McKinney introduces bill to impeach Bush

[cal04]

In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.

The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment.

McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer, has long insisted that Bush was never legitimately elected. In introducing her legislation in the final hours of the current Congress, she said Bush had violated his oath of office to defend the Constitution and the nation's laws.

McKinney has made no secret of her frustration with Democratic leaders since voters ousted her from office in the Democratic primary this summer. In a speech Monday at George Washington University, she accused party leaders of cowing to Republicans on the war in Iraq and on military mistreatment of prisoners.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061208/ap_on_go_co/mckinney_impeachment

[cool user name]

1. Power to McKinney!

[BuyingThyme]

2. She threw it all away. Very sad.

[conscious evolution]

3. GO CYNTHIA!!!

I loved it when she was my rep during the 90's.That asshole who filed suit about her district was a former kaolin company worker.Cynthia was hammering the kaolin companies hard for the bs they were pulling on land owners that the kaolin companies were ripping off.

[Greeby]

4. Umm, Cynthia, why wait until the last day? nt

[oldtime dfl_er]

6. Better late than never!

I applaud her!:applause:

[Rex]

5. Revenge!

:rofl:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

18. REVENGEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

[Rex]

50. KKKKHHHHAAAAANNN!!!!!

:evilgrin:

[NoPasaran]

7. One final pointless symbolic gesture

Adios, toots!:crazy:

[bananas]

8. McKinney for President!

She should run in the primaries just to make sure the important issues are discussed.

[FogerRox]

35. I like that, yeah.... "Cynthia '08"

DOes have a ring to it.

[conscious evolution]

54. Can you say Senator McKinney?!?

Georgia needs a couple of new Senators.
The two bozo's we are currently stuck with need to go!

[Moloch]

58. Do you really think Georgia would elect McKinney...

as Senator?

I mean, outside of Atlanta, the whole state is redneck central.

[conscious evolution]

67. With Diebold counting the vote

probably not.
I do think there is a slight possibility that she could win though.
If you consider the stuff that will be revealed out about the repukes during the upcoming investigations the fact that she has been talking about the crimes of bushco could help swing voters her away.
Admittedly it would be a long shot for her to win.

But could you imagine the howls the repukes would start up with if she ran?It would definitly be the most entertaining race in the country just for seeing the pukes reaction.A run by her coulkd also force them to waste time and money here countering her.

[Larry Allen]

59. She could come to California and run for Senator

[Raksha]

62. Great idea--I'd take her over Feinstein any day! n/t

[davidinalameda]

81. she can stay in Atlanta

we don't need any more crazies

[wwcsmd]

80. re. McKinney for President!

Neat, so I'm not the only person to have ever posted a message here with that title. : )

"She should run in the primaries just to make sure the important issues are discussed."

I hadn't thought of it having that purpose, I was just doing some wishful thinking, but that's a good point.

PS Due to the "redistricting" in GA this year, I no longer live in Cynthia's district -- and I'm just a block from what was her North Dekalb headquarters. I was sad I couldn't vote for her, but, I am in John Lewis's district now, and he's fabulous too (plus, he got re-elected.) BTW, I'm sure the bad press about the police incident hurt her in the elections, but I'd bet the redistricting did as well, since part of her Decatur territory was replaced by areas further into the suburbs outside of Decatur and Atlanta. (Assuming the voting was even 100% legit.)

Anyway... seeing the news about her impeachment bill made my day : ) (even though I wasn't totally happy with the way the Yahoo story was written.)

[wwcsmd]

89. (more ps)

- American Blackout PS - During the term when Cynthia was replaced by Denise Majette (she won the seat back in the election following) she was traveling around, speaking at peace rallies and such. She said people started asking her if she was running for President or something. She said no, what I'm doing is running AGAINST the president!

- John Lewis PS - from Wikipedia:

Lewis is, according to the Associated Press, "the first major House figure to suggest impeaching George W. Bush," arguing that the president "deliberately, systematically violated the law" in authorizing the National Security Agency to conduct wiretaps without a warrant. Lewis said: "He is not King, he is president."http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=45006">(5)

[Blaze Diem]

9. I applaud you Ms McKinney

whatever Pelosi says about impeaching George,is her business, but as for Ms McKinney, she is publicly and on record saying what majority of Americans as well as many around the world are wishing for.
George has caused great pain and suffering, political damage, and horrific deaths to innocents throughtout his political career.

Perhaps Ms Pelosi has some other method in mind as to righting the blatant injustices committed by Bush.
I certainly hope that his crimes do not go unprosecuted.

Shall we trust that Pelosi has a plan somewhere in the future to address all who see Bush's removal from Office as a necessary healing tool for this Nation on a local as well as global scale?

In honor of all who have suffered and sat in silence, there absolutely has to be some justice.

[RethugAssKicker]

37. PeIosi will do NOTHING...

[petgoat]

47. Shall we trust that Pelosi has a plan? Well I got burned,

telling everyone that the Dems had a plan about the election fraud
in 2004. "Just you watch, it's a trap," I said. When Poppy and
WJC went off to the South Seas together to raise tsunami funds,
I honestly thought they were negotiating the terms of W's surrender.

Then I found out that the Mena Arkansas drug flights were a CIA
operation, and that explained a lot about Bill's chumminess with the
Bushes.

[AntiFascist]

84. Very interesting isn't it? The ties that bind certain Democrats....

with the status quo in politics. At least one Democrat had the courage to act on her conscience and do "the right thing."

[Marie26]

73. I'll miss her

She also introduced bills this week to repeal the Military Commissions Act, and raise the minimum wage for federal workers.

H.R.6381
Title: To repeal Public Law No: 109-366, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, signed into law October 17, 2006.
Sponsor: Rep McKinney, Cynthia A. (introduced 12/6/2006) Cosponsors (None)

H.R.6422
Title: To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C> 206(a)(1) to reflect the actual costs of living in various regions of the country and to bring the minimum to a fair wage that can support federal workers and contractors and their families.
Sponsor: Rep McKinney, Cynthia A. (introduced 12/8/2006) Cosponsors (None)

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/?&Db=d109&querybd=@FIELD(FLD003+@4((@1(Rep+McKinney++Cynthia+A.))+00780))

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. What were the charges?

Alien abduction via chemtrails?

Illuminati satanic sex cult membership?

[kestrel91316]

16. Nah. Just shredding the Constitution and monkeywrenching the

entire government.

[Junkdrawer]

69. Come on..you can mock her better than that...

I'm disappointed...

[file83]

77. Yeah, the illegal war in Iraq is just a 'conspiracy theory'...

...:eyes:

Shame on you.

[Der Blaue Engel]

11. Will this bill with no chance of passing affect Congress's ability to introduce a legitimate one

next session?

Anybody know if there are rules about reintroducing articles of impeachment once tossed out?

I really hope I just don't get how this works.

[Warren Stupidity]

13. no. nt.

[loyalsister]

61. Depends on how much publicity it gets.....

If it gets any, it looks like crying wolf.
When\ if there is a time when the goods are there and a legitimate investigation has taken place it may be harder to get the public to go along. It may be a case where the general public is thinking "there they go again....."

[Time for change]

79. Or, by getting the idea more firmly into the public mind, it may

make future efforts more likely to pass.

I think it's similar to the question, does a politician running for President and failing to win (such as Al Gore in 1988 and 2000) make future runs less likely to be successful? I think it's more likely to prime the pump.

[loyalsister]

88. Not even close to an equal analogy

Elections are a part of our normal course of life.

Impeachment is a disruption of the highest order. Many people found the Clinton impeachment to be a discomforting force of in their personal lives.

It is not any small thing to reflect on the possibility of having the president removed from office. People already feel a little insecure about exactly what direction the current flux will move the country. We are in the midst of 2 wars. If we want to add further disruption, we better mean business.

Republicans have enough power to make things a hell of a lot worse for people whose lives and very livelihood are subject to yearly budgeting procedures.(That is who will get the payback during this thing and if they win, you know.)They will go after Democrats by sabotaging a constituency they were just beginning to win back.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. Thank you Cynthia McKinney. nt.

[ecstatic]

14. I hate the way Pelosi backed Dems in the corner with the 'impeachment off the table' BS

Does anyone think that particular statement got us more votes? If not, what was the point?

[wryter2000]

20. Calling for impeachment would have lost us votes

They were trying to tar and feather us with "they only want to impeach Bush." She put the kibosh on that.

Once all the evidence is in, it's perfectly reasonable for Pelosi to say, "Now, I'm convinced. I wasn't looking for this, but now that we know what we know, I support impeaching him."

[RethugAssKicker]

38. Such a careful Democrat...

Its time for a change.... some spunk.. some Gonads...That's what the people want@!!

[Morgana LaFey]

42. But over 50% of Americans WANTED impeachment on 2 different

subjects:

Poll: Americans Favor Bush's Impeachment If He Lied about Iraq
http://democrats.com/bush-impeachment-poll-1

New Zogby Poll: 52% of Americans Support Impeaching Bush for Wiretapping
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/polling

You think they've changed their minds???

[FogerRox]

48. Ahem

The COngressional vote was something ike 58% to 42%.

The polls you cite have, what... 52% support, so its a no brainer.

SO after the fact do you want to win by 52%, or do you want to win by 58% ?

[wryter2000]

83. They favor it IF he lied

It has to be proved to them that he lied.

[Beam Me Up]

45. No it would not have.

It would show the Democrats have a spine. THAT would gain us votes. What it did was show the Republicans that voted for Democrats that the Democrats can't be trusted.

[cool user name]

22. I'm pissed at Pelosi for that as well.

Why show all your cards like that?

Fucking stupid.

[tavalon]

36. See response #20

I don't think she showed all of her cards.

[guruoo]

26. IMHO, best to keep it on ice 'till January n/t

[pat_k]

27. Calling for impeachment would have won us votes

All the polling bears this out. Only 44% opposed impeachment and many of them were Dems following their "leaders." The bushkid disapproval numbers were well over 60%.

Curtis Gans, director of The Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, said recently on the David Bender Show:

"I think that it is not simply Iraq, although Iraq started Bush's downhill. But it is a gestalt around George Bush."

It's not surprising that the DC Dems were spooked again by the beltway, neofascist propaganda. But frankly, had they campaigned on impeachment, the public outcry could have forced the GOP to dump him before the midterms to avoid even worse "electoral carnage."

Not to mention all the real carnage in Iraq and Gitmo; and the "Constitutional Carnage" here that will continue until this cancer on the nation is cut out.

No, I don't see the point of complicity with war criminals either.

--

[napi21]

31. It's far better tolet the committee chairmen hold hearings and get

PROVABLE information FIRST. If our suspicions are true, impeachment will become obvious to everyone. Perhapse many of you are too young to remember the Watergate hearings. I really don't believe impeachment was on anyone's mind before those hearings, but reliable people started talking, and someone mentioned TAPES.

I believe the smae thing will happen with Shrub, but you must have hearings first. As far as I know, Conyers & Biden Levin have all stated they are scheduling hearings, in January I think. Wait for the show to start. It should put a lot of excitement into those cold winter days.

[petgoat]

49. Aw hell, Bush said he had "no war plans on my desk."

Right, he kept them on the credenza.

Pelosi's allowed to change her mind after she's shocked--shocked
I tell you!--at what the investigations bring. Once the subpoenas
start flying, all the rats will be pointing fingers at each other.
"It was him! He made me do it!"

[bluestateguy]

15. A pointless symbolic gesture

Kind of like her whole career in Congress.

[immoderate]

17. Dunno. It may be symbolic, but I get the point.

--IMM

[Karenina]

19. Ah yes, Rep. McKinney's record

in Congress, indeed her whole career, was pointless.

[me b zola]

53. Representing the people & defending the Constitution is pointless?

I'd take McKinney over 50 "gotta play Beltway ball" Dems anyday.

[cyclezealot]

60. cynthia is a favorite of mine. q

she speaks to truth no matter what. I find her one of the few to be trusted. It's not the Democrats of her distict that outed her; it was the repug cross over vote.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Karenina]

32. Comparing Rep. McKinney to Mark Foley

and referring to her as a "stain" reveals much about the poster.

[RethugAssKicker]

39. Agree.... Shameful

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. What a repulsive comparison

[Pastiche423]

23. Thank you Representative McKinney!

W/all of my heart, I thank you for all that you have done, researched (Carlyle Group) and for your voice that has spoken for so many w/o a voice.

Great way to go out!

I :loveya: Cynthia!

[Hippo_Tron]

24. It's such a shame Dems couldn't find someone decent to replace her

I'm no McKinney fan and think it was more than time for her to go, but Hank Johnson is such a lightweight. In such a liberal district I wish they'd get someone who will take to the issues like McKinney who won't make comments about Al Gore's "Negro tolerance level".

[Vidar]

25. A pity we don't have McKinney in Pelosi's place.

[Peace Patriot]

28. If anybody has a right to do this, it is McKinney. She has been right about

the major issues, and vocal about them, sometimes standing all alone, while the Democratic leadership has been wrong, and weak-kneed, and has let Bush piss on our Constitution and basic human decency, without protest.

She was right about the war, from the beginning, and would not be silenced.

She was right about the need for a REAL 9/11 investigation, and again, would not be silenced.

She has resisted "groupthink" and the bullying--and finally the abandonment by--people who were playing politics rather than fulfilling their oaths of office.

She represented the MAJORITY of Americans--56% of the American opposed to the Iraq war, Feb. '03!--when many Democratic leaders were failing to do so.

She has stood for what is right, not what is politic.

She was even right when she reacted to that Capitol Hill guard when he tried to stop her from entering Congress. She has a CONSTITUTIONAL right--and a DUTY!--not to permit ANY impediment to her entry in Congress. The leadership was wrong not to defend her--and it is all too typical of their failure to insist on Congress' status as a equal branch of the government

I can understand Pelosi's strategy of dampening expectations of impeachment--until the case is put together in the new Congress. But I felt that her statement, "Impeachment is off the table," was a violation of her oath of office. Impeachment is the ONLY tool that the people have to curtail an out-of-control president. And we most definitely have one of those. To put it that way--"impeachment is off the table"--is to exonerate him of major crimes, and it plays into the rightwing strategy of having made impeachment into a cheap partisan tool, with the attack on Bil Clinton. She could have put it another way. And I fear that she is just going along with the military-industrial complex and its desire for more wars of choice, and for no one ever being held responsible for such wretched and criminal decisions. But we shall see who is right, and who is wrong, about this as well. And McKinney has a much better record on being right than Pelosi does.

[RethugAssKicker]

40. Beautifully said..... I agree with every word !

Funny how we eat our own.

[BeHereNow]

41. Fantastic post Peace Patriot...

I couldn't agree more-
Now if only we could find another 500 or so more just like her
and throw the rest of the bums out.

I can dream, can't I?

BHN

[Beam Me Up]

46. Right On!

[timetoleave]

68. Well said..

she has been ahead of the curve on all those topics, but she has been painted as a freak by the republicans and it stuck, sorry to see her and her type leave

[tomp]

70. she hasn't had any help from dems either. nt

[Patsy Stone]

29. Nicely played!

Good for her. :patriot:

It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

30. C'ya Cynthia. Bye Now.

That's all I have to say.

[hiaasenrocks]

66. Agreed. She goes out like a clown. Fitting for her career. n/t

[WHAT]

33. Truly representative...

thank you McKinney.

[LWolf]

34. I'll stand with her. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. Good for her!!

[petgoat]

51. See the movie "American Blackout" about Rep. McKinney

http://www.americanblackout.com/



Find a screening here:

http://blackout.bravenewtheaters.com/screenings

When: Where: Distance: Hosted by:
Jan 12 Fri Castro Valley, CA South Alameda Peace and Justice Coalition, Code Pink Hayward, South Alameda County Peace and Justice Coalition
Jan 10 Wed Sylmar, CA Michael Centeno
Feb 06 Tue Boise, ID Boise State University Cultural Center
Jan 13 Sat Estacada, OR Estacada Progressive Action Community Team
Dec 08 Fri Vancouver, WA Patrice Jacob
Jan 15 Mon Tempe, AZ Liisa Wale
Jan 04 Thu Overland Park, KS JCCC
Dec 29 Fri Fort Worth, TX Tashana Jones
Jan 23 Tue Urbana, IL Unit One
Dec 10 Sun Terre Haute, IN Rose-Hulman College Democrats
Dec 17 Sun Noblesville, IN Marcella Caldwell-Gadson
Jan 11 Thu Flint, MI The Shariki Group
Dec 13 Wed Fort Kent, ME Social Justice Club
Dec 30 Sat LAUREL, MD MS. CHRIS ADEMILUYI
Dec 22 Fri New York, NY Jamel Cherry
Dec 16 Sat Jamaica Plain, MA Youth Community Organizers
Dec 12 Tue Virginia Beach, VA Veterans for Peace, Drinking Liberally,

[emlev]

57. Very interesting bonus info on the DVD re: Capitol police

and the racism on the force, how they are trained to recognize all members of Congress and yet, as acts of racism, constantly ask African American Congressional reps. for their IDs, including Reps who've been in Congress for many years, but newbie white reps are immediately recognized.

What happened that day with McKinney was not an isolated incident and needs to be seen in context. Watch this film and the bonus material on the DVD--please!

I have huge respect for Cynthia McKinney.

[file83]

78. Thanks for the tip - I'll have to check that out.

:thumbsup::patriot:

[omega minimo]

52. "Political Hay"?!

:puke:


"Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment."

[Cascadian]

55. YEEEEEEESSSS!

This must not go away. I am sick of the Democrats trying to act bipartisan. After what the Neocons have done to the Democrats, why should we extend an olive branch towards them. I want somebody removed from the White House! The Democrats in Congress must come out swinging.



John

[orleans]

56. i'm gonna miss her! i was always so impressed with her & her courage. n/t

[Stardust]

63. Bless her heart.

[barbtries]

64. i wish she'd move

to CA so i could vote for her. the woman speaks the truth. democrats who think impeaching a president as altogether criminal as this one constitutes "making political hay" are in my opinion underestimating not only the people as a whole but particularly the people who elected them. We the people will take them back out and it is not too long at all before the outrage and frustration so familiar on DU will be known to more and more and finally most americans - and when it comes about impeachment will be the least of the bushies' problems.

in an ultimately just world?

[focusfan]

65. I wonder what Pelosi has in mind if not impeachment?

I wonder if secretly she is a repuke and a Bush lover.:nuke: 

[nolabels]

71. Associated Press also has no chance of passing

Hey Associated Press, you freaking war cheerleaders, your days as a viable news organization are numbered x(

[Canuckistanian]

72. I hate that term "liberal wing"

As for "making political hay", the crimes of the Bush/Cheney cabal are WAY beyond ordinary politics.

You'd think the results of the last election would give Pelosi a clue. She should let things unfold, rather than making arbitrary judgments about impeachment.

[RestoreGore]

76. Only Bush Enablers Call it "Liberal"

Impeachment is AMERICAN and it has never been more called for than now.
I think Ms. Pelosi needs to read the Constitution and do what is right, instead of making every move based on an election.

[Riddler]

74. Nice to know the only Dem with any balls is a woman!

[RestoreGore]

75. Impeachment Is a Moral Imperative

Thank you, Ms. McKinney, for being an American first.

Good luck to you.

[demo_not_full]

82. She's brave ...

I've read some of her speeches and she's a good one. She tells it like it is and doesn't leave anything out. I agree with some of the above that Pelosi may not do anything reagrding impeachment. But impeachment IS necessary. Laws were broken. If she doesn't follow this it will just be a Democratic style hypocrisy. We don't want that.

[onenote]

85. then why did she act in such a cowardly fashion?

Introducing a bill on the last day of congress is hardly a "brave" act, since the bill simply dies with the adjournment of congress. It was a self-aggrandizing, pointless act imo.

If she was "brave", why didn't she introduce this legislation earlier, maybe during her primary campaign? Or maybe she didn't think it would help her campaign?

I personally think talk of impeachment is premature until Congress begins holding oversight hearings etc. But if I was an impeachment hawk, I'd be pissed as hell at McKinney. By tossing out this bill in the fashion she did, she has trivialized the issue and made it harder, not easier, for anyone to start a serious effort.

[bloom]

86. Good for her. nt

[Herman74]

87. Impeach Bush. Impeach Cheney. Impeach Rice....

Impeach Rove. Impeach Rumsfeld. Impeach Powell. Impeach Libby. Impeach Addington. Impeach Hadley. Impeach Ashcroft. Impeach "Heck-of-a-Job" Brownie. Impeach Snow. Impeach McClellan. Impeach Fleischer. Impeach Yoo. Impeach Bolton.

Impeach Poppy. Impeach Poppy's wife. Impeach Jeb, Neil, & Marvin. Impeach Barbara & Jenna. Impeach Barney.

No, on second thought, let the dog go, provided he gets counseling for having to have lived with Bush. Hey, we are all just liberal softies, after all.