Post no. 100: Impeachment

We've seen that word (impeachment) thrown around the last couple of years in reference to the current presidential administration. Dennis Kucinich introduced 35 articles (although I can't find a copy of the 35 articles anywhere online) why President Bush should be ex-President Bush sooner than the date of the inauguration of the winner in November; yes, we're talking impeachment.

Now, just because Kucinich is talking to the House about this doesn't mean anything will come of it. The last few times it was tried, the motion was killed in the House, even after the Dems won the majority in 2006.

If this was still 2006, I would have been all for impeachment. I mean deliberate public misinformation, authorization of a military campaign on legally shady grounds, possible nepotism, deliberate leaks of information that endangered the lives of American agents, and general corruption all seem like more legitimate failures to the American people than prejury about a blow job. Hell, that was enough for impeachment proceedings for this guy. Honestly, all those reasons still ring true today- President Bush deserves the disgrace of impeachment.

However, let me play political analyst with a Democratic bias. Simply put, this impeachment is a terrible idea at the moment.

Why? Well, the first thing I'll care to point out is this: it's a presidential election year. I have a lingering feeling that the proponents of Bush's impeachment will be mostly Democrats in government. Naturally, Republicans will be pit against the Democrats- despite whatever rumblings of disillusionment within the Republican party concerning President Bush.

Concerning this, there are two things that could occur that would be highly undesirable for Democrats. The first is that the impeachment proceedings may act as a nucleus for Republican rejuvenation. We've all heard rumblings about fragmentation and dissent within in the party, why provide a event that may help consolidate the Republicans? I could draw a parallel between Americans and patriotism before and after 9/11. Before, being overtly patriotic wasn't the norm. Afterwards, draping the front of your house with flags became the norm. 9/11 was the nucleus for patriotic rejuvenation in this country- these impeachment proceedings can act the same for the Republicans, albeit on a smaller scale.

The second thing relates to it being an election year. The Democrats are pushing for control of the executive now that is control of the legislature. Remember the long grueling democratic primaries that just ended? Remember the bitter feelings from some Hillary supporters? It's safe for me to make the claim that Clinton supporters are more likely to vote Republican than Obama supporters, especially since Obama won the nomination. Okay, now follow this line of reasoning: now John McCain is trying to court these angry Clinton supporters. Here comes the Democrats, who are now aligned with Obama, to 'upset the order of things' and impeach President Bush during a time of war. That doesn't look good- that doesn't look good at all. I sure as hell do not read the situation like this, but I'm sure there are a number of borderline voters who will read it like this. The message in the end is this: the Democrats' way of working is to completely upset what is in place. Change doesn't appeal to these people- most people abhor and are frightened by change.

Imeachment is a great idea, it's just that now it's bad timing. As I already alluded to, it may be too litte too late. Remember, it's June of 2008. We only have 6 months or so left to bear with the Bush administration- is it worth the potential political cost to impeach the man?

Plus, say impeachment proceedings work out rather quickly and President Bush is ex-President Bush in a month (read: this is incredibly unlikely). Who's in control afterwards? Ol' Birdshot Dick. Dick Cheney, some may argue, has been the most influential vice president in American history and might even be worse for the American people if he were president- even if it's only the remaining 5 months. What I'm saying is, the Bush administration will still be in place even if Bush himself is not.

Hey, I would love it if President Bush, on top of being one of the most unpopular and disastrous foreign policy presidents in American history, would go down in history for how miserable he is/was by being kicked out of office. But, the potential political costs the Democrats may face is not worth it- especially in the election year. The number one priority for Democrats is to win the presidency while maintaining control in the legislature- let the history books do the disgracing (they've already began).

Dripping with inner conflict,
Greg