Impeachment or Burger King
In May of 2006, Speaker of the House-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi took “impeachment off the table”. For months now, Dennis Kucinich has been trying to put the issue back on the table, to little avail. Finally, it looks like at least one of his Articles of Impeachment will receive a Judiciary Committee hearing.
Way back before the Democratic Party sweep in 2006, months before Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as Speaker of the House in January, 2007, she put forth the now-infamous proclamation at a party caucus meeting: “Impeachment is off the table.“
Dennis Kucinich, the gadfly Dem congressman from Ohio and former presidential contender, recently introduced a wide ranging impeachment resolution against George W. Bush. The resolution was referred to the Judiciary Committee (headed by John Conyers), where it is all but certain to experience an ignoble death. One count of the indictment, though, will apparently merit a committee hearing.
Impeachment is on the table.
But Congress is not allowed to bite.
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on one of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders in the chamber have signaled that they do not want the committee – let alone the full House – to take a vote on impeachment.
How’s that?
The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the president’s abuses of power – perhaps as soon as next week…
But, when all is said and done, the committee is only supposed to “accumulate” the evidence of imperial over-reach, not to act upon it.
John Cole has excellent advice for the Democratic Party congressional “leadership” on this parliamentary maneuver: it’s time to shit or get off the pot, or get a job at Burger King.
(h/t to Brendan for for the lead!)