George McGovern Calls for Bush and Cheney's Impeachment

"Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse."

Calling it "the only honorable course" for him to take, Former Senator George McGovern calls for impeachment.

In a Washington Post editorial, "Why I Believe Bush Must Go", former Senator George McGovern has called for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, saying they "are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses." McGovern went on to say that "American democracy has been derailed throughout the Bush-Cheney regime."

In addition to the folly, deceit, illegality and immorality of the Iraq War, McGovern also cited the bungling of Hurricane Katrina.

"Impeachment is unlikely, of course," McGovern wrote, "But we must still urge Congress to act."

Impeachment, quite simply, is the procedure written into the Constitution to deal with presidents who violate the Constitution and the laws of the land. It is also a way to signal to the American people and the world that some of us feel strongly enough about the present drift of our country to support the impeachment of the false prophets who have led us astray. This, I believe, is the rightful course for an American patriot.

McGovern went on to quote former representative Elizabeth Holtzman, a key figure in the Nixon impeachment proceedings, who wrote two years ago:

A President, any President, who maintains that he is above the law -- and repeatedly violates the law -- thereby commits high crimes and misdemeanors."

While convetional wisdom sees impeachment as divisive, McGovern sees things from the opposite perspective, stressing the need for healing and restoration:

I believe we have a chance to heal the wounds the nation has suffered in the opening decade of the 21st century. This recovery may take a generation and will depend on the election of a series of rational presidents and Congresses. At age 85, I won't be around to witness the completion of the difficult rebuilding of our sorely damaged country, but I'd like to hold on long enough to see the healing begin.