Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has generally concurred with the Democrats that impeachment, at this point, isn't a good move. Not because it isn't deserved, but because of the strategic downside: it's a toxic, protracted process that heightens cynicism in the electorate, and at this point it's too late in Bush/Cheney's term. When even he starts saying the I-word, things are Bad: "Without going into all the specifics, I think we are now moving into a situation where the White House, on various fronts, is openly ignoring the constitution, acting as though not just the law but the constitution itself, which is the fundamental law from which all the statutes gain their force and legitimacy, doesn't apply to them.
If that is allowed to continue, the defiance will congeal into precedent. And the whole structure of our system of government will be permanently changed." (emphasis mine)
For many who were against impeachment, a moment of clarity may have occurred this week, when, after lying his ass off for months on end, Alberto Gonzales basically gave the Senate Judiciary Committee the finger.
I know nothing of constitutional law even as it applies to the constitutional monarchy I live in, let alone the United States, a constitutional republic. But I do know that laws can come from precedents, and right now the Bush Administration is setting some ugly ones.
I know nothing of constitutional law even as it applies to the constitutional monarchy I live in, let alone the United States, a constitutional republic. But I do know that laws can come from precedents, and right now the Bush Administration is setting some ugly ones.
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