Day: October 11, 2005

Poll: 50% Would Favor Impeaching Bush

Jon Ponder

He should resign now: In a new poll from Ipsos Public Affairs, Americans are in favor impeaching President George Bush by a margin of 50 percent to 44 percent, if he lied about the reasons he took the country to war in Iraq.

“If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable by impeaching him.”

Conversely, 44 percent disagreed, and 6 percent said they didn’t know or declined to answer.

Breakouts by party affliliation were also significant: Over half of Independents – 56 percent – favored impeachment, while 72 percent of Democrats favored impeachment, compared to 20 percent of Republicans who apparently want Bush to be named “Dictator for Life.”

Support for impeachment has increased since June:

The Ipsos poll shows a dramatic transformation in support for Bush’s impeachment since late June. (This is only the second poll that has asked Americans about their support for impeaching Bush in 2005, despite his record-low approval ratings.) The Zogby poll conducted June 27-29 of 905 likely voters found that 42 percent agreed and 50 percent disagreed with a statement virtually identical to the one used by Ipsos.

Question Ipsos 10/8-9
 Zogby 6/27-29 Net Change
Support Impeachment 50% 42% +8%
Oppose Impeachment 44% 50% +6%
Impeachment Margin +6% -8% +14%

Scooter Lied

Jon Ponder

National Journal:

In two appearances before the federal grand jury investigating the leak of a covert CIA operative’s name, Lewis (Scooter) Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, did not disclose a crucial conversation that he had with New York Times reporter Judith Miller in June 2003 about the operative, Valerie Plame, according to sources with firsthand knowledge of his sworn testimony.

Libby also did not disclose the June 23 conversation when he was twice interviewed by FBI agents working on the Plame leak investigation, the sources said.

Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald apparently learned about the June 23 conversation for the first time just days ago, after attorneys for Miller and The New York Times informed prosecutors that Miller had discovered a set of notes on the conversation.

Special Forces Suicides on the Rise Despite Questionnaire

Trish

AP is reporting on a cluster of three suicides in Special Forces troops based at Fort Carson, Colo. returning home from Iraq.

The Army says there appears to be no connection between the men’s overseas service and their deaths, and Army investigators found no “common contributing cause” among the three. The fact they were in the same unit is only a coincidence…

The Army says its overall suicide rate in 2003 was 12.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers, while the rate in the general U.S. population was 10.5 per 100,000

Special Forces soldiers specialize in what the Army calls “unconventional warfare” — commando raids, search-and-destroy missions, intelligence gathering. They go through specialized psychological screening. They also undergo rigorous physical training and learn survival techniques and other skills, including foreign languages….

Special Forces officials said the Colorado-based unit experienced heavy combat in Iraq. Two members were killed in the first half of 2004 — one by a roadside bomb, another in a vehicle rollover. Another member, former Staff Sgt. Georg-Andreas Pogany, was sent home and charged with cowardice when the sight of the mangled body of an Iraqi caused a panic attack and prompted him to ask for psychological help. Charges against Pogany were later dropped, and he received a medical discharge.

Part of the problem is lack of funding for effective prevention. But we already knew taking care of our troops isn’t a big priority for the Bush administration.

The Army says its overall suicide rate in 2003 was 12.8 per 100,000 active-duty soldiers, while the rate in the general U.S. population was 10.5 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

[Former Army Ranger and veterans’ advocate Steve] Robinson has been pushing military leaders to stop using paper questionnaires to screen for problems among returning soldiers and switch to face-to-face meetings with mental health professionals.

“There have been improvements, but it’s been like pulling teeth from a lion’s mouth to get the Department of Defense to do things they’re not willing to do because of the dollars,” he said.

Support our troops. Bring them home.

Jeb Packs Appeals Courts with Creationists, Flat-Earthers, and Homophobes

Trish

Jeb’s appeals court choices have been so far to the right that they’d have to befriend Michael Moore and start listening to Air America just to be called conservative. The Miami Herald printed a partial list of the judges Jeb has appointed, which we’ll be stuck with long after his sneering countenance is a bad memory:

• Charles Canady to the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland. Canady, a former congressman from Lakeland, was one of the floor managers in the House effort to impeach President Clinton.

• Paul Hawkes and Brad Thomas to the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, the court most likely to hear any challenges to laws passed by the Legislature. Hawkes is a former state legislator and top aide to House Speaker Tom Feeney with well-known conservative views. Thomas, a former prosecutor and top aide to Bush, helped devise the governor’s plan to hand over some Death Row inmate appeals to private lawyers, a move that has since been roundly criticized for shoddy work by state Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero, himself a Bush appointee.

• Leslie Rothenberg to the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami. During her unsuccessful run for state attorney in 2004, Rothenberg signed a pledge from the Miami-Dade Family Christian Coalition that she would oppose gay marriage and domestic partnerships with “my votes, powers and privileges of public office.”

• Frank Shepherd to the Third District Court of Appeal. Before he was placed on the bench, Shepherd was Florida senior attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a fierce advocate of private property rights that often challenges environmental regulations.

What I’m Reading is None of Bush’s Business

Trish

One of the most ridiculous parts of the Patriot Act has to be where the government can force libraries to turn over lists of books you’ve checked out and bookstores to report what you bought. Yeah, a terrorist is really going to be exposed that way! Not. It’s just another stupid idea from the most paranoid, facist, dictatorial president ever.

Enough already. Go sign the petition at TrueMajority.org supporting a bill introduced by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). A message will be sent to your own representative, telling him or her to have the government drop the Hoover-esque snooping. Hurry, because a joint House and Senate committee is deciding on whether to alter the Patriot Act now.

McCain Slimes Himself by Campaigning with Gubernator

Jon Ponder

Mercury News:

With most of his policy agenda getting a cold shoulder in public opinion polls, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger invited Sen. John McCain, a national symbol of political reform, to campaign for him in California on Monday.

The Arizona Republican, who is considered likely to run for president in 2008, endorsed the four main ballot measures the governor is promoting, although McCain later said he was “not as clear” on one of them “as I should be,” referring to Proposition 76, which would impose spending limits and give the governor new power to cut the budget.

McCain held a press conference with the governor in Burbank, then flew to Oakland to participate in a campaign event with a screened audience of mostly Republican women from the East Bay. McCain said the governor was brave for calling the special election, which has antagonized the state’s public employee unions.

“He’s got principle, he’s got determination and he’s got guts to take on the special interests,” McCain said in Oakland…

McCain said he endorsed Proposition 74, which would lengthen the time it takes teachers to get tenure, because the current two years is too short. He said he supported Proposition 75, which would force public unions to get written permission from their members before using their dues for political purposes, because it’s fair. He said he also supports a similar measure for corporate shareholders.

McCain also supported Proposition 77, which would take away the Legislature’s power to draw their own districts and give that power to judges.

D.C. Uncovered: A List of Recently De-Closeted Gay Gops

Jon Ponder

Dragged out: Today is National Coming Out Day, so we thought it would fitting to show a list of the closeted gay Republicans who have been exposed over the last year by Mike Rogers at BlogActive:

US House of Representatives

Senior GOP Staff

Senior House Staffers

 Bush Staff

Local Officials

The rest…

A couple of other Republican notables who were are not outed include National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, who is on the record refusing to confirm or deny whether he is straight, and rightwing media whore Jeff Gannon.

(The list was posted earlier at Pam’s House Blend.)

New GOP Talking Point: CIA Leak Investigation Is ‘Criminalizing Politics’

Jon Ponder

Arresting anyone in the Beltway club is “criminalizing politics.” [This] is both a talking point and a reflection of their inner beliefs. It’s been a long time since anyone of note in the club got tangled in the legal system. The Clintonites, who mostly got in trouble for stuff they did before they got to Washington, weren’t really part of the club. Back during the Reagan years indictments were flying around like confetti, but not so much since. They’ve gotten used to being, along with their pals in the political industrial complex, immune from pesky details like following the law.

— Atrios