What responses have you had from your representatives regarding impeachment?

[undeterred]

I want to hear all the lame excuses.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

1. And this is from my "Progressive" Congressman. I'm very disappointed.

Thank you for contacting me regarding your desire to see impeachment charges brought against President Bush. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.



I ran for Congress because I was deeply disturbed by the direction that the Bush Administration has chosen for America. I believe the President's policies have seriously injured this country. Domestically, the policies of this Administration have favored powerful interests over the welfare of working families, allowed the number of Americans without health insurance to grow, increased our dependence on foreign oil, eroded environmental protections, undermined personal liberties, and recklessly plunged our nation deeper into debt. Internationally, he has alienated the United States from much of the world and has pushed the country into a misguided and mismanaged war in Iraq.



As a new member of the House of Representatives I am deeply committed to reversing President Bush's policies and getting the United States back on track. Although I am extremely frustrated by President Bush's conduct, I do not believe impeachment proceedings against the President would be successful, and that the effort to move forward with impeachment would detract from Congress's ability to put America back on the right path. It is my belief that the most important missions of the new Congress, improving the lives of working American families and restoring America's global standing, will be better served by immediately focusing on long-term solutions than by attempting to remove a President who will be out of office in less than two years.



However, if investigations by Judiciary or Government Oversight Committees reveal actions that rise to the level of impeachable offences, Congress would have to consider action.



I appreciate hearing your thoughts and share your concerns about the direction of this country. Again, thanks for contacting me. Please let me know if I can help you on any other matter.

On edit..
I think I'm going to find a pocket Constitution to send him.
Another edit
I just bought one on eBay with shipping $3.95. As soon as I get it, it's going to him. Let him read what he swore to when he took his oath of office.

[undeterred]

16. Maybe we should pitch in and get some for the White House

Apparently they've run out of toilet paper.

[snappyturtle]

2. I write Lamar Smith (R-TX) frequently about impeachment. All I get are

generated e-mail responses to notify me that my e-mail has been received. That's it.

[John Q. Citizen]

10. Try to meet with him during the August recess. Call his constituent office

and ask to set up a 10 or 20 minute face to face. If you have friends/a group who want to meet also ask for more time.

While he probably will not support impeachment, at least he will have to lie to you face to face.

If he won't meet, go Cindy or Mike Moore on him. Do the "why is Lamar Smith afraid to talk? Picket his public appearences or drive him underground.

[snappyturtle]

13. I can try! Trust me that he keeps a low profile....very low. n/t

edit: I should mention that he is on the Judiciary Committee. When I went to the Judicary Committee portion of his website all I see are issues like this: He opposes subpoenas, the U.S. Attornies serve at the pleasure of the President, yada yada.

[That Is Quite Enough]

11. Same here

"Thank you for contacting me. I want you to know that I received your
e-mail and I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts. I

hope to be able to respond to your e-mail in more detail in the coming
days. I appreciate your patience and look forward to hearing from you
again soon.

If you are in need of immediate assistance, I encourage you to call my
toll free number at 1(866) 371-8747.

Again, thank you for contacting me.

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin"

Every time I send an e-mail to her. :banghead:

At least Thune had the decency to actually respond when I wrote him an e-mail about supporting the Habeas Corpus Restoration act.

[NewJeffCT]

24. It's great that you keep trying, though

I'm serious. If the impeachment movement does take off, Smith won't be able to sanctimoniously say, "well, nobody ever contacted my office about it"

[snappyturtle]

26. Thanks so much...that's encouraging that you think so. I won't quit. n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Same old same old

Honey, you're just a little lady, dear, and shouldn't bother your pretty little head over grave matters where we men, especially Bush, know so much more about things....why, I can even tell you that Muslims are all potential terrorists, and anything we do to stop them should be okay--you're name IS Ayesha, right?

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. "It's not going to happen"

And he laughed.

[undeterred]

5. who?

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Dennis Moore

KS 3rd district

[ThomWV]

6. Nothing From My Representative, Not Much Better From My Senators

Byrd and Rockefeller both simply noted that IMPEACHMENT begins in the house - essentially saying its not my problem - and my Congressman has never given me a satisfactory answer in the 6 years I have been calling, writing, and visiting his offices both locally and in Washington demanding IMPEACHMENT.

[mruddy]

7. I wrote to my rep here in Iowa, Leonard Boswell

around July 3rd asking him to support H Res 333 (to support impeachment proceedings against Cheney). This is the response I received:

"Thank you for sharing with me your views on President Bush. The views of my fellow Iowans are an essential component of my decision making process as a Member of Congress.

As you may know, there are some Members of Congress who have spoken out in favor of examining the merits of impeachment for President Bush. I believe that it is highly unlikely that Congress will hold hearings or bring legislation to the House floor that calls for his impeachment this year. Having said that, I appreciate you contacting me on this important issue.

Please be assured I will keep your views in mind as the full House considers various issues in the upcoming weeks and months of the 110th Congress. Furthermore, I periodically provide electronic updates on issues I think my constituents might be interested in. If you would like to receive the E-newsletter, please sign up at http://boswell.house.gov/article.asp?id=291 my Web Site at http://boswell.house.gov. As always, my staff and I are here to serve you. Please feel free to contact us if we ever can be of assistance to you or to share your concerns.

Sincerely,
Leonard L. Boswell
Member of Congress"

[SoonerPride]

9. I get notices I've been put on the no-fly list.

That is all.

[dkofos]

12. My rep is sam "the corporatist" johnson and he doesn't care about anything

that doesn't put money in his pocket!!

[Tinksrival]

14. Nothing from Repub Rep. Biggert, But this from my senator.....

Dear Mrs. xxxxxxxxx:



Thank you for contacting me regarding the actions of the Bush Administration and proposals to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. I appreciate knowing your views on these matters.



Removal of the President, Vice President or other federal officials by impeachment is one of the most serious constitutional responsibilities delegated to the Congress. Impeachment procedures are used very infrequently. This legislative mechanism has been reserved for carefully investigating and trying allegations of serious misconduct on the part of the President, the Vice President and civil officers of the United States. The House of Representatives has the Constitutional authority to determine whether to impeach and to draft articles of impeachment. Should the House vote to impeach an official and specify the grounds upon which impeachment is based, the matter is then presented to the Senate for trial.



On January 10, 2007, Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney for his role in disseminating questionable intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. The resolution has been referred to the House Armed Services Committee for consideration.



I am troubled by many of the actions of this Administration. The American people are also concerned, as demonstrated by the mid-term elections. The new leadership in Congress is working for a new direction for our nation while reinstituting the Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch that has been sadly missing in recent years.



I will keep your views in mind as the fact-finding continues. Thank you again for sharing your views. Please feel free to contact me again with any concerns you wish to share.



Sincerely,





Richard J. Durbin

United States Senator



RJD/hm



P.S. If you are ever visiting Washington, please feel free to join Senator Obama and me at our weekly constituent coffee. When the Senate is in session, we provide coffee and donuts every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as we hear what is on the minds of Illinoisans and respond to your questions. We would welcome your participation. Please call my D.C. office for more details.

[orleans]

27. can you please post this in the illinois forum? i would think other

duers would be glad to hear durbin's response.

[diddlysquat]

15. This is from Senator Murray (WA state)

Dear XXXX:

Thank you for contacting me about impeachment proceedings for President Bush or members of his Administration. I appreciate hearing from you about this serious issue.



As you know, Congress may remove the President, Vice President, and any Civil Officer of the United States from office through the impeachment process. According to the Constitution, the House of Representatives may impeach an official on charges of "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors" (Article II, Section 4) to remove the individual from office. Only two sitting Presidents have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. No sitting President has been convicted and removed from office.



Recently, Washington state legislators in Olympia introduced resolutions that called for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. State Senator Eric Oemig (D-Kirkland) was the sponsor of this resolution, Senate Joint Memorial 8016. However, since State Senator Oemig's resolution was at the state level, it would have had no binding impact on the impeachment proceedings at the federal level. The State Legislature adjourned without taking action on this legislation. In addition, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has introduced House Resolution 333 (H.Res. 333) in the U.S. House of Representatives, which calls for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. The U.S. House of Representatives is the only legislative body with the authority to begin impeachment proceedings of the Executive Branch.



I share your serious concerns and frustrations with the direction that President Bush and his Administration have been taking our country, both at home and overseas. I am troubled that Congress has been denied a chance to hold hearings and to bring accountability to this Administration. Now that Congress is under new leadership, we finally have that opportunity, and Congress is using the oversight process aggressively to get the facts to help our country move forward. We have held more oversight hearings of the Administration's handling of the Iraq war in the first few months of the Democratic control of the Congress than the Republicans did since the war began.



I believe the best way to alter the direction that our country is headed in is to focus on fixing the current problems. At both the state and federal levels, there are many issues that require our attention, discussion, and action, and will require the President's active involvement. I am concerned that progress on health care, education, and veteran's care would all be put on hold and would not be fixed if Congress solely focused on impeachment proceedings.



Be assured, I believe that the Congress must hold the Administration accountable for their actions and decisions, and I look forward to the upcoming hearings and investigations that are occurring in the 110th Congress.



Thank you for sharing your views on this matter with me, and I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind as the actions of President Bush and his administration are reviewed.



I hope all is well in Renton.

[undeterred]

17. She's moveable. Keep working on her.

[warren pease]

18. The usual non-response response...

Like this one from Vichy dem Darlene Hooley, which I just got this past Thursday:



Thank you for contacting me regarding your support for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney. I appreciate your thoughts on this issue.

In the 109th Congress, there was legislation introduced that could have led to articles of impeachment. H. Res. 635, would have created a select committee to investigate the Bush Administration's intent to go to war before congressional authorization. The committee would have also investigated whether or not the Administration took part in the manipulation of pre-war intelligence; was involved encouraging torture and retaliating against critics; and would have made recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment. This select committee was to be composed of members from of the House Judiciary, International Relations, Government Reform and Armed Services Committees as well as the House Select Committee on Intelligence, and would have reported its findings to the full House for further action. So far, this legislation has not been reintroduced in the 110th Congress.

In the 110th Congress, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has introduced H. Res 333, legislation calling for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney. This resolution outlines three articles of impeachment, accusing the Vice President of the following high crimes and misdemeanors:

• misleading the nation regarding prewar intelligence reports of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD);
• falsely creating a linkage between the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda; and
• threatening the Islamic Republic of Iran with armed aggression absent a clearly defined threat to the United States.

Please know that I will keep your views on this issue in mind should any action on impeachment of either President Bush or Vice President Cheney be considered by the full House.


So first I get the standard "your call is important to us, so please stay on the line." Then I get a brief history lesson blaming the vile 109th Congress for failing to authorize a select committee to investigate BushCo and recommend to impeach if the evidence pointed in that direction. That the 109th Congress failed to create a committee that, if left alone to do its work without Gonzales hovering over their shoulders, would have unearthed enough evidence to impeach at least a dozen high-ranking traitors within BushCo -- including Il Duce himself... Well, I'm shocked that they didn't vote to investigate the felonies of their lord and master.

Then comes a current events summary, which I know well enough to recite in my sleep. And then the obligatory pap about how she's keeping my views in mind if impeachment should miraculously crawl back onto the table.

And we keep voting for these ineffectual weasels because voting for somebody who reflects our own values would simply be splitting Dem ballots and helping elect a GOPer. And I wonder who coined the phrase "the lesser of two evils." Smart guy or woman, whoever it was, and dead on target.


wp

[Poiuyt]

19. I have one of those freshmen Dems, Steve Kagen

He (or his aide) wrote back saying that Bush and Cheney may have lied to the American people and "took us to war based on lies and deceptions," but "impeachment is not the appropriate response to leaders with poor judgment."

[warren pease]

20. "Poor judgment?"...

Is that what it's called? I was thinking more along the lines of treason during time of war (since Bushie never misses a chance to tell us that "we're at war"), making it "high treason" and, therefore, a capital crime.

Poor judgment is wearing brown shoes with a black suit.

High treason is outing a covert CIA operative chasing REAL WMDs; targeting civilians with death squads, bombs and land mines in violation of both US and international law; instituting a systematic program of torture in violation of the same set of laws; lying to Congress and the people about the Niger-Iraq-yellowcake fantasy to justify a "preemptive" invasion of a non-threatening, sovereign country, also against US and international law; aggressively attacking freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (3/5 of which is already dead due to BushCo's actions); eliminating habeas corpus; rigging elections through a variety of methods designed to create a permanent republican majority, including restricting the right to vote on racial and demographic lines (in violation of the 15th amendment), electronic vote-switching, understaffing at Democratic precincts, tampering with secure ballot boxes, and every single remaining filthy, unconstitutional trick the RNC could come up with...

And that's the short list. Poor judgment my ass.


On edit: I just looked him up on a couple of non-Dem, unaffiliated web sites and he seems to be one of the good guys -- several inexplicable votes and positions notwithstanding. He has a zero pro-wingnut rating, which is always great. So what's up with impeachment? This "poor judgment" nonsense needs to be tossed back at him, with demands for his take on how many impeachable offenses a single administration gets before the hammer finally comes down.


wp

[Poiuyt]

21. I think the "inexplicable votes" can be attributed to the fact that he's a physician and

campaigned strongly on health care. I think some of those votes were when there were health care amendments.

But yes, "poor judgment" makes no sense at all. I'm sure it was written by an aide trying to soften his "no impeachment" policy. I've been watching for when he comes back to town so I can ask him in person.

[MonkeyFunk]

22. Mine is already a co-sponsor

but he doesn't think anything will come of it.


http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/July/12/local/stories/03local.htm


"Impeachment is not the only tool at our disposal. Investing in our communities will help counteract years of neglect by leadership," the statement said. "And increased attention to our economy and society will bring dividends"

Farr press secretary Tom Mentzer said the congressman doesn't see the impeachment measure as having much of a chance for passage.

"He doesn't think it would be successful, but he heard from a lot of constituents who feel strongly about it, so he signed on," he said.

[diddlysquat]

23. Kick

[NewJeffCT]

25. Mostly get "we're thoroughly investigating the WH and performing strict oversight"

This is from Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Joe Courtney (D-CT)

something along those lines. neither specifically responds to impeachment requests, just say that they're busy investigating and performing oversight.

[PBass]

28. Haven't gotten anything in writing, just talked to their staff.

Conyers, Nadler, Velazquez staffers all said the Representative had not taken an official position yet, when I asked.

All of the staffers listened to me briefly explain my reasoning (not impeaching is bad for the Constitution, bad for the balance of powers, bad for the Democratic party). Basically, they keep a running tally, that's all. Any additional comments are probably not passed along. I just explain my thinking for my own benefit, more or less, and to show that I know what I'm talking about.

I'm not discouraged at all, NONE of those staffers have given me a reason to be discouraged. Folks, don't be discouraged by form letters, either! They send out form letters for ANY issue. They don't have time to write a personal message to everybody (or anybody, I should say)