Today's Blog Roundup is on the flip. It includes the experiences of a couple bloggers with arguments against impeachment (or evasions regarding the same), a few pieces on our environment (including our farms and fisheries), land use, another attempt at treating our gay and lesbian citizens fairly, and a smorgasbord of other items.
Impeachment is the right remedy right now. But transforming it from blog-shriek into reality - if that can be done - will require a fresh approach.
My approach has some fresh footprints to fill with life and energy some existing Congressional oversight powers that have been gathering dust in the closet even though they have the Supreme Court stamp of approval and have been very effective against uncooperative executive branch officials in the past. It is a bold and dramatic approach tailored to counter Bush's obstructionist MO and false bravado. Bush now has a pattern of obstructing justice by refusing to permit witnesses to testify or provide evidence in oversight hearings while he waves his sword of executive privilege. But, Bush's sword is nothing more than pretentious swaggering to scare Congress from exercising its powers or litigating.
It's time for Congress to use its powers in a 3-step plan to get the evidence we need to convince the public and lawmakers that "Impeachment is the right remedy right now."
Is from George W. Bush, who caved to his basic criminal instincts of obstructing justice and commuted the sentence of a convicted felon. Here's Speaker Pelosi's statement:
The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people.
The President said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case. By his action today, the President shows his word is not to be believed. He has abandoned all sense of fairness when it comes to justice, he has failed to uphold the rule of law, and he has failed to hold his Administration accountable.
Wonder if that means a certain Constitutional remedy is back on the table.
Two weeks may have passed between the Democratic Convention and today, but that hasn't stopped us from speculating over whatactuallyhappened during that weekend. During these two weeks, everyone seems to have developed a theory on who knew what ahead of time, who was conspiring to silence the progressives, and who was really behind the mysterious quorum call. Two weeks have passed since then, and I'd like to do my part to end all the speculation NOW.
Last Thursday, I hopped on over to OC Drinking Liberally. John Hanna, Co-chair of the Resolutions Committee, also happened to be there. Pretty soon, hekebolos showed up, and we all went to the back room of Memphis to discuss what really happened at the convention. Later on, we also talked about what we can do better next time, but I'll talk about that part of the discussion another time.
Right now, I'm inviting you to follow me after the flip to find out WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO ALL THOSE RESOLUTIONS. I have been collecting information from a few brave individuals for quite some time now, and my meeting with John Hanna on Thursday put an end to my own speculation on all these rumors. So why not join me after the flip, so that you can also toss the speculation and just find out what happened?
I thought I'd give a little bit more detail about what happened at the end of the convention, which ended with a quorum call and an abrupt close to business.
Let me first say that I do not have this inflated sense about the importance of CDP resolutions. They reflect the spirit and the passion of the activist community of delegates, but they are not pieces of legislation that can be enforced. They are a nice endorsement for certain issues, and the delegates can feel like they have done something. But they are not binding. It has to amuse me, in a cynical way, that this entire brouhaha is over a nonbinding resolution on Iraq, brought to you by many of the same people who decried the Congress' nonbinding resolution on Iraq.
That said, I do think it's a serious issue from the standpoint of small-d democracy and the ability for the will of the delegation to be expressed, as well as what it bodes for the real structural reforms that are needed in the party.
Net neutrality, as a resolution for this convention, is in effect dead. The resolution has been referred to the Labor Caucus, and that ruling will stand.
Now there is some good news. Brad Parker, a member of PDA and a staunch supporter of Net Neutrality, is on the Labor Caucus. He has spoken to people on that caucus and people on the Resolutions Committee, and he believes that he can get a strong resolution to the floor by the next convention. So it's a waiting game.
What has not been resolved is the idea that you can refer a resolution to a caucus, which as I said is unprecedented. Parker intends to take it up in the Resolutions Committee happening right now, and if not there then in the Rules Committee. The shenanigans pulled here were unconscionable.
About the impeachment resolution: there is no doubt in my mind that the new substitute language will become one of the top 10 resolutions brought to the floor tomorrow. The Resolutions Committee members would not be able to leave that room if they didn't place it in the top 10.
No word on getting the Audit Committee to a floor vote, I'll check on that.
And the Calitics staff did an exclusive interview with Sen. Christopher Dodd, we should have something on that (with pics) soon.
The Resolutions Committee has just approved the substitute resolution on impeaching Bush, and it is now one of the 33 resolutions that will be considered for moving to the floor for a full central committee vote. Stay tuned for more as the meeting gets started.
Do you want to hear for yourself what Cindy Sheehan has to say about the Iraq War, George Bush, and the process of impeachment? And oh yes, would you also like to hear The Nation's John Nichols talk about impeachment?
Well, tonight is your night if you'll be in South Orange County! I noticed this again in the OC Democrat Weekly:
Please join The Nation Magazine political writer and best-selling author JOHN NICHOLS for discussion of his new book THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: The Founders' Cure for Royalism With Introductions by MIMI KENNEDY, PDA [Progressive Democrats of America] National Advisory Board Chair and now added Special Guest CINDY SHEEHAN, Peace Mom and PDA National Advisor Board Member.
So are you free tonight at 7:00 PM? Want to go to the Aliso Viejo Library? This is your chance to speak with the one and only Peace Mom about how best to hold this Imperial President accountable.
Say what you will about Dana Rohrabacher, but at least he's got high entertainment value. Remember that classic oldie about the termite-caused global warming? Or who can forget everyone's favorite: "Let the Prisoners Pick The Fruit". So with everything falling apart around us, perhaps we could all use a little light-hearted cheer.
A recent press release from California Assemblyman Paul Koretz:
Koretz Impeachment Resolution Passes First Hurdle
Sacramento - Legislation by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney advanced Thursday when the Assembly Rules Committee voted 4 to 3 to have the issue referred to the Committee for further consideration.
While the vote is considered procedural in nature, this action enables the language on impeachment to be amended into Assembly Joint Resolution 39 (AJR 39), replacing the prior language, which had been unrelated to the impeachment topic. The resolution had been initially proposed on April 21, when Koretz submitted language to amend AJR 39.
Nice surprise this morning. As I'm skimming through my daily LA Times email, there is this headline: "Democrats McCloskey (29th C.D.) and Coleman (28th C.D.) aren't waiting 'till Nov." I've never heard of these guys, but that is not surprising as we have over 50 Congressional Districts in California, all completely gerrymandered so there are very few meaningful races. These must be some of the hopeless long shots.
The accompanying link looks like just another LA Times link: email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/e23r0IQus50G2B0HYJt0EN Curious, I click on it. You can too.
(Thanks for posting your experience at the Convention! - promoted by SFBrianCL)
Crossposted at the DailyKos, MyDD, and MyLeftWing
I wish every Democrat or progressive could attend a California Democratic Party convention. CDP delegates come in every ethnicity, religion, height, weight, gender and economic class. The convention is a rich reduction sauce of the human comedy. On display is incredible diversity, courage, idealism and dedication... as well as ego and arrogance, pettiness and backbiting... and the tendency of humans to dissent and dispute endlessly... and also come together for common goals.
This was my second convention. I was one of the crop of 2005 delegates brought in on the flotsam of the 2004 presidential campaign: a class of grassroots organizers who were recruited by opposition to Iraq, trained by Howard Dean, and deployed by John Kerry. By the time of the last convention, many of us were new to politics, but already scarred by battle... and ready to try to work within the California party because we needed to reclaim our party.
These are the impressions of one of the "Fresh Horses" one year after.
Meteor Blades wrote: