Framing...Posted by C

Impeachment is the correct solution to the failed and corrupt presidency we find ourselves saddled with. The problems with impeachment are 1) that it has been used so recently in a frivilous manner and 2) that the Republicans control both the House and Senate. Thus, framing the issue so that it will gain support and ultimately succeed is more difficult than it might otherwise be.

But it's not impossible.

Here's a shot at the framing:

1) The founding fathers, in their wisdom, created the impeachment mechanism precisely so that it would be used when appropriate and necessary.

2) We cannot reject the option of impeaching Bush for egregious criminal behavior just because impeachment was used opportunistically by Republicans against Bill Clinton for denying he had sex with Monica Lewinsky.

3) We don't have in our system the option of a "no confidence" vote, which Bush would certainly fail.

4) Thus, it is our duty to start impeachment proceedings as the only remedy for a presidency that brazenly ignores international agreements, treaties, and even U.S. law; that sees it itself as above the law.

5) If it were mere incompetence in the handling of the Iraq war or Hurricane Katrina, or if it were just the cronyism that has resulted in unqualified people occupying so many government posts, then impeachment wouldn't be the proper action. It is George W. Bush breaking the law-- purposely, flagrantly, repeatedly-- that not only justifies, but requires that impeachment proceedings be put in motion.

6) It is the detainment of people without charges and without access to lawyers; it is the secret CIA prisons in former Soviet bloc countries; it is the sanction of torture; it is illegal eavesdropping on American citizens that requires impeachment as the only remedy. These are only the certainties, only the crimes that are most easily apparent. But they are more than enough.  ¶ 1:18 PM