Clean House

It is not enough to impeach the president for his latest act of treachery against the constitution, not by a long shot. Americans must not be satisfied in simply removing George Bush from office, we must insist that he be tried for his criminal acts and incarcerated if found guilty so future presidents will be loathe to attempt similar crimes.

It would be ultimately fitting for this president's legacy to be the image of him being taken into custody and led off to jail. It would stand for the victory of Democracy over would be tyrants who attempt to corrupt our system of government and strengthen the resolve of those who believe in Democracy and stood by their principles throughout the past 5 year Neoconservative reign of terror.

Additionally, each Congressional Conservative that has come out in support of the president's decision to spy on Americans and have attempted to justify what is essentially an attack on the constitution, should be brought before Congress and censured for their subversive behavior.

This will seem severe to some and unwarranted to others, but consider the response of the Republicans to the manufactured assault against President Clinton. Many on the right took to the floor of Congress to make some of the most outrageous allegations and unfounded accusations against Clinton. Six years and $80 million of our taxes later, not one charge was ever substantiated or even found to be credible. This is because they were all the work of fanatical Neoconservatives and Richard Mellon Scaife, the right-wing Pittsburgh billionaire who funded the 1990s dirt-digging operation against the Clintons known as the Arkansas Project.

The Republicans must be held accountable for their party’s protection of this president over the past five years. Initially, it is understandable that Republicans were overly enthusiastic about gaining control of both the executive and legislative branches and some of their excesses can be attributed to that. Yet, as time progressed along with the administration’s abuses of power and privilege, this excuse lost its potency. Congress is obligated by oath to uphold the constitution and protect and defend the country. The Republicans in Congress opted for partisan and ideological goals in conflict with their duties. The American public needs to be informed of this and of how damaging their dereliction has been to our nation.

If the Democrats can take back either the House or the Senate in 2006 it will be possible to begin some long overdue investigations of this administration’s actions as well as the actions of many in Congress. This would be a good start but, not be as effective as regaining the White House and access to the documents and records the administration has refused to release in defiance of FOIA suits filed by many parties. I believe this to be crucial to any serious investigation of presidential, cabinet and Congressional misconduct and it is precisely for that reason I believe that Bush will be compelled to decree all such documents sealed for years to come. The American public must not stand for that or any other attempt to hide, obscure or destroy evidence that this administration broke laws, weakened democracy, defied the constitution, engaged in cover-ups, lied to the nation, authorized the illegal invasion of Iraq in defiance of international law, and caused the death and maiming of thousands of American soldiers for selfish purposes.