I knew it, and wished I would have said it then. Can someone, anyone, please tell me why we now must find the “facts” buried on the opinion pages, while innuendo and spin masquerade parade unchallenged by the truth?
Digby, as usual, cuts through the clutter and puts the entire Bush presidency into focus (my emphasis in bold):
We can impeach and maybe we will. And maybe we’ll remove Bush and Cheney and Gonzales and send a powerful message about the usurpation of the constitution. But no matter what, this is ultimately something the people have to rectify at the ballot box. All constitutional power derives from us. We are the ones who have to make a stand, not just 67 men and women in the Senate. We must vote them out. And we must keep them out until this radical conservative movement is so discredited that they can never again take the radical step of ruling this nation with one president and 34 obedient senators as if they were ordained by God instead of the people of this nation.
I would hope that everyone can see that presidential impeachment isn’t an end in itself. It’s a very serious intervention by the congress into the heart of our democratic system — it seeks to remove a duly elected president and it simply must be ratified by the people or we will have weakened the constitution even more by doing it. It is elections that are the foundation of democracy and what gives real legitimacy to the government. Surely if we believe it is the Democratic congress’ duty to impeach, we must also believe it is our duty to ensure that these people are repudiated by the citizens in no uncertain terms.
No matter what happens in the congress over the next year, I hope that everyone recognizes that the single most important thing that has to happen is that we kick the Republican party so far out of power they have to have a passport to get back in.
I am far from a student of history, but even I now realize that we must never rest when it comes to projecting our voices, protecting our rights, and protesting endlessly when either one is trampled.
This is not a Democratic issue, this is an American issue. They — meaning Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, and the entire Republican party — have so fundamentally perverted what it means to be an American. We cannot and must not let it stand. The truth must be told, the air must be cleared; then we must continue to tell the truth and keep the air clear, so that we are never again confronted with such a brazen attack on our way of life.
These men are not patriots, they are criminals. But they have not only wrapped themselves in the flag, they have justified their actions with God and the Bible. It will not be easy to break their spell on a good portion of America, but it must be done.
On the audacity of Alberto Gonzales, and his willful and shameless shilling for George W. Bush, the man to whom he owes his place in life, Glenn Greenwald saidbest:
That is what Alberto Gonzales does. He lies to protect the President. And the President will never fire him. Gonzales isn’t keeping his job despite his willingness to lie to Congress, but because of it. Congress has no choice but to act meaningfully — impeachment of Gonzales and a Special Prosecutor — and if they do not, then, I suppose, one could say that Congress deserves to be lied to.
Honestly, how can you watch this clip and not be dumbfounded blown away by the gall of this man?
It no longer matters whether Alberto Gonzales is a woeful idiot or a pigheaded liar. This man has no business in our government, let alone at the head of Justice Department. If he won’t resign and Bush won’t fire him, then he must be impeached. Now.