Impeachment: No Joking Matter!

This is Ken Mehlman, Chairman of the Republican National Committee:



As reported:

"The senator's former campaign staff had gathered for a holiday party Wednesday night at Finn macCool's, a Capitol Hill watering hole, and Kerry, with a drink in hand, quipped that if the Democrats retake Congress they could make a case for impeaching President Bush."

But this wasn't a very funny joke for the sensitive Republicans. After all had they ever impeached a President for something as serious as lying about sex in the Oval Office? I suppose that would be pretty funny too.

The RNC responded:

“With his impeachment advocacy last night, John Kerry once again showed how out of touch he is with American people and how in step he is with the far left fringes of the Democrat party. For one of the leaders of the Democrat party to begin a push for presidential impeachment, in seriousness or jest, on the eve of the Iraq elections is both foolish and shortsighted.”

Out of touch? Far left fringe? Foolish and shortsighted?

I don't think so.

Perhaps Mr. Mehlman hadn't been thinking about the recent revelation of Presidential spying on American citizens:

WASHINGTON - President Bush acknowledged Saturday that he ordered the National Security Agency to spy on Americans and he defiantly vowed to continue such domestic electronic eavesdropping ``for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from Al-Qaida and related groups.''
In an unusual step, Bush delivered a live weekly radio address from the White House in which he defended his action as ``fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities.''

President Bush giving a radio address.
This is Senator Russ Feingold.

Russ understands that spying on American citizens is not something we do in America without search warrants or judicial overview. Senator Feingold stated:

"We have a system of law," Feingold said. "He just can't make up the law … It would turn George Bush not into President George Bush, but King George Bush."

Today, President Bush went further.


President Bush at Today's News Conference

In a fifty-five minute news conference he defended his actions:

Normally, no wiretapping is permitted in the United States without a court warrant. But Bush said he approved the action without such orders "because it enables us to move faster and quicker. We've got to be fast on our feet.

"It is legal to do so. I swore to uphold the laws. Legal authority is derived from the Constitution,'' he added.

In other words it is legal because he says it is.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales explains it better:

Gonzales said Monday that a congressional act passed after September 11 not only authorized President Bush to use force in the war on terror, it gave the president the power to allow such wiretaps.

"There were many people, many lawyers within the administration who advised the president that he had an inherent authority as commander in chief under the Constitution to engage in these kind of signal intelligence of our enemy," he said.

"We also believe that the authorization to use force, which was passed by the Congress in the days following the attacks of September 11, constituted additional authorization for the president to engage in this kind of signal intelligence."

And what has Senator John Kerry had to say about this?

Campaigning in Maine for Governor John Baldacci, Kerry stated:

Calling the NSA news "very, very disturbing," the Massachusetts senator said that with the exception of the most urgent national security circumstances, such as direct information about attacks, there is no reason such wire tapping couldn't go through a legitimate legal review process.

"This administration is out of control, and they're stepping on the rights of American citizens," Kerry said.

This is no joke.

This is a usurpation of power by this executive who not only doesn't even apologize, but who pledges to violate the law again and again.

How about that joke about impeachment now Mr. Mehlman? Is anyone laughing?

Bob