There’s buzz in the Capitol about the sudden and surprising progress this week in the movement to impeach Cheney and Bush. After months of delays, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) was finally able to send his impeachment bill against Cheney to the floor.
One theory has it that the Democratic leaders prefer keeping Bush and Cheney around as constant reminders of Republican incompetence, arrogance and sleaze.
Now the bill is before the Judiciary Committee, whose chairman, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) is known to be sympathetic to impeaching both Cheney and Pres. Bush — even while Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, remains adamantly opposed.
Here’s a recap of the parliamentary maneuvering that moved Kucinich’s bill off the House floor and into Judiciary:
[The] behind-the-scenes partisan maneuvering that preceded that vote was arcane indeed, with Kucinich first exercising a member’s privilege motion to present his stymied impeachment bill to the full House, only to have Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrange for a colleague (Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland) offer a motion to table it. The Republicans, anxious to embarrass the Speaker, threw a wrench into that plan, though, by voting as a bloc to oppose tabling.
Since Kucinich already has 22 co-sponsors for his bill, it was clear that the tabling gambit would fail. As soon as that became apparent, rank-and-file Democrats, unwilling to be seen by their constituents as defending Cheney, rushed to change their votes to opposing the tabling motion. In the end, tabling failed by 242 to 170 with 77 Democrats supporting a pleasantly surprised Kucinich.
In order to avoid a floor debate on the merits of impeaching the eminently impeachable Vice President Cheney, Pelosi and her allies then moved to send Kucinich’s bill directly to the Judiciary Committee. They were joined by three Republicans, including maverick Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-Texas).
It is mystifying that Pelosi insists on keeping impeachment off the table. She apparently believes it would be a distraction. Another theory has it that the Democratic leaders prefer keeping Bush and Cheney around as constant reminders of Republican incompetence, arrogance and sleaze.
I’m sorry to say that although IMO Cheney deserves not only impeachment but hard time behind bars, it’s not going to happen.
I read Kucinich’s impeachment resolution. If the Judiciary Committee OK’s it and the House votes it up, the Senate must conduct a criminal trial. If the result isn’t to be forever written off as a political lynching, Senate prosecutor(s) must follow the rules of evidence for a criminal trial, proving guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The problem is that to do that, they will have to prove: 1, what Cheney knew and when he knew it; and 2, criminal intent.
I wish they could, but I don’t believe they will be able to do that.