Chimpeach Bush? Only Third Party Candidates are Discussing it

Posted by John Nichols, The Nation at 5:53 AM on April 9, 2008.

Next week, the New Hampshire House of Representatives will be considering State Representative Betty Hall's call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Hall's been a courageous battler for presidential accountability and, during the presidential primary season in her state, she had an ally in Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, whose candidacy she endorsed.

Now that Kucinich is out of the race -- along with Delaware Senator Joe Biden who also dared to utter the "I" word -- the remaining Democratic contenders, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are shying away from even the minimal discussion of accountability that they entertained when they were running in Iowa and New Hampshire.

They're playing it so safe that, when it comes to Constitutional concerns, former Georgia Republican Congressman Bob Barr -- a recently announced Libertarian contender -- is doing a better job out outlining the high crimes and misdemeanors of the president and vice president than are the contenders for the nomination of the supposed opposition party.

Green Party contender Cynthia McKinney, a former Democratic congresswoman from Georgia, actually introduced an impeachment resolution before she left the House in 2006. She continues to be solid on these issues.

But, on the current campaign trail, the most consistent crusader for impeachment remains independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who is something of an expert on the subject from his days of dogging former President Richard Nixon.

Nader's been thoughtful, and correct, in his assessment of the issue -- and of why it must be raised in an election year when the major-party contenders seem to be united in their determination to avoid the topic.

Here's a message Nader, who is campaigning with former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez this year, recently sent to supporters:

As you know, Obama, Clinton and McCain have taken impeachment of Bush and Cheney off the table.

Nader/Gonzalez want to put it back on.

Our campaign will be impeachment central for this momentous election year.

No one should be above the law -- especially chronic violators.

We're building a nationwide campaign to end the corrupt two party duopoly and pressure the complicit Democrats to do their sworn duty and impeach the two unaccountable outlaws in the White House.

Last week, I wrote to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers once again urging him to hold impeachment hearings.

This week, citizens from around the country are sitting in at Chairman Conyer's office on Capitol Hill demanding that he take action.

In that letter to Congressman Conyers, I pointed out the obvious:

Many prominent Constitutional law experts believe President Bush has engaged in at least five categories of repeated, defiant "high crimes and misdemeanors", which separately or together would allow Congress to subject the President to impeachment under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution.

In addition to a criminal war of aggression in Iraq, in violation of our constitution, statutes and treaties, there are the arrests of thousands of Americans and their imprisonment without charges, the spying on Americans without juridical warrant, systematic torture, and the unprecedented wholesale, defiant signing statements declaring that the President, in his unbridled discretion, is the law.

The sworn oath of members of Congress is to uphold the Constitution.

Failure of the members of Congress to pursue impeachment of President Bush is an affront to the founding fathers, the Constitution, and the people of the United States.

John Nichols writes about politics for The Nation magazine as its Washington correspondent.