By David Swanson
1.-Impeachment is where people’s energy is, all over the country. If we want a large and growing and democratic movement, we should listen to our members.
2.-Exposing the lies and the crimes related to this war is, more than anything else, building opposition to the war, as well as to future wars. There is no better way to expose the crimes than to demand an investigation that could lead to impeachment. (As demanded by H Res 635.)
3.-Bush and Cheney have given dozens of speeches making it abundantly clear that the US will never get out of Iraq as long as they are in the White House. Congress has put up no serious challenge to that state of affairs.
4.-Not only may Bush and Cheney soon attack another country, but future administrations will be far more likely to launch aggressive wars if Bush and Cheney face no consequences for having launched this one.
5.-Every organization can work on impeachment. Articles of impeachment, or a bill for an investigation (like H Res 635), are no more partisan than any other piece of legislation. Even 501c3s can spend 15 percent of their resources on lobbying for legislation. It will be very difficult to impeach Bush and Cheney, or get out of Iraq, without bipartisan support.
6.-We may not achieve an investigation, or impeachment, or removal from office until there are fewer Republicans in Congress. But, then again, we may. It is our place to act, not to make predictions. But, for those making predictions, impeachment is no more implausible or unreasonable than ending the war.
7.-If we want to elect a Congress more likely to end the war, we will be wise to raise the issue of impeachment so that it becomes a campaign issue. There is stronger and more passionate support for impeachment than for any other issue. We need something people are passionate about if we are going to turn out voters in an off year. (www.afterdowningstreet.org/polling )
8.-We cannot wait and push for impeachment later, after an election. Newly elected Congress Members, of whatever party, will not take up a cause they were not forced to campaign on. Instead they will argue that 2008 is just around the corner and the time is, once again, not right.
9.-We cannot count on a new Congress to end the war or alter the Bush-Cheney agenda in any major way, without impeachment. Bush and Cheney will continue their policy of treating Congress as if it doesn’t exist. They will ignore laws passed by Congress that they do not support.
10.-We cannot be afraid of impeaching Bush because Cheney might be worse. An investigation into possible grounds for impeachment serves an educational and political purpose, whether or not we get to impeachment. We further discredit the administration and its supporters in Congress, and we help to build an opposition. It would be virtually impossible to investigate Bush or Cheney without incriminating the other one. Cheney is running the show now backstage. If by some combination of incredibly improbably occurrences he ended up president, we’d be better off with him up front as a walking advertisement for the opposition.
11.-It is our duty to demand impeachment. If you cannot impeach for the highest crime imaginable, taking the nation to war on the basis of lies, then you can never impeach, or impeachment must be reserved for sex. It is the duty of every citizen to demand what is right and just, come what may. More important than who sits in the Oval Office is that they know that we can hold them accountable for their actions.