Impeachment vote set for this afternoon
by Kagro X
Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 10:00:18 AM PDT
The House is set to deal today with Dennis Kucinich's impeachment resolution, which he introduced on Monday night. By rule, his assertion that his resolution constitutes a question of the privileges of the House must be ruled on within two legislative days. The chair ruled yesterday -- correctly -- that an impeachment proposition does constitute a question of the privileges of the House, and announced that the procedure would be to move the previous question and close debate on the matter pending the resolution of a motion to refer the resolution to the Judiciary committee.
The motion to refer failed on a voice vote yesterday, and Rep. Kucinich exercised his right to demand a recorded vote instead. That vote is expected this afternoon.
Interestingly, it was Kucinich himself who moved that the resolution be referred to the committee. That's a better alternative than tabling it (if you don't want the whole thing buried with no chance of resurrection, that is), but not the only alternative. It could instead be debated right then and there on the House floor.
That Kucinich himself would rather see it referred to committee might be taken as an indication that he acknowledges that the charges he makes in the resolution require a thorough examination. Whether they'll get that examination, though, is another matter. Almost everyone expects the resolution to die of neglect in committee. An immediate vote on the merits of the resolution -- the default alternative to a defeat of the motion to refer -- is probably something mischievous Republicans would like to see, and they might therefore be expected to vote no on referral. That leaves Democrats who want to put a lid on impeachment in the position of voting affirmatively to commit the issue to the jurisdiction of Chairman Conyers and the Judiciary Committee, though they'll deny that they actually want the Chairman to exercise that jurisdiction.
Strange days.
UPDATE: The motion to refer is adopted by a vote of 251-166, with no Democrats voting against, and 24 Republicans voting in the affirmative.
UPDATE 2: Kucinich Vows to Keep Up Impeachment Fight
"Leadership wants to bury it, but this is one resolution that will be coming back from the dead," Kucinich told Capitol Briefing. "Thirty days from now, if there is no action, I will be bringing the resolution up again, and I won't be the only one reading it."
On Monday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich made history on the floor of the House by reading 35 Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush. At last!!!!!
We've waited years to find one Member of Congress brave enough to stand up for our Constitution, for which generations of Americans have fought and died. We are thrilled and honored that Dennis Kucinich has chosen to be that one genuine patriot.
We congratulate him on his historic leadership, and pledge to do everything in our power to persuade the House to adopt all 35 Articles and put George W. Bush on trial before the Senate of the United States, exactly as the Founding Fathers wanted.
Of course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-8), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-5), and Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel (IL-5) all remain adamantly opposed to impeachment - despite the overwhelming evidence of High Crimes, including the "Phase II" report by the Senate Intellligence Committee and Scott McClellan's new book.
And when Rep. Robert Wexler (FL-19) called for Judiciary Committee hearings on Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Cheney in January, only 17 Democrats joined them: Neil Abercrombie (HI-1), Tammy Baldwin (WI-2), Michael Capuano (MA-8), Yvette Clarke (NY-11), Lacy Clay (MO-1), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Peter DeFazio (OR-4), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Sam Farr (CA-17), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7), Luis Gutierrez (IL-4), Barbara Lee (CA-9), Gwen Moore (WI-4), Jim Moran (VA-8), Mike Thompson (CA-1), Ed Towns (NY-10), and Lynn Woolsey (CA-6).
So Kucinich's heroic efforts will be in vain unless we inundate Congress with emails and calls (202-224-3121) showing our full support for Rep. Kucinich's 35 Articles of Impeachment:
http://www.democrats.com/35
And if you have time to do more, please login to Democrats.com, click "Local" and connect with other activists in your Congressional District to organize a Honk-To-Impeach gathering at the District Office of your Representative or a major local intersection:
http://www.democrats.com
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your constant support throughout this long and historic struggle.
Bob Fertik
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