On Monday, July 23, activists in Detroit and Washington DC plan protests and demonstrations at Congressman John Conyers’ district and Capitol Hill offices, and citizens all over the country will converge on the district offices of other Congress members. Their demands? Impeach Bush and Cheney now.
But on the eve of this highly publicized action, David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.org reports that Conyers may be ready to impeach against the wishes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Or so he says…
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has said that if three more Congress Members get behind impeachment he will start the impeachment proceedings.
I was a guest today on Bree Walker’s radio show. She’s the progressive radio host from California who purchased Cindy Sheehan’s land from her in Crawford, Texas.
Bree attended an event on Friday in San Diego at which Congressman Conyers spoke about impeachment. Her report was extremely interesting. I had already heard reports that Conyers had said: “What are we waiting for? Let’s take these two guys out!†But, of course, what we’re waiting for is John Conyers. Is he ready to act? It was hard to tell from that comment. In January, Conyers spoke at a huge rally on the National Mall and declared “We can fire them!†but later explained that what he meant was that we could wait for two years and Bush and Cheney’s terms would end. Was this week’s remark just more empty rhetoric?
Good question, David. As Shea Howell points out in this week’s Michigan Citizen:
The process of impeaching this president and vice president is the single most important step we could take as a nation to begin to restore a sense of living democracy to our country. Bush and Cheney have systematically been expanding the powers of the executive to the point where they consider their actions above the law. They not only disrespect the laws of this nation; they have violated international laws, the sovereignty of other nations and the sanctity of individual rights and liberties.
The process of impeachment is about more than Bush and Cheney. It is about the powers of the presidency in a democracy. If we as a people do not make clear that we find the practices of this administration an anathema to democracy, we will allow all future presidents to say that they can invade whomever they want, for whatever reason they choose. We will allow all future presidents to dispense with the most sacred rights of individuals in the name of national security and we will allow our nation to become an outcast among the family of nations.
It is the Honorable John Conyers, Democrat from Detroit, dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, who, as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has the power to impeach. This is the same man who literally wrote the book on impeachment. That book is called The Constitution in Crisis: The High Crimes of the Bush Administration and a Blueprint for Impeachment.
Swanson asks more good questions:
Bree Walker told me, on the air, that Conyers said that all he needs is three more Congress Members backing impeachment, and he’ll move on it, even without Pelosi. I asked whether that meant specifically moving from 14 cosponsors of H Res 333 to 17, or adding 3 to the larger number of Congress Members who have spoken favorably of impeachment but not all signed onto bills. Bree said she didn’t know and that Conyers had declined to take any questions.
In fact there are dozens of Congress members who signed onto Conyers’ own H Res 635, which would have begun investigations into impeachable offenses by Bush and Cheney. Many of them still haven’t endorsed H Res 333.
What are they all waiting for? Are they waiting for the leadership of John Conyers, the most vocal advocate for impeachment during the first six years of Bush/Cheney’s White House residency? All of us are waiting for John Conyers. John Conyers says he is waiting for just three more.
On July 23, tell John Conyers to stop the waiting game. If you can’t join the 10:00 a.m. impeachment actions at Conyers’ office in Detroit at the Federal Building on 231 W. Lafayette; If you can’t join the march from Arlington National Cemetery to Conyers’ offices at the Rayburn Building; If you can’t join the protests in your district at your congress member’s office, call John Conyers. His numbers are 202-225-5126 in DC and 313-961-5670 in Detroit. Tell him there is no time like the present. The time to impeach is now.
AfterDowningStreet.org – Conyers: 3 More Congress Members and I’ll Impeach
The Michigan Citizen – Impeachment now