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The purpose, the intended RESULT of impeachment is to remove someone from office.
Not imprison them, not fine them, not flog them in the public square, not humiliate them--but simply to get a substandard performer out of the job they are in. That is all conviction accomplishes.
And Clinton came out pretty well, because yes, he was impeached, but NO, he was NOT CONVICTED. His impeachment made him a martyr to the rampaging, Christofacist, rightwing, fundie GOP--and was the very beginning of what you see happening in political life in America now. An out of control Newt-run House was at it's apogee when those articles of impeachment were sent over from the House to the Senate...and it was all downhill from there.
I don't see Clinton running from public life these days.
When you POLITICIZE impeachment, you FUCK UP, see? Now, people may hate Bush, and they may KNOW full well that he has done wrong--but where's THE EVIDENCE? You need to HOLD HEARINGS to GET evidence. You don't start out saying "We're impeaching!!! And now, let's hold hearings to get the evidence we need to impeach!!!!!" That's called a KANGAROO COURT. It's what REPUBLICANS do.
Bush is a bastard, but he isn't stupid. That illegal war? Why, an entire Congress gave him the up-check for that, so take that off the old Impeachment Table. What he didn't take care of by having someone else get their hands dirty doing (Gonzalez, Scooter, e.g.), he covered with a SIGNING STATEMENT. Illegal to torture? Well, let me put a little signing statement on that baby, there! Voila--the "illegal" is now "legal"--because Li'l Bush said so! What? You don't agree with that "Signing Statement" bullshit? Let's take it to the SUPREME COURT, then--and let THEM decide!!! How do you think that will work out? Isn't it best, taking the LONG view, of course, to keep those fascist bastards out of the process to the extent possible?
I take the long view. You can't bellow for impeachment without evidence, and like it or not, there AIN'T none yet. Investigations may produce some, but until they do, impeachment SHOULD be "off the table." We don't shoot first and ask questions later--that's what the Republicans do.
But hey, whatever. I know I am pissing in the wind with some around here, who simply want a pound of flesh without doing any hard work to get it, and don't care how they'll look down the road.
If we handle ourselves properly, we can have all three branches of government, undo some of the crap we've seen happen since the BushCo coup, and maybe get the country back on track. If we handle ourselves poorly, we'll turn off a nation that's already weary of the infighting and bullshit. We've got to make people believe in the best of America again, and getting all shitty and petty--without EVIDENCE (and like it or not, there still isn't any)--is not the way to do it.
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