Another Failure of Leadership

Nanci Pelosi, House Minority Leader, is looking to the day when she takes over the Speaker's gavel. But she is already signaling that she does not intend to seek impeachment of the President for his unprecedented usurpation of power and his war crimes. According to Ms. Pelosi the Democrats "do not have time" to begin impeachment proceedings because she wants to push an agenda of overdue social reforms. Granted, these progressive reforms are needed, but there are two years remaining in George Bush's tenure. Apparently Ms. Pelosi does not think her Democratic colleagues can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Unfortunately what Ms. Pelosi doesn't seem to appreciate is that the way forward is to first reestablished fundamental principles of democratic government that Bush's regime has worked so hard to undermine. Congress must reaffirm it status as a co-equal branch of government if it is to regain its credibility with the people. The selling of the Iraq War to Congress was successful in large part because of the undue deference Congress paid to the Executive's lies about threats to our security. Secondly, Bush has acted as if he were a despot, claiming he has the right to selectively ignore laws with which he disagrees, abrogate civil liberties, torture captives, and illegally spy on citizens. No person is above the rule of law in this country. A historic lesson must be meted out to a President that sees fit to disobey his oath to defend the Constitution and faithfully execute the laws of this nation.
Failure to take the time to reestablish our fundamental principles will only increase the illegitimacy of our nation's government. Americans no longer trust their government because they know it lies to them and their politicians only cover up. In the past fifty years Americans have had to live with shameful deceptions: the Warren Commission, Vietnam, Watergate, Iran/Contra and now Iraq. Sweeping more lies under history's rug is not the way to "move forward" as Ms. Pelosi so flippantly put it.
The stock market is up and Haliburton's stock has quadrupled in value. But 2750 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died. All are dead as the result of an American president's choice to invade another country without justification. America is in a moral crisis. There is no time for "business as usual" in Washington. The American people want their democracy to survive. I respectfully suggest that if Ms. Pelosi ascends to the role of Speaker, she make time to fulfill her constitutional duty to the nation by bringing Articles of Impeachment to the floor of the House.