Arrest the President ?

"Arrest the President!"

Those were the words once uttered by emcee Intelligent Hoodlum, who has now changed his name to Tragedy Khadaffi which I can't really say I can make any sense of. But that's not the point of this post. While putting President George W. Bush in chains and booking him with mugshots hasn't been floated in mainstream media circles, a rising chorus is speaking out about another fate, one laid in the groundworks of America's experimental democracy to take care of wayward executives--Impeachment.



Though taken "off the table" by Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi, and at one time only the domain of the so-called "radical left," the idea of removing both President George Bush and Dick Cheney (who has made a 4th branch of government out of the Vice Presidency) is picking up steam in some unlikely circles. A public opinion poll from the American Research Group recently reported that more than four in ten Americans — 45% — favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and more than half — 54% — favored impeachment for Vice President Cheney. For some the matter is personal. For others it has everything to do with the tragic Iraq War. But for many it goes even deeper, as they detail the inherent dangers of an executive branch who regularly subverts democracy, ignores the Constitution, breaks laws and attempts to assert powers that border on the imperial. On Friday Jul. 13th, veteran journalist Bill Moyers sat down with John Nichols of The Nation and Bruce Fein, a former Justice Department official during the Reagan administration who drafted articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. These two unlikely allies both agree on one thing--George Bush and Dick Cheney both need to be impeached.

Click Video above to seen an excerpt and/or read transcript below. And yep, the pause function on the music box can be found at the bottom right.

From Bill Moyers Journal:

July 13, 2007

A public opinion poll from the American Research Group recently reported that more than four in ten Americans — 45% — favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and more than half — 54% — favored impeachment for Vice President Cheney.

Unhappiness about the war in Iraq isn't the only cause of the unsettled feelings of the electorate. Recent events like President Bush's pardoning of Scooter Libby, the refusal of Vice President Cheney's office to surrender emails under subpoena to Congress and the President's prohibition of testimony of former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers in front of the House Judiciary Committee have caused unease over claims of "executive privilege." In addition, many of the White House anti-terror initiatives and procedures — from the status of "enemy combatants" in Guantanamo to warrantless wiretapping — have come under legal scrutiny in Congress and the courts.

Bill Moyers gets perspective on the role of impeachment in American political life from Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein, who wrote the first article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, and THE NATION's John Nichols, author of THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT.

full transcript:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/transcript2.html