Impeachment Redux?

April 24, 2006

Elizabeth Holtzman, The Nation: The Impeachment of George W. Bush: "Finally, it has started. People have begun to speak of impeaching President George W. Bush--not in hushed whispers but openly, in newspapers, on the Internet, in ordinary conversations and even in Congress. As a former member of Congress who sat on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon, I believe they are right to do so."

Lewis Lapham, Harper's Magazine: The Case for Impeachment: "That President George W. Bush comes to power with the intention of invading Iraq is a fact not open to dispute. Pleased with the image of himself as a military hero, and having spoken, more than once, about seeking revenge on Saddam Hussein for the tyrant's alleged attempt to “kill my Dad,” he appoints to high office in his administration a cadre of warrior intellectuals, chief among them Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, known to be eager for the glories of imperial conquest."

Garrison Keillor, Salon.com: Impeach Bush: "But torture is something else. When Americans start pulling people's fingernails out with pliers and poking lighted cigarettes into their palms, then we need to come back to basic values. Most people agree with this, and in a democracy that puts the torturers in a delicate position. They must make sure to destroy their e-mails and have subordinates who will take the fall. Because it is impossible to keep torture secret. It goes against the American grain and it eats at the conscience of even the most disciplined, and in the end the truth will come out. It is coming out now."

Michelle Goldberg, Salon.com : Bush's impeachable offense: "Yes, the president committed a federal crime by wiretapping Americans, say constitutional scholars, former intelligence officers and politicians. What's missing is the political will to impeach him."

Also in Salon, Constitutional scholars Mark Tushnet, Jack Rakove, Michael J. Gerhardt and Cass Sunstein discuss impeachment in a series of essays: The I-word.

SCOTUSblog: From a village green...: "By a paper ballot vote of 121 to 29, according to news accounts, the town meeting approved the last item of scheduled business on the agenda, Article 29…'Therefore, the voters of the town of Newfane ask that our representative to the U.S. House of Representatives file articles of impeachment to remove him from office.'"