copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
May I offer my sincerest gratitude to Representatives, Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, and Tammy Baldwin. These glorious members of the House Judiciary Committee, recently raised the volume on the issue of impeachment for Vice President Cheney. The three invite us, the average citizen, to join them. Please express your distress; sign the petition. Call for Hearings. Without you the Vice President will continue to avoid an official and necessary censure.
Please sign the petition. Join Congressman Wexler’s Call For Cheney impeachment Hearings.
Please do not stop there. Americans have seen what occurs when we are complacent. For too long Congressman Dennis Kucinich spoke of what many thought obvious, and only a few listened.
Throughout his term, Vice President, Richard B. Cheney acted on questionable information. He made decisions that many considered problematic. Cheney “may” have committed numerous “high crimes and misdemeanors.” However, no matter how many millions of Americans joined in the call to censure, the cry was hushed. The mainstream media barely and rarely spoke of the measure. Only a scant number of Representatives endorsed House Resolution 333, submitted by the Representative from Ohio.
As House leaders sat silent, Vice President Cheney continued to violate the doctrine known as the United States Constitution. He did so without charge or challenge.
For years, Richard B. Cheney declared the Executive Branch has “supreme” power. Many scoffed; however, Congress initiated no formal action. The Vice President did not stop doing as he pleased. Complaints from the House and the Senate mounted; yet, Cheney remained safe from censure.
It seemed the Vice President’s skin, and his contempt for law, were impenetrable. Richard B. Cheney refused and rebuffs accountability.
The Vice President prefers aggression and plans attacks against other Nation States. Until now Congress, and the American people stood by. Finally, the tide may have turned.
Each day, Americans and Legislators discover much occurred within the White House walls over the last seven years. We are increasingly certain the Vice President acted with dubious authority. The more we learn, the more we realize a need to impeach Richard B. Cheney. Representatives and House Judiciary Committee Members Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, Tammy Baldwin, and the cyberspace community have stated their extreme concern. However, just as Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich realized during his campaign to hold Cheney accountable, the media would rather not address this state of affairs.
If we the people are to be served, if we are to honor the rights afforded us by the United States Constitution, we must do more than wait for Congress to act. Our signature on a petition will not be enough to convince a reluctant House Speaker that it is time to embrace this cause. I invite you to submit a Letter to the Editor of any and every newspaper. For Representative Wexler alone, although he tried, cannot create the news storm necessary for impeachment.
I offer my own submission for your review. Please request coverage. Ask Journalist nationwide to report on more than this Administration wants us to hear. I thank you for all that you are and all that you do.
If you wish to use my letter, without the links and signature, I offer a Portable Document Format [pdf] version.
Letter to the Editor, Call to Cover Cheney Impeachment Hearings.
Dearest Editorial Staff . . .
I am aware of a troublesome campaign to ignore the call to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. I write to express my distress and to request coverage.
On Florida Progressive Radio, Representative Robert Wexler spoke of what he and his colleagues experienced when they submitted an Op-Ed essay on the topic. The major print media outlets did not publish this important treatise on impeachment. The message was not muffled; it was ostensibly silenced.
The mainstream media acted as though an investigation into the practices within the Oval Office, or the Office of the Vice President, were permanently “off the table.” No matter the outcry from the masses, the media continues to dismiss the call.
Auspiciously, after the news organizations cast the cry for censure aside, Representative Wexler turned to the public. The cyberspace community connected to the memorandum the Congressman and his colleagues wrote. Those that surf the Web not only endorsed the crucial communication, Internet users garnered greater support for the proposition. An ambitious online effort heralded the need for immediate impeachment hearings. Within a short time, more than a hundred thousand signers stated they were in favor of a move to censure Vice President Dick Cheney.
Constitutional scholars have warned us. The precedent we set when we overlook what an arrogant Administration does will forever damage our nation. If Americans do not uphold democratic principles, we weaken our Constitution.
For too long, Presidential aspirant Dennis Kucinich has been a lone Congressional voice. On more than one occasion, Kucinich spoke of the need to censure Vice President Cheney. In November 2007, Representative Kucinich presented a Privileged Motion on the floor of the House. Even that bold overture received little press.
Nonetheless, some of his fellow Representatives considered the possibility. With the introduction of new evidence, three prominent Representatives felt as though they too had reason to move forward with an investigation and hearings.
Representatives Robert Wexler (D-FL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), all Members of the House Judiciary Committee, considered the novel revelation offered by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. The Vice President and his staff purposefully gave then Press Secretary McClellan false information about the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson, a covert Central Intelligence agent. Dick Cheney and his team intentionally chose to release erroneous reports to the American people. This realization prompted the newly stated and amplified concern for impeachment.
Only after much protest from readers did the Miami Herald print an edited version of the original letter from the Representatives. However, it seems that Florida publication and all other periodicals are happy to leave the issue behind. We, the people are not willing to remain silent.
The need to impeach is imperative. I implore you. I invite your newspaper to truly inform Americans. Rather than encourage apathy, please tell the people, print, more than the White House wants us to know.
Sincerely . . .
Betsy L. Angert
Florida
Dear friends, family, and familiars; I thank you all for your interest and participation in the process. On behalf of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Representatives, Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, Tammy Baldwin, our country, and the Constitution may I extend my deepest appreciation for your thoughts, words, and deeds. We can only hope that United, America will peacefully stand strong again. We cannot know unless and until we begin to censure those that fight against us. We are one, or were, the United States of America, a democratic nation, of, by, and for the people. Together we can take our country back.
References and Resources in Support of Impeachment Hearings . . .
- Wexler Calls For Cheney Impeachment Hearings, By Congressman Robert Wexler.
- Synopsis of Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Cheney.
- Cheney’s Law. Frontline. Public Broadcasting Service. October 16, 2007
- A Man With Secrets. By Charlie Savage, Barton Gellman, Bruce Fein, Bradford Berenson, Jack Goldsmith, Michael Isikoff. Frontline. Public Broadcasting Service. October 16, 2007
- Interviews. Bradford Berenson, David Gergen, Jack Goldsmith, Charlie Savage. Frontline. Public Broadcasting Service. October 16, 2007
- Cheney’s View of the World. Barton Gellman, David Gergen, Evan Thomas, Ron Suskind, Charlie Savage, Bruce Fein. Frontline. Public Broadcasting Service. October 16, 2007
- Impeach Cheney Now! Submitted by davidswanson. AfterDowningStreet.org.
- The Impeachment of Dick Cheney. Florida Progressive Radio. Blog Radio.December 20, 2007
- 30,000 People Join Congressman Wexler's Call for Hearings in Just 24 Hours. Robert Wexler. Democratic Congressman. December 15, 2007
- Wexler Launches Online Push for Cheney Impeachment Hearings. Robert Wexler. Democratic Congressman.
- 100,000 Answer Wexler Call for Hearings. Robert Wexler. Democratic Congressman. December 19, 2007
- Kucinich Will Introduce Privileged Resolution To Force Vote On Impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney TODAY. Congressman Dennis Kucinich. November 6, 2007
- Kucinich Statement on Privileged Resolution. Congressman Dennis Kucinich. November 6, 2007
- Impeach Cheney, The Vice President Has Run Utterly Amok and Must Be Stopped. By Bruce Fein. Slate Magazine. Wednesday, June 27, 2007, at 5:06 PM ET
- pdf Impeach Cheney, The Vice President Has Run Utterly Amok and Must Be Stopped. By Bruce Fein. Slate Magazine. Wednesday, June 27, 2007, at 5:06 PM ET
- Let Cheney impeachment hearings proceed, By Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, and Tammy Baldwin, Members of the House Judiciary Committee. Washington District of Columbia. Miami Herald. December 19, 2007