2007 Time For Impeachment

As Bush scrambles to convince the American people that his fantasy of "victory" is within reach, the number of Iraqis and U.S. soldiers killed continues to soar. With each death, the calls for Impeachment are growing louder and louder.

As the new Congress takes office we must send a clear and powerful message: there can be no more excuses from the Democrats for their failure to adhere to the Constitution — for their failure to introduce Articles of Impeachment. They have no right to take the law of the land "off the table." Bush and his cronies have violated the law, lied to the people of the United States and committed high crimes and misdemeanors. There is no question about it. The Constitution requires that action be taken.

At ImpeachBush.org/VoteToImpeach.org, we are hitting the ground running with the new Congress. Throughout the country, supporters of impeachment are redoubling our efforts at outreach and making plans to bring the greatest pressure to bear on the new representatives. In the last four years, we have worked together to build a powerful movement. The time for impeachment has now come.

On January 4, the message of impeachment resonated throughout Washington. On the very first day of congress, impeachment supporters demonstrated, lobbied, and organized rallies and forums.

Because of the hard work of volunteers and the generosity of donors, the ImpeachBush movement has reached ever larger numbers of people. More than 808,000 have now voted to impeach. We can reach the million mark with everyone encouraging their family, friends, and neighbors to vote at ImpeachBush.org.

This movement has become a powerful force and we need to bring that power, and this simple Constitutional demand, to bear in full force.

As her outgoing act as a Congressional representative, Cynthia McKinney announced a resolution in support of Impeachment against President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Rice. The new Congress must take up this challenge. It is their duty. Her remarks are below.

Cynthia McKinney’s Full Remarks on Bush Impeachment Bill

Mr. Speaker:

I come before this body today as a proud American and as a servant of the American people, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

Throughout my tenure, I’ve always tried to speak the truth. It’s that commitment that brings me here today.

We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has refused to hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe the stakes for our country are high.

No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, at the most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and then continue to govern, without a process for holding him accountable, what does that say about our commitment to the truth? To the Constitution? To our democracy?

The trust of the American people has been broken. And a process must be undertaken to repair this trust. This process must begin with honesty and accountability.

Leading up to our invasion of Iraq, the American people supported this Administration’s actions because they believed in our President. They believed he was acting in good faith. They believed that American laws and American values would be respected. That in the weightiness of everything being considered, two values were rock solid: trust and truth.

From mushroom clouds to African yellow cake to aluminum tubes, the American people and this Congress were not presented the facts, but rather were presented a string of untruths, to justify the invasion of Iraq.

President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney and then-National Security Advisor Rice, portrayed to the Congress and to the American people that Iraq represented an imminent threat, culminating with President Bush’s claim that Iraq was six months away from developing a nuclear weapon. Having used false fear to buy consent, the President then took our country to war.

This has grave consequences for the health of our democracy, for our standing with our allies, and most of all, for the lives of our men and women in the military and their families—who have been asked to make sacrifices—including the ultimate sacrifice—to keep us safe.

Just as we expect our leaders to be truthful, we expect them to abide by the law and respect our courts and judges. Here again, the President failed the American people.

When President Bush signed an executive order authorizing unlawful spying on American citizens, he circumvented the courts, the law, and he violated the separation of powers provided by the Constitution. Once the program was revealed, he then tried to hide the scope of his offense from the American people by making contradictory, untrue statements.

President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust of the American people.

With a heavy heart and in the deepest spirit of patriotism, I exercise my duty and responsibility to speak truthfully about what is before us. To shy away from this responsibility would be easier. But I have not been one to travel the easy road. I believe in this country, and in the power of our democracy. I feel the steely conviction of one who will not let the country I love descend into shame; for the fabric of our democracy is at stake.

Some will call this a partisan vendetta, others will say this is an unimportant distraction to the plans of the incoming Congress. But this is not about political gamesmanship.

I am not willing to put any political party before my principles.

This, instead, is about beginning the long road back to regaining the high standards of truth and democracy upon which our great country was founded.

Mr. Speaker:

Under the standards set by the United States Constitution, President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of State Rice, should be subject to the process of impeachment, and I have filed H. Res.1106 in the House of Representatives.

To my fellow Americans, as I leave this Congress, it is in your hands to hold your representatives accountable, and to show those with the courage to stand for what is right, that they do not stand alone.

Thank you.

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"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh." — George W. Bush