Nov 25 2007
Talking Point from Above: Dems Can’t Walk and Chew Gum at Same Time
“While stating that the two leaders had done “impeachable things,” [he] said that impeachment proceedings would occupy the congress and prevent them from doing anything else with their majority.”
No, it wasn’t Congressman Welch, but you’d swear it was. It was Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY-Brooklyn) at a recent town hall meeting with some rather pissed off constituents. He’s giving the same bullshit line of “reasoning” that Welch does, and his constituents aren’t buying it, either. You’d think they’d at least come up with something plausible when they come from districts that are high in approval for impeachment, such as Vermont and Brooklyn.
Over at American Humanist, David Swanson speculates on this reasoning, believing that Pelosi and Co. are taking this line because they believe that having Bush around in 2008 will help them, come election time. Gee, small price to pay, having Bush around for that extra year so the Dems can do well at the polls. I woulda thought it was a moot issue, considering the Repugs are about as popular as spring thaw dogshit on a warm early April morning, and have nowhere to go but down. Regardless, it’s infuriating, because to give the kind of answers Welch and Weiner do really gives the impression that they think their constituents are all stupid. They’d have to be to believe that premise. More importantly, as Swanson points out:
Impeachment, as the one course of action that can’t be vetoed, turns out to be the only thing Congress can do. And impeachment proceedings that would put the White House on the defensive might actually lead to a backing off on veto threats, as they did under Nixon. But there’s a larger point: when in the world did reinstating the Bill of Rights become a distraction?
When, indeed, Mr. Welch?
Posts
