Our local congresswoman, Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, spoke in favor of impeachment hearings to the House Judiciary Committee Friday morning.
While much of her speech was on the mark, her conclusion was not.
Baldwin told the committee that "I now firmly believe that impeachment hearings are the appropriate and necessary next step."
Her main targets are President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Baldwin cited a number of what committee Chair John Conyers, D-Mich. called "numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct by officials in the Bush administration."
Among those allegations are illegal firings of U.S. attorneys, fabrication of the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, suspension of habeas corpus by claiming the power to declare any person an "enemy combatant," torture and rendition of prisoners in violation of international law and spying on Americans without a court order or oversight.
Impeachment of Bush or Cheney at this stage would not be an effective means of punishing the Bush administration.
Only two U.S. presidents have ever been impeached, the last being Bill Clinton in 1998. He was impeached by the House of Representatives, but acquitted by the Senate in early 1999.
Clinton's impeachment was nothing more than a slap on the wrist, a public embarrassment. Doing the same to Bush and Cheney, when they have less than six months in office, would be the same thing.
Baldwin countered that argument in her speech.
"There are those who would say that holding this hearing ... is frivolous. I not only reject this, I believe there is no task more important for this Congress than to seriously consider whether our nation's leaders have violated their oath of office."
What is most important is that the current administration be allowed to serve out their term, no matter how Americans will view it. We are in the midst of an economic crisis that top leadership needs to focus on getting us out of.
Baldwin said Congress' actions on this matter would shape future executive actions.
"What this Congress does or chooses not to do in furthering the investigation of the serious allegations against this administration - and if just cause is found, to hold them accountable - will impact the conduct of future presidents, perhaps for generations."
We hope future presidents will learn from the present administration's missteps just by observation. An impeachment wouldn't make much of a difference in that process.
While much of her speech was on the mark, her conclusion was not.
Baldwin told the committee that "I now firmly believe that impeachment hearings are the appropriate and necessary next step."
Her main targets are President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Baldwin cited a number of what committee Chair John Conyers, D-Mich. called "numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct by officials in the Bush administration."
Among those allegations are illegal firings of U.S. attorneys, fabrication of the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, suspension of habeas corpus by claiming the power to declare any person an "enemy combatant," torture and rendition of prisoners in violation of international law and spying on Americans without a court order or oversight.
Impeachment of Bush or Cheney at this stage would not be an effective means of punishing the Bush administration.
Only two U.S. presidents have ever been impeached, the last being Bill Clinton in 1998. He was impeached by the House of Representatives, but acquitted by the Senate in early 1999.
Clinton's impeachment was nothing more than a slap on the wrist, a public embarrassment. Doing the same to Bush and Cheney, when they have less than six months in office, would be the same thing.
Baldwin countered that argument in her speech.
"There are those who would say that holding this hearing ... is frivolous. I not only reject this, I believe there is no task more important for this Congress than to seriously consider whether our nation's leaders have violated their oath of office."
What is most important is that the current administration be allowed to serve out their term, no matter how Americans will view it. We are in the midst of an economic crisis that top leadership needs to focus on getting us out of.
Baldwin said Congress' actions on this matter would shape future executive actions.
"What this Congress does or chooses not to do in furthering the investigation of the serious allegations against this administration - and if just cause is found, to hold them accountable - will impact the conduct of future presidents, perhaps for generations."
We hope future presidents will learn from the present administration's missteps just by observation. An impeachment wouldn't make much of a difference in that process.
