By David Swanson
The official list of cosponsors of H Res 333 to impeach Dick Cheney cannot be updated until July 10 when Congress gets back to Washington. But Congress Members can contact Dennis Kucinich’s office in the meantime and sign on. And citizens can encourage them to do so. In fact, this is the week in which you should visit your Congress Member’s district office and demand that he or she sign onto Kucinich’s articles of impeachment or introduce their own. And they should not just sign on, but make a public statement in support. Here’s everything you need to know: http://impeachcheney.org
The official count of cosponsors, including Kucinich, is at 10. But Rep. Jim McDermott spoke on the floor of the House last week and committed to signing on. That makes 11. Congressmen Bob Filner and Jim Moran now also say that they are signing on. That’s 13. And Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. has spoken out in support of impeachment. He is clearly either signing on or introducing his own articles of impeachment or both. That makes probably 14.
Who else? What about your Congress Member? Does he or she want to be among the first 20 standing for justice, or trail behind among the last standing with Dick Cheney? July 4th is independence day, the day on which we throw off the tyranny of King Georges. This is the moment for your Member of Congress to represent you, and not Dick Cheney or George W. Bush.
Congress is off this week, so your Representative is home making appearances at community events. What a great opportunity to grab a video camera and ask them point blank: what’s your excuse for not co-sponsoring H.Res. 333 ? Democrats.com is paying $100 for each “no excuse” video asking a Democrat in the House why (s)he has not co-sponsored H.Res. 333 and recording their response on video: http://www.democrats.com/youtube-your-rep
Here’s what you need to know to ask tough follow-up questions: http://www.impeachcheney.org
The House Judiciary Committee took a giant step towards impeachment hearings by sending H.Res. 333 to the Constitution Subcommittee led by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-8). But Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains our main obstacle to impeachment. In a conference call with bloggers, Pelosi tried to dodge the issue by arguing that Bush “isn’t worth it… he’s not worth impeaching.” But Mike Stark wouldn’t accept Pelosi’s dodge: “Respectfully, that’s not the question. Respectfully, the question is whether or not the Constitution is worth it.”
Here’s Pelosi’s shocking reply: “Well, yeah, the Constitution is worth it if you can succeed.” So Pelosi’s sworn oath to uphold the Constitution only applies “if you can succeed”? Surely not!
On Sunday in Kennebunkport, Maine, 3,000 citizens marched for impeachment through the narrow streets of this little coastal town and delivered a message to Bush and to the international media that Americans are demanding impeachment. Video, photos, news reports, and information on the August 25th march planned for Kennebunkport are here: http://afterdowningstreet.org/me
Last week we kicked off the “Honk To Impeach” campaign, which is a great way to get past the Corporate Media blackout and prove to politicians, the media, and our fellow citizens how many Americans support impeachment: http://democrats.com/honktoimpeach
July 4 is an especially good day to “Honk To Impeach.” You can also hold up signs saying “Text IMPEACH to 30644”. With your help, we’ll reach millions of Americans who don’t visit progressive web sites. The best place to gather on July 4 is outside the parking lot for local fireworks.
We’ve also set up a new group to coordinate impeachment efforts among Facebook members: The Nationwide Movement to Impeach Cheney and Bush. Let’s make this the biggest group on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3079705569