Posted on 07/26/2008 5:21:17 AM PDT by equaviator
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Call it the un-impeachment hearing.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Friday it insisted was not about removing President Bush from office. But critics of Bush's policies couldn't pass up the chance to charge the president with a long list of impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors."
Leading the way was Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, the former Democratic presidential candidate who has brought repeated impeachment resolutions on the House floor against Bush and Vice President Cheney.
Kucinich got a rock star welcome of whistles, hoots and clapping as he walked into the hearing room, holding hands with his wife, from hundreds of anti-war, anti-Bush people crammed into the room and lining the hallways outside. T-shirts reading "Arrest Bush" and "Veterans for Impeachment" illustrated the sentiments of many.
The House Democratic leadership, not interested in a bloody impeachment battle in the last year of Bush's presidency, steered Kucinich's resolutions to the Judiciary Committee where they could quietly fade away, but Friday's hearing gave Kucinich and his allies an opportunity to air their views.
"To the regret of many, this is not an impeachment hearing," said committee chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., pointing out the less incendiary title of the event, "executive power and its constitutional limitations."
Still, Conyers, a vocal opponent of Bush, noted that his panel had pursued many issues that Kucinich and others regard as impeachable offenses: manipulating intelligence about Iraq; misusing authority with regard to torture, detention and rendition; politicizing the Justice Department and retaliating against critics, as in the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Republicans, clearly in the minority at the hearing, expressed suspicion at Democratic motives. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., called it "impeachment lite," where people were given free rein to impugn Bush but not to impeach him.
"It seems that we are hosting an anger management class," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the committee's senior Republican. "This hearing will not cause us to impeach the president; it will only serve to impeach Congress's credibility."
The committee also reminded lawmakers and those testifying that House rules prohibit "personal abuse, innuendo or ridicule of the president." The House Rules and Manual points out that suggestions of mendacity, or accusations of hypocrisy, demagoguery or deception were out of order.
"The rules of the House prevent me or any witness from utilizing familiar terms," Kucinich said. "But we can put two and two together in our minds."
Former Los Angeles County Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, known for his prosecution of Charles Manson in 1970, acknowledged that "I am forbidden from accusing him of a crime, or even any dishonorable conduct" under House rules. But he could still encourage people to read his book, "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder."
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., was less circumspect in asserting that Bush was "the worst president that our nation has ever suffered."
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., concluded that "this is the most impeachable administration in the history of America because of the way that it has clearly violated the law."
"I am really astonished at the mood in this room," commented one witness, George Mason University School of Law professor Jeremy Rabkin.
"The tone of these deliberations is slightly demented," Rabkin said. "You should all remind yourselves that the rest of the country is not necessarily in this same bubble in which people think it is reasonable to describe the president as if he were Caligula."
Amazing how Congress has time to try to impeach Bush but has no time to expand energy supplies and deal with problems that actual Americans care about.
Poor bastards=the people who voted them into office
These POOR?? deluded BASTARDS still can’t come to grips with the fact that GW was right and are just pandering.
And they wonder why their poll ratings are in the pits.
I watched some of the hearings, and that fat guy from New York, Nadler(?) was over the top stupid. I didn’t see the segments with Kucinich but the republicans who were there (few and far between due to its complete waste of time) were pretty good.
Two of the panel members (names escape me) pretty much said those who want to impeach president Bush are demented. So true.
LOL
Why the Republicans members simply don't walk out in mass to protest such lunacy is beyond my understanding
Other than the daily airing of this crap via NYT, WP, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, etc. etc. etc. etc.
Still, Conyers, a vocal opponent of Bush, noted that his panel had pursued many issues that Kucinich and others regard as impeachable offenses: manipulating intelligence about Iraq; misusing authority with regard to torture, detention and rendition; politicizing the Justice Department and retaliating against critics, as in the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Intelligence on Iraq was not manipulated by Bush--if it were, they would get that impeachment they're chirping about.
Torture = BS
politicizing the Justice Department = impeachable--if true. So I guess it's not, because again, they'd get their impeachment if so.
retaliating against critics, as in the outing of former CIA agent Valerie Plame
Good God, Conyers, you old coot, let that lie DIE.
Poor Bastards -My ass!
These clowns are wasting yours and my money putting on these ridiculous theatricals !
A better way to describe these sick obnoxious, Lying, Traitorous, Demented Mentally Deranged Bastards is to call them by their more accurate title: DEMORATS!!!
Aside from the editorial pages in the NY Times?
www.randi.org
You can actually debate them without the conversation devolving into name calling, as they are so prone to do. They are a more mature version of Bush bashers over there.
Re-elect nobody!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Wading into the fight with head down, eyes closed and arms flailing, leading with the chin, preparing to roll ribs solidly into the opponent’s boot, and throw eye at the opponent’s fist. (Head down and leading with the chin, is that even POSSIBLE? It is if your head is on upside down.)
Yeah, they were ready for this fight. Jump on the big fellow’s back just as the bar is closing.
Where was Dennis on September 12, 2001, when the attempt to remove Bush would have been SO much more effective?
But as long as the House remains in session for this purpose, we could also squeeze in consideration on lifting the ban on oil exploration and extraction on a considerable number of tract or sites now off-limits, for no reasonable purpose.
I agree. And C-SPAN is equally to blame for broadcasting this crap to the American public.
Sort of like why a person will keep fiddling with a sore that he knows is gonna hurt when he touchs it.
Isn’t Conyers’ wife in deep doo do in Michigan?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
If Gore or Kerry were President and actually did these things, they would be cheering!
Look at how the same rat-bastards defended Clinton - and still do.
Kind of sounds EXACTLY what they were saying about Lincoln!!!
BTW...When the vote on offshore drilling?
They can’t impeach him, they don’t have the votes. The best they could do was to get this hearing on a much more vague topic.
That’s because the rest of the Democrats, while they are loons, are not completely insane. They know the country would not stand for it.
I point this out all the time to the libs at work. I call it selective outrage. They were flipping a few weeks ago when Bush claimed executive privilege. They claimed it was a frivolous use of power. I remind them of Bill Clinton using executive privilege when trying to cover up a bj. My my, they have short memories when they need to fill their daily does of Bush hatred.
Okay, okay...substitute “Pathetic bastards” for “Poor bastards”...works for me!
FYI: The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr of Michigan, is an endorser of the Revolutionary Communist Party call to "Drive Out the Bush Regime". If anyone needs to be 'investigated', it's that SOB! But since the republicans are mostly weak-kneed cowards, I doubt it will ever happen.
Click on the WCW link just below and see: "Endorsers of the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include". Conyers' endorsement appears right after Ward Churchill's. Al Sharpton's, Maxine Waters and Jesse Jackson Jr's endorsements are also on the list:
http://worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2538&Itemid=2
And on Oct 5, 2006, demonRat chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr, GAVE A SPEECH to the World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime organization. Here's full-page coverage of it from the WCW website:
http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3114&Itemid=243
Fact: World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime is a Maoist-revolutionary movement/organization initiated and controlled by the Revolutionary Communist Party. (scroll down the list that appears (after clicking link) to find the World Can't Wait organization --rwor.org is the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party):
http://rwor.org/a/rwlink/links.htm
From David Horowitz's FrontpageMag.com /DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
Profile: World Can't Wait (WCW)
*Revolutionary communist movement that stages protests against the Bush administration
*Organizes college and high-school students
*Founded in June 2005 by Charles Clark Kissinger, a longtime leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7213
From the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us or rwor.org) :
"Create Public Opinion, Seize Power: We are preparing minds and organizing forces for the time when there is a major crack in the system, whenever it comes and wherever it comes from: an opening that makes it possible to bring the future Revolutionary Army of the Proletariat (R.A.P.) into the field and wage a revolutionary armed struggle that actually has a chance of winning. And we have said that building our party itself is the most important part of organizing forces for revolution. This is true now, and it is true looking forward to the creation of that future R.A.P. and the waging of that armed struggle.":
http://revcom.us/a/v20/1000-1009/1000/barw.htm
Also from the Revolutionary Communist Party website: "Tearing Up the U.S. Paper Tiger in Korea: How 300,000 Chinese Troops Snuck into Korea and Kicked the Ass of the U.S. Armed Forces" RW #1059, June 18, 2000:
http://rwor.org/a/v22/1052-059/1059/korea.htm
Here's the Revolutionary Communist Party (see link below) boasting of a FULL PAGE 'World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime' ad of theirs which appeared in the New York Slimes.(either "rwor.org" or "revcom.us" takes you to the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party). The NY Times has since allowed several additional full-page RCP/WCW ads.
Article title: "Who Hated the Bush Step Down Ad in the New York Times? ...And what that Tells Us About Why We Must and How We Can Drive Out the Bush Regime"(actual title)
http://www.rwor.org/a/028/who-hated-bush-ad.htm
Put THAT in your gas tanks, Ohio’s 10th District!
Why the Republicans members simply don’t walk out in mass to protest such lunacy is beyond my understanding
Better if each one took his allotted time and said absolutely nothing; nothing but silence.
Hah, you got it! Conyers has a big problem now that his old lady, Monica has been in the local news as of late. She’s not headlines ‘cause dat belong to Kwame “Hizzoner” Kilpatrick.
C’mon, Governor Granholm, do the right thing, wouldya? That whole camping trip is out of order. I can hear the guy on the FM radio station call-in show now...”Good morning, aks the Mayor...”
Criticism from liberals who have never been right on anything in the last 40 years.
“The tone of these deliberations is slightly demented,” Rabkin said..”
Great observation but too reserved. Completely demented would be more accurate.
Things like this serve to remind us of what we know. The left is populated by vermin.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2051660/posts?page=25#25
Poor bastards my ass. The people who voted these guys into office are just like them. Guys like Kucinich, Henchy, etc. think, smell an look just like the people who vote them in year after year. The people in Kucinich’s district are idiots just like him, each and every one of them. The big problem is that once in office, we can’t get rid of them.
You are being too kind.... < /s >
Dennis Kucinich’s goal is to tear down our country. He is also a member of The Workers Party.....a communist organization. Does anyone check into this stuff or really care? We need another McCarthy.
And the Dems keep saying that only the Republicans are partisan.
Re: "Dennis Kucinich is a member of The Workers Party".
Please don't make such specific claims without providing credible links and/or other evidence. It only acts to discredit the real info. Thanks.
“I don’t think y’all get it. The freaking CHAIRMAN of the House Judiciary Committee is on record endorsing a revolutionary communist organization!”
No offense, but a Democrat endorsing a communist is hardly breaking news. It’s hard to get excited this news when it’s so common place.
From the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us or rwor.org) :
"Create Public Opinion, Seize Power: We are preparing minds and organizing forces for the time when there is a major crack in the system, whenever it comes and wherever it comes from: an opening that makes it possible to bring the future Revolutionary Army of the Proletariat (R.A.P.) into the field and wage a revolutionary armed struggle that actually has a chance of winning. And we have said that building our party itself is the most important part of organizing forces for revolution. This is true now, and it is true looking forward to the creation of that future R.A.P. and the waging of that armed struggle.":
http://revcom.us/a/v20/1000-1009/1000/barw.htm
Fact: World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime is a Maoist-revolutionary movement/organization initiated and controlled by the Revolutionary Communist Party. (scroll down the list that appears (after clicking link) to find the World Can't Wait organization --rwor.org is the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party):
http://rwor.org/a/rwlink/links.htm
From David Horowitz's FrontpageMag.com /DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
Profile: World Can't Wait (WCW)
*Revolutionary communist movement that stages protests against the Bush administration
*Organizes college and high-school students
*Founded in June 2005 by Charles Clark Kissinger, a longtime leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7213
Click on the WCW link just below and see: "Endorsers of the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include". Conyers' endorsement appears right after Ward Churchill's. Al Sharpton's, Maxine Waters and Jesse Jackson Jr's endorsements are also on the list:
http://worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2538&Itemid=2
And on Oct 5, 2006, demonRat chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr, GAVE A SPEECH to the World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime organization. Here's full-page coverage of it from the WCW website:
http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3114&Itemid=243
They can't. They're the minority. Even if they could, they're not going to. The left has done such a fine propaganda job of demonizing the McCarthy investigations, that if the Republicans attempted an investigation of any democrat with commie ties, they would get roasted.
Hell with all the other minor bullsh*t! Didn't anyone here read what I posted?
Who reads anything after my posts? ;-)
Republicans, clearly in the minority at the hearing, expressed suspicion at Democratic motives. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., called it "impeachment lite," where people were given free rein to impugn Bush but not to impeach him. "It seems that we are hosting an anger management class," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the committee's senior Republican. "This hearing will not cause us to impeach the president; it will only serve to impeach Congress's credibility." The committee also reminded lawmakers and those testifying that House rules prohibit "personal abuse, innuendo or ridicule of the president." The House Rules and Manual points out that suggestions of mendacity, or accusations of hypocrisy, demagoguery or deception were out of order... "I am really astonished at the mood in this room," commented one witness, George Mason University School of Law professor Jeremy Rabkin. "The tone of these deliberations is slightly demented," Rabkin said. "You should all remind yourselves that the rest of the country is not necessarily in this same bubble in which people think it is reasonable to describe the president as if he were Caligula."November 2008 -- Be There!
And you're willing to sit back and concede them that victory, even when the commies in question openly advocate the violent overthrow of the American government? With a defeatist attitude like that it's no wonder we are where we are at today. We can't bend over and allow them to take over this country. It's not like it was in the old days where accusers would be labeled 'paranoid' or 'witch hunters'. Today, anyone with an internet connection can easily access the information themselves. That is, providing they know where to look. And the links I provided were straight from the horse's mouth.
You're absolutely right. Its alll my fault. I'm hopeless.
You do something. :-)
Not you, but rather the attitude that there isn't anything we can do to counter these b*stards. How on earth are we ever going to defeat them if we continue allowing them these victories? And this one would be major.
You do something.
I am. I'm providing the smoking gun evidence for the freaking coward republicans. I've been sending this and a bunch of other stuff just like it to FoxSnooze and other 'right-wing' media for years. Check out what I have on demonRat chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel. Much of it is on my FR home page, at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/
The Republicans have ALWAYS wanted to "just get along" with the Democrats. The Republicans are timid when it comes to this kind of thing, practically apologizing for charging Clinton.
On the other hand, for all that you say about Conyers, do you seriously think the opposition party in Congress--ANY opposition--is going to spend all its time hunting down Democrat commie sympathizers?
Posting links to small-time news sources about obscure meetings and comments is going to do nothing. No offense, am just pointing to reality. The average American would see any action on these things as a revival of McCarthyism, and if you want a return of the backlash over prosecuting Clinton, you'll get it. I don't see how that will solve anything, though. We have to get some creative thinkers in congess. Now, we don't have any thinkers of any kind.
This would simply be because our side is too GD stupid to make the case properly. It isn't like the old days where such 'accusations' were difficult to prove. Today, anyone with an internet connection can easily access the information (such as I've provided). Again, Conyers is ON RECORD endorsing (and giving a speech to) a movement organized and controlled by the Revolutionary Communist Party. The RCP openly advocates for the violent overthrow of the American government. What the hell is so hard for the average American to understand about that? Are you saying people of reasonable intelligence couldn't be convinced that a communist overthrow of the government is a *bad* thing?? If they aren't, it just means we have a LOT more work to do. Not bury ourselves deeper in the mud.
No, you're pointing to your OPINION, not "reality". Have you even heard of the Revolutionary Communist Party until today? They've only been around for 30+ years. John Kerry probably knows a little something about them. They are part of the larger international Maoist movement. The same in which Bill Ayers' Weather Underground, the Black Panthers and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), belonged. Just because we've done such a lousy job of informing the American people of these things in the past, doesn't mean we should continue doing so in the future. We should all be doing our part in getting this type of information out to as many people as possible. And not just with bold 'claims', but with the straight-from-the-horse's-mouth evi-dence. (links to their own websites, such as I've provided). Only a complete idiot or hardcore leftist wouldn't be outraged and want investigations. Most of the "McCarthyism" stuff is based in total ignorance of the facts. Few are aware that there was, and still is today, a highly influential communist movement. Yet you seem to be suggesting we act like it doesn't exist and do nothing when leading demonRats are caught red-handed working with them. That is crazy, and suicidal. And exactly what the far left, hate America crowd wants us to do. I for one will never play into their hands.
Sorry, friend, but YOU are the one without a solid hold on reality.
Yes, of course McCarthyism has been warped and distorted--you don't want to admit that THAT DOESN'T MATTER. McCarthy and HCUA (not HUAC, as the lefties like to type) were about legitimate issues. HISTORY, though, as portrayed by the lefty press, has told us McCarthy was practically Stalin himself, and bringing up these issues will only get one labelled a kook.
You don't have to call names as a way of portraying yourself as having "special" knowledge just because I acknowledge the truth, which is that while I would LOVE such investigations, they're not going to happen, no matter how much we ask for them.
Your view of how such calls would be viewed is quaint, and uninformed. Sad, but that's the truth--not the way I'd LIKE it to be.
You don't seem to be able to get this.
I'm saying that every time this subject is brought up in our current media environment, the response is laughter and "Oh, man, the USSR is OVER! Come in contact with TODAY!"
You are ignoring the FACT that SOUNDING like the truth is more important than actual TRUTH in our current media environment.
I repeat for the 3rd or 4th time: NOT IF YOU'RE ARMED WITH THE EVIDENCE! They can laugh and call you a 'kook' all they want, but when you shove the TRUTH down their weasely throats, they will have no choice but to gag on it! Actually, a lot of them already know the truth. So it's really the American public that needs to see it, and then have it explained to them (many of them) that it is NOT a good thing for a major political leader such as John Conyers (chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) to be allied with an organization that calls for the violent overthrow of the American government. That such a person needs to be seriously investigated.
This is an open and shut case, no matter what the left says or does. For example, if Sean Hannity, Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly brought these facts to the American people, the liberal-leftist media will be forced into covering it, the facts will speak for themselves, and every normal American still left (republican or democrat) will be outraged by it. The only way out for them would be to TRY to rationalize to the America people that living under a communist dictatorship is actually a better way to go for the United States. I understand that the public has been substantially dumbed down over the past 30 or 40 years, but I doubt we are at the point (yet) where they will embrace such an insane idea. But if we continue to bend over to the far left and concede them these victories, and do practically nothing to inform the public of the truth, as you seem to be suggesting, you can almost be assured that the day will indeed come when the majority of the American people will be ok with the idea. In fact, we are halfway there now with this Obamamania nonsense! For more on that leftist moron and HIS communist connections, please see my FR home page, at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/
From the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us or rwor.org) :
"Create Public Opinion, Seize Power: We are preparing minds and organizing forces for the time when there is a major crack in the system, whenever it comes and wherever it comes from: an opening that makes it possible to bring the future Revolutionary Army of the Proletariat (R.A.P.) into the field and wage a revolutionary armed struggle that actually has a chance of winning. And we have said that building our party itself is the most important part of organizing forces for revolution. This is true now, and it is true looking forward to the creation of that future R.A.P. and the waging of that armed struggle.":
http://revcom.us/a/v20/1000-1009/1000/barw.htm
Also from the Revolutionary Communist Party website: "Tearing Up the U.S. Paper Tiger in Korea: How 300,000 Chinese Troops Snuck into Korea and Kicked the Ass of the U.S. Armed Forces" RW #1059, June 18, 2000:
http://rwor.org/a/v22/1052-059/1059/korea.htm
Fact: World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime is a Maoist-revolutionary movement/organization initiated and controlled by the Revolutionary Communist Party. (scroll down the list that appears (after clicking link) to find the World Can't Wait organization --rwor.org is the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party):
http://rwor.org/a/rwlink/links.htm
From David Horowitz's FrontpageMag.com /DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
Profile: World Can't Wait (WCW)
*Revolutionary communist movement that stages protests against the Bush administration
*Organizes college and high-school students
*Founded in June 2005 by Charles Clark Kissinger, a longtime leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7213
John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, endorses the World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime movement Click on the WCW link just below and see: "Endorsers of the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include". Conyers' endorsement appears right after Ward Churchill's. Al Sharpton's, Maxine Waters and Jesse Jackson Jr's endorsements are also on the list:
http://worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2538&Itemid=2
And on Oct 5, 2006, demonRat chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr, GAVE A SPEECH to the World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime organization! Here's full-page coverage of it from the WCW's own website:
http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3114&Itemid=243
Here's the Revolutionary Communist Party (see link below) boasting of a FULL PAGE 'World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime' ad of theirs which appeared in the New York Slimes.(either "rwor.org" or "revcom.us" takes you to the website of the Revolutionary Communist Party). The NY Times has since allowed several additional full-page RCP/WCW ads.
Article title: "Who Hated the Bush Step Down Ad in the New York Times? ...And what that Tells Us About Why We Must and How We Can Drive Out the Bush Regime"(actual title)
http://www.rwor.org/a/028/who-hated-bush-ad.htm
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