Comments for Madam Speaker at http://www.pacificfreepress.com , comment 1 to 2 out of 2 comments http://www.pacificfreepress.com Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:13:46 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/625-madam-speaker.html#comment-604 In response to john D. Sens: I did not vote for democrats because, being Canadian, I cannot vote in US Elections. Yet, I follow US politics closely because it is the closest government with real policy making powers, and also, in my opinion, the best concept of Democratic government ever created (the practice is another matter though). First, I believe that is not correct to compare the Clinton impeachment with the Bush/Cheney Impeachment. The Clinton impeachment was originally grounded in the Whitewater affair, a minor financial scandal which occurred before Clinton became President, and later degenerated into the Monica Lewinsky debacle which had most of the world, especially the French, laughing till they wet their pants. Of course what Clinton did was not very presidential, but many Americans and most of the world could make the distinction between a personal sexual misconduct and the ability to lead a country. What the Bush/Cheney administration did on the other hand is of another scale altogether. Using the position of Commander in Chief and the weight of the administration to blatantly lie to the world community in order to trigger armed conflicts that benefit Unocal, Halliburton and KBR for billions and billions of dollars in contracts is simply immoral and against the very principle of checks and balances that the constitution upholds and what the impeachment process is all about. Not going for the impeachment of this band of glorified corporate thugs moreover creates a dangerous precedent that the elected officials of the US Executive branch are basically free to do ANYTHING they please and is as dangerous to constitutional law as the precedent of pre-emptive strikes they set is to International law. Not going for impeachment with full force and vigor would be nothing less than criminal negligence. It has nothing to do with vengeance but with simple justice and the validation that what the US constitution stands for is not an empty vow or a worthless piece of scrap paper any dubiously elected tyrant can wipe his ass with if it suits him and his corporate buddies. The founding fathers would be rolling in their graves (with the exception of Madison perhaps)! Now the constitution has a clear line of succession, which goes from President, to Vice-President, to Speaker of the House. If in the Course of the impeachment investigation Cheney is involved to the point at which (and it would be likely) he has to resign the Vice-Presidency (or if he becomes president then there would have to be another impeachment process), then so be it, and Palosi becomes president, which honestly can't be worse than what is there right now. When Nixon appointed Ford as his replacement, he was simply following the line of succession after his resignation, nothing more. In the present case, it is both the President AND vice-President that need to be impeached, and so they should, immediately and with full force. If that results in Palosi becoming president, it is a small price to pay to get rid of these pirates and it would be a sad way for a first women to become President. - Jean S. Cote Wed, 10 Jan 2007 23:57:53 +0100 http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/625-madam-speaker.html#comment-590 I voted for Democrats to end the war in Iraq and take care of necessary legislation to fight what I believe are social problems. I don't want to see millions of dollars and precious time wasted on impeachment proceedings that cannot ultimately succeed. I still remember the wasteful Clinton impeachment proceedings and I don't want to see the like again. You can dream all you want about Pelosi becoming president, but the likelihood is remote. What if Cheney quits and Bush selects his successor ala Nixon? I think it is time for cooler heads to prevail. Let's get past the thirst for vengeance and move on important matters. - John D. Sens Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:55:00 +0100