Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up Impeachment

From another optimist!

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_john_r_m_070224_top_down_versus_bott.htm

February 24, 2007 at 06:09:42

Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up Impeachment

by John R Moffett


It is impossible to exaggerate the stark difference between the impeachment of President Clinton and the impending impeachment of President Bush.

There is currently no talk of impeaching President Bush or Vice President Cheney in the US House of Representatives, but there are measures moving through the state legislatures in at least three states, Washington, Vermont and New Mexico. Hopefully more states will take up similar legislation.

This grassroots movement around the country to bring law and order back to our executive branch is precisely the opposite type of proceeding from the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. President Clinton's impeachment was initiated at the top levels of the Republican elite hierarchy, and pushed through the House by rich, white, ultra-conservatives without significant public support. By the time those proceedings were done, President Clinton had an approximately 70% approval rating with the public.

President Bush's current approval rating is approximately 30%, and even that hard core conservative base of 30% is very uneasy about President Bush's capabilities and proclivities. There is currently little impetus in the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings, but the grass roots movement is expanding rapidly. If enough states pass joint resolutions to initiate impeachment proceedings, it may force Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats to take up impeachment hearings in a serious way.

This is the big difference between the Republican and Democratic parties, Republicans are authoritarians who do things from the top down, whereas Democrats and progressives are populists and do things from the ground up. It will be a wonderful expression of our democratic society if the impeachment of Bush and Cheney are brought about by the actions of hundreds of thousands of patriotic Americans who want to reclaim their country from the corporate, Republican elite.

fantasy.

But then, all new things start out as fantasies. I'm willing to work for this one.

There appears to be a top down authoritarian movement within the Democratic party to BLOCK impeachment. It has been going on for more than a year, and I would like to find out who is behind it.

The belief that an individual or faction has a "right" to impose their will on others is what fascism is all about -- whether it goes by the name Theocrasy, Monarchy, Aristocracy, Dictatorship or rule by a "unitary authoritarian executive" it's all fascism.

The Constitution has been in breach from the day that Congress failed to reject the illegitimate Florida electors on January 6th, 2001, but we have the power to enforce the terms. The fascists can never take our sovereignty from us. No one can do that. It is ours. And more and more of us are remembering that and acting on the knowledge.

Impeaching Bush and Cheney is the first, absolutely essential step. Our representatives are currently trapped by the irrational fears, rationalizations, and wrong-headed assumptions that pervade the beltway. But they are just people. They can be reached. We just need to keep doing what we can to wake our fellow citizens and our elected officials up. (Even if we don't get through by 2008, we keep going and lobby for impeachment "in absentia" after Bush and Cheney pack.)