(Bernie) Sanders tells supporters to abandon Bush impeachment idea

[sabra]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2006/07/24/sanders_tells_supporters_to_abandon_bush_impeachment_idea/

Sanders tells supporters to abandon Bush impeachment idea

PUTNEY, Vt. --Vermont's lone representative in the U.S. House is discouraging supporters from seeking impeachment proceedings against President Bush.

Sanders, an independent, said activists' time would be better spent trying to elect him to the U.S. Senate and Democratic state Sen. Peter Welch to the seat he now holds.

Sanders said there was no support in Congress to launch an impeachment investigation.

"We don't have the right to despair," Sanders said during a Sunday meeting with about 150 people at the United Church of Christ.

[AndyA]

1. This statement was made before the American Bar Association

announced that Bush's Signing Statements were ILLEGAL. Impeachment is no longer an option, it's a REQUIREMENT.

[theHandpuppet]

9. Thanks for making that distinction, AndyA

Impeachment is our DUTY!

[liberalnurse]

2. I agree.......the focus must be to retake the House and Senate.

Going for Impeachment is putting the cart before the horse. .....

[rodeodance]

7. hye, nothing wrong with mulittasking--Why the either/or approach?

[shireen]

8. focus

I think Bernie is trying to keep focused on reclaiming the House and Senate. Impeachment talk is a distraction that the neonuts could twist & use against us. Once Democrats have control, I believe that the Dems and Bernie will take a methodical approach. First they need to find evidence (in the legal sense) to provide grounds for impeachment. Conyers bill is already leading the way in that effort.

Patience, Grasshopper .... :)

[Zhade]

26. As long as there's support AFTER the elections, fine.

If the Congress refuses to deal with the administration's proven criminal acts after November, they can go take a long walk off a short cliff.

I will consider them complicit if they do nothing - and that means EVEN IF WE DON'T REGAIN THE MAJORITY. After the elections, they have years to worry about fall-out from pursuing it, so if they don't get on it right away after November, that's it, I'm done with them.

[krkaufman]

18. Because "impeachment" is not an idea that will ...

... win a majority of votes. Yes, most Dems would be behind it, but "impeachment" is not foremost on the minds of Americans. Focus on the ISSUES, focus on the illegal, ignorant, corrupt and harmful actions of the Bush Admin and its RubberStamp Republican Congress, and we'll retake the House and the case for impeachment will be implicitly made.

The case for impeachment can be made without calling for Bush's impeachment. Clearly explain why the Bush and RubberStamp Republican approach is wrong, harmful *and* illegal/unconstitutional, and why a better approach is needed.

[skipos]

29. Because impeachment won't happen unless we get majorities 1st. nt

[Julius Civitatus]

3. Give it up: Bush is King of the USA, untouchable, responsible to nobody

forget any illusion of justice or upholding the law of the land. Forget any illusion of bringing the utterly corrupt and deeply unamerican people (the ones selling our country to Halliburton) to justice.

Just give it up. Bush is a self-proclaimed king, above the law, and we need to let him get away with all the legal atrocities his administration has committed.

See, we are Democrats, we just care about playing nice and calling for "bipartisan civility"...

:sarcasm:

[ixion]

4. time would be better spent voting him OUT of office and restoring

the Principles of Democracy to our Rebpublic. :grr:

[babylonsister]

5. If EVER a president deserved to be impeached, it's this one. Sorry,

Bernie, I have to disagree.

[WI_DEM]

6. He's right. Bush won't be impreached unless there is a democratic

House and Senate. Sorry but those are the facts--because the Republicans won't allow investigations which lead to impeachment.

[DinahMoeHum]

11. Concur. Right now, we're better off spending our energies getting

a Democratic majority in the House and Senate.

THEN - we take up the impeachment issue.

One thing at a time.

:kick:

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

15. And even then...

... once GW loses his congress, it is going to be a slow and painful (torture?) march to impeachment. GW will be singeld out with no one to stand with him. Every crime GW and the GOP committed will be brought to America's attention, even those that only watch "15 minutes of news a day, at 5 minute intervals while juggling kids, bills and searching for cheap gas" will know about how corrupt the GOP has become. That will kill any GOP hopes for the White House or congressional majorities for the next 50 years.

[itzamirakul]

24. "...because the Republicans won't allow investigations..."

IMO, it is this attitude that has us in such a dilemna.

We talk about what the Republicans won't allow as though they truly have to power to DISALLOW the truth to be spoken.

We don't want to take responsibility for sitting on our hands for the past six years and ALLOWING our Democratic representatives to double-talk, spin, lie and cower instead of taking on the Republicans. From the very beginning we have not, as a determined voice, demanded that those who sit in DC under the Democratic banner get up and get out and speak firmly and truthfully. We have accepted second-hand treatment and we have gotten treated as second-hand citizens.

When I really knew that our Dems no longer belong to us as a party was when to vote to issue a statement supporting Israel was passed with such a high number of yays. Certainly, I believe there were enough supporters to pass that issue, but the final result showed me that our government is owned by others.

I'm not talking about the right or wrong of the situation but simply of the tilt of the vote numbers.

[Totallybushed]

10. What the hell

is he talking about??:grr: :wtf: :argh: :banghead:

[VegasWolf]

12. Way NOT to motivate your base Bernie!!!

[uppityperson]

13. may not have the right to despair (wtf that means)but obligation to impeac

take away the right to impeach and you will see despair.

[LynneSin]

14. I have to agree with Sanders and here's why

$70million dollars was spent on the Clinton impeachment which not only got us no where but basically annoyed the shit out of everyone.

Thing is, we can impeach Bush and if we have control of both House and Senate we can make it stick BUT we'll still end up with Bush in the White House through til 2008.

I just think there are more important issues we need to focus on like the skyrocketing debt and the war.

[Acadia Blue]

16. I hope that everyone sends this man what they can afford. I have

[4nic8em]

17. This is a brilliant idea....

(wink,wink) at least until after November.

[krkaufman]

19. EGG Zactly. The word "impeachment" should not be uttered ...

... until after the elections. That does NOT stop ANYONE from continually talking about the illegal and unconstitutional actions of the Bush Admin, and the RubberStamp Republican Congress' failure to provide ANY oversight -- both in an effort to win the November elections and to educate the populace on the case for impeachment (without using the "i" word).

We can win in November by attacking failed Republican policies. Impeachment is too easily spun and perceived as a personal assault on Bush, due to the successful Republican witchhunt of Clinton. We need to make the election about the issues.

[stepnw1f]

20. My God, and the Country Will Ask WHY?

and what then will be the answer... I'd be more afraid of that, than rocking the boat Bernie. Very dissapointed.

[TommyO]

21. No support because everyone who voted

for this "war" is just as culpable as Bush is, and you don't think they're going to do anything to bring the attention to themselves, do you?

[nmliberal]

22. Actually, I'd like to see them all tried at ICC for crimes agnst humanity

I know it's wishfull thinking at this point, and that, politically, it does the Democratic Party no good to discuss it publicly, but I want to see these lying, murdering bastards taken to The Hague and tried before the International Criminal Court for ALL of their crimes against humanity.

[leesa]

23. Isn't it their RESPONSIBILITY to impeach him???

What is with this kind of thinking?

[Zhade]

27. "The Republicans will use it against us!"

Even though, of course, they will lie about everything and use everything against them anyway.

Cowardice, IMHO, when b*s* has a 29% approval rating. Americans are infuriated with him. It's time to move on it, but they won't yet.

They have until the end of the year before I write them off completely.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. So do we need to hire a hooker

to go down on him? (Lord knows what woman would do it for free)

Shall we start a paypal account? :evilgrin:

[Odin2005]

28. People, people, don't condemn him before looking at the context...

...of the statment. He was saying that talking impeachment will not help us unless we retake Congress, he was NOT saying * shouldn't be impeached. People need to read the WHOLE article and not just the headline. :eyes:

[KansDem]

30. Impeachment's too good for this bastard...

Indict and incarcerate!!! Otherwise it will just happen again...