By David Swanson
Congressman Leonard Boswell, right-wing Democrat from Iowa’a third district, would apparently like to avoid the fate of Congressman Al Wynn in Maryland. Al Wynn nearly lost a primary in 2006 to a challenger from his left, Donna Edwards. He transformed himself from one of the most corporate and militaristic members of Congress into one of the most responsive to his constituents, reversing his position on the occupation of Iraq and signing onto articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney. It wasn’t enough to save him, as Edwards showed Wynn the door in the 2008 primary earlier this month.
Boswell is being challenged by Ed Fallon, who – like Edwards – seems to inspire more courage in the incumbent than he himself actually exhibits. Fallon’s website says nothing about impeachment. Edwards said she was for it when asked, but never brought it up, and kept it off her website.
The Iowa Independent quotes Fallon as responding to Boswell’s cosponsorship of H Res 333:
“‘It’s a little late to start impeachment proceedings,’ said Fallon. ‘The time to impeach Cheney and/or Bush would have been when we first discovered the administration had misled us into the Iraq war. This current attempt by Kucinich was introduced in April of last year. If Rep. Boswell were serious about impeachment, why did it take him 10 months to sign on to the measure? It’s clear to me that Boswell is trying to act more like a Democrat now that he has an opponent.'”
There are dozens of candidates for Congress this year who do make impeachment a prominent part of their campaigns, even though they won’t reach office until 2009 if they are elected. Perhaps supporting some of them would be the most effective way to win over some more incumbents, either to cosponsorship of H Res 333 or to signing onto Congressman Robert Wexler’s letter to Chairman John Conyers calling for impeachment hearings to begin.
54% of Americans want Cheney impeached, as do 64% of Vermonters.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich was the first member of Congress to lead the way in April 2007. H. Res. 333, Articles of Impeachment Against Dick Cheney (reintroduced on Nov. 6, 2007, as H Res 799), is sponsored by the following Members of Congress: Jan Schakowsky, Maxine Waters, Hank Johnson, Keith Ellison, Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee, Albert Wynn, William Lacy Clay, Dennis Kucinich, Yvette Clarke, Jim McDermott, Jim Moran, Bob Filner, Sam Farr, Robert Brady, Tammy Baldwin, Donald Payne, Steve Cohen, Sheila Jackson Lee, Carolyn Kilpatrick, Ed Towns, Diane Watson, Danny Davis, Raul Grijalva, Gwen Moore, Leonard Boswell. Please thank them and encourage them to whip their colleagues.
Robert Wexler, Tammy Baldwin, and Luis Gutierrez are urging the initiation of hearings and are joined in this by Anthony Weiner. Mike Michaud has written to Chairman Conyers calling for Cheney impeachment hearings. Tim Mahoney is open to the idea of impeachment hearings. Ron Klein says there should be hearings. Kirsten Gillibrand told constituents she would urge Nadler and Conyers to start hearings.
Zoe Lofgren has urged Conyers to hold hearings on the committee’s 1974 report on presidential impeachment.
These Congress Members have signed Wexler’s letter to Conyers:
(*= member of the Judiciary Committee)
Baldwin, Tammy, WI, 2nd *
Capuano, Michael E., MA, 8th
Clarke, Yvette D., NY, 11th
Clay, Wm. Lacy, MO, 1st
Cohen, Steve, TN, 9th *
DeFazio, Peter
Farr, Sam, CA, 17th
Grijalva, Raúl M., AZ, 7th
Gutierrez, Luis V., IL, 4th *
Kucinich, Dennis J., OH, 10th
Lee, Barbara, CA, 9th
Moore, Gwen, WI, 4th
Moran, James P., VA, 8th
Thompson, Mike, CA, 1st
Towns, Edolphus, NY, 10th
Woolsey, Lynn, CA, 6th
Wexler, Robert, FL, 19th *
Wynn, Albert Russell, MD, 4th