Nancy Pelosi forfeits the Constitution

[Demeter]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mark_a___060516_nancy_pelosi_forfeit.htm


Nancy Pelosi forfeits the Constitution
by Mark A. Goldman


http://www.opednews.com

With House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi telling us that Democrats will not try to impeach Bush now or later, we have an admission that the rule of law is now dead in America. At least it's dead with Nancy Pelosi. She wants to appease us with legislative perks. Her strategy: It doesn't matter that we've lost the Constitution, we'll make it up to you with a better drug prescription plan. (She smiles… Applause!)

I don't see any real signs of life anywhere else in Congress either. Apparently we are to accept and believe that…

1) Bush and his cabal did not commit impeachable offenses, or
2) We have entered a new chapter in America where some people are now above the law. In fact, what she is telling us is that the Constitution doesn't matter any more, that administrations rule rather than serve, and from now on some government officials will be accountable to no one… ever.

Bush's impeachment should have been well under way by now. The problem is that there has been a political coup, and the government of the United States has been overthrown....How come no Congress person has stated publicly that Bush and Co. have committed impeachable offenses and why have no Representatives filed articles of impeachment? Is it too late now that they are all complicit? Allowing Bush to trample the Constitution is treason.

Individual members of Congress .... have succumbed to a political apparatus that now operates outside the framework of the Constitution itself. House and Senate rules give some representatives more power than others… so much so that most representatives have lost their autonomy and sense of self. That was never the intention of the Framers.

....For those of you who pray, I suggest you change your prayers from "God bless America," to "God help us." And I suggest you start today.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. well, it is not new that certain people are above the law

that has been that way since, well, since.

I think we are just more aware of it now.

[the observationist]

2. Good post, thanks for sharing another example

In my opinion

1. The Republican politicians are hypocritical and only want to impose law on others not abide by it. They impeach Clinton but refuse to look in the mirror with their president. The problem is that regular citizens don't seem to understand or see this. They don't understand that they wallow in hypocrisy.

2. Can anyone give me the name of a politician in Washington that isn’t a sellout? Most of them seem to think they can buy our love with pork barrel politics and “perks”. In most cases they probably can. Both parties are deeply entrenched in this practice. Placate the masses by giving them money that they steal from other citizens and companies. It is a shame that Democrats are also involved with this and it is also a shame that more voters don't really care.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

3. Senator Dodd isn't a sellout~

He refused to sell legislation to Ney.

excerpt~On July 25, 2002, Rep. Ney met with Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and was surprised to learn that Sen. Dodd was unwilling to attach the Tigua's legislation to pending election reform legislation, the vehicle Rep. Ney was hoping to use to re-open the casino. Although he shared the news with Mr. Abramoff, no one, including Rep. Ney, delivered this piece of bad news to the Tigua.

~It was not until October that the Tigua learned that Rep. Ney would not solve their problem. Rather than telling the Tigua the real story -- #8211; that Sen. Dodd had never agreed to legislation -- #8211; Rep. Ney lied and told the tribe that Sen. Dodd had gone back on his word. In a written statement submitted to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which eventually held a hearing on this situation, Sen. Dodd stated that he never told Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Scanlon, or Rep. Ney "that would in any manner work legislatively to recognize the Tigua Tribe."

http://www.beyonddelay.org/summaries/ney.php

[Demeter]

4. kick so Nancy gets word

We are not amused!

[Jack Rabbit]

5. This is a little extreme (but only a little)

I wish I could disagree with it more.

With House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi telling us that Democrats will not try to impeach Bush now or later, we have an admission that the rule of law is now dead in America. At least it's dead with Nancy Pelosi. She wants to appease us with legislative perks. Her strategy: It doesn't matter that we've lost the Constitution, we'll make it up to you with a better drug prescription plan. (She smiles… Applause!)

I don't see any real signs of life anywhere else in Congress either. Apparently we are to accept and believe that…

1. Bush and his cabal did not commit impeachable offenses, or
2. We have entered a new chapter in America where some people are now above the law. In fact, what she is telling us is that the Constitution doesn't matter any more, that administrations rule rather than serve, and from now on some government officials will be accountable to no one… ever.

Obviously, Bush and his cabal have committed impeachable offenses. I drew up list of five articles of impeachment several weeks ago against Bush, but several of these articles also apply to Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld or Gonzales. Some of these involve violations of statutory law, others are violations international law for which presidents of other nations have been brought before international war crimes tribunals, and some are just abuse of power.

The second point Mr. Goldman makes is true at this time. The Republican Party is now dominated by extremists who have no intention of impeaching a Republican president for lying about the threat posed by Iraq prior to a war that amounted to naked imperialism rather than any bona fide national security matter. As long as the GOP controls both Houses of Congress, especially the House of Representatives, the second point remains the case.

The question is whether that will change when the Democrats take control of the House in January.

Ms. Pelosi's remarks over the weekend were not encouraging on the surface. However, beneath the surface she left open the possibility of impeachment. Ms. Pelosi has stated that a Democratic congress will open investigations. Presumably, this means investigations of the manipulation of intelligence prior to the war, of torture in Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram Air Base and other offshore facilities in the neoconservative network of gulags, the administration of reconstruction in Iraq, including both corporate corruption aided and abetted by the Bush regime and Mr. Bremer's 100 decrees in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the NSA warrantless wiretapping program in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the indefinite incarceration of American citizens in violation of the Sixth Amendment, and the unmasking of an undercover agent for purely political reasons.

If the Democrats take over Congress and don't use their subpoena power to investigate serious wrong doing by the regime that will lead to multiple impeachment trials, then Mr. Goldman's complaints will be valid. But the Democrats need to be given a clear opportunity to blow the chance first.