The Dumbest Move the Dems Could Make

The Dumbest Move the Dems Could Make

"If any administration since President Richard M. Nixon's has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, surely it's this one; if lying about consensual sexual activity fit the bill, then surely lying about the reason for a war does, too. As Dave Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky argue in their indignant book 'The Case for Impeachment,' the bill of indictment goes far beyond Bush's grave lies about Iraq. There's also the arrest and detention without trial of U.S. citizens, the violation of international treaties such as the Geneva Conventions at the prisons at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the 'blatant violation' of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Fourth Amendment 'by secretly authorizing secret warrantless spying on thousands of American citizens by the National Security Agency'.... Bush and Cheney -- and conservatism in general -- have wrecked our civic institutions and darkened our civic impulses. Nothing is beyond politicization... but impeachment is exactly the wrong step to take at exactly the wrong historical moment."

Wow. This opinion article is truly remarkable in both its fabrication and imagination.

1. The 'bill' for high crimes and misdemeanors committed by President Clinton was not simply consensual sexual activity. The President was impeached for perjury relating to an investigation of employee civil rights violation and for obstruction of justice in the employee civil rights investigation including "his corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of that employee" and other witnesses. These crimes resulted in a contempt of court citation and his suspension and ultimate resignation from the bar.

2. Thinking individuals should reject assertions of "grave lies about Iraq." No one has demonstrated proof of deception. To the contrary, the evidence speaks of a bipartisan polity that came to an almost unanimous conclusion about the pretexts for the war, including a regime in violation of the 1991 armistice and 14 UN resolutions including Resolution 1441. The fact of absent WMD in Iraq actually speaks to President Bush's innocence since any preconceived deception most assuredly would have included means to 'plant' evidence to cover the justification.

3. Complaints on Abu Ghraib ignore the fact that the US held accountable those responsible for the abuses there. These activities were the result of abuse and not the product of official policy.

4. Complaints about Gitmo ignore the fact that the International Red Cross has had unfettered access to the facility since the month the prison opened. The Red Cross, et al, objected to the pretense of detention and certain detention conditions based on their own interpretation of the Geneva Conventions--one that grants POW status to those the US considers unlawful combatants--an honest disagreement (and the fact the USA never ratified Protocol I of the conventions). Pres. Bush's interpretation is consistent with previous administrations including FDR's. The torture allegations came largely from former detainees, and these enemies are trained to make inflated and false charges upon release to weaken our morale.

5. The FISA abuse charges were the result of partisan politics--as evidenced by the recent modification of the FISA statute designed to overtly sanction the NSA eavesdropping program.

Finally, most of the civic turmoil and degradation has been the result of media hyperbole and partisanship. Much like the Reagan administration is remembered in an entirely different light 20 years later, the Bush administration will likely be remembered not for this list of loose and unsubstantiated charges but for its accomplishments. Impeachment would be a dumb move largely because it isn't necessary, warranted, or appropriate.