Rep. Debbie Waserman-Schultz (FL) is Deputy Whip of Democrats in the US House. Her job is to enforce party discipline, and in the Democratic Party that is not an easy job, especially when the leadership takes a position that is wrong. Opposing impeachment of either or both the President and Vice President is wrong legally, morally and politically. A substantial majority of Democratic voters support impeaching the Vice President, and polls show that a majority of Americans in general support bringing charges against him. The public supports the process because it is now clear, five years into the war in Iraq, that Cheney and his aides mounted a sophisticated, covert, and irregular propaganda campaign to push Congress into giving his boss the authority to wage aggressive war on Iraq. The campaign included, as Rep Kucinich stated so well in his reading of the Articles, concerted efforts to bypass or undermine the established intelligence gathering operations of the Defense Department and the CIA. Such extraordinary efforts were needed to insure that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein was depicted as perilous as possible. The campaign also featured the Vice President's willfully false statements to the public concerning the need to invade Iraq. It required the official endorsement of dubious sources of intelligence like the discredited informer code-named "Curveball" and the forged "Niger yellowcake" documents. It required the Vice President to ignore all evidence to the contrary of the foregone conclusion to wage war against Iraq.
Precious little cooperation has been obtained from Republicans members by the Democratic House leadership for refraining from considering impeachment. In fact the Republicans seem to be playing a game of "chicken" when it comes to the question. Impeachment is not a political game even though the Republicans debased the process when they tried to oust Bill Clinton for adulterous sexual relations and then lying about it under oath. Cheney's lies and machinations have resulted in the destruction of a soverign country and the deaths of thousands of people. These are high crimes indeed. Impeachment is the process the Founders provided for removing a national executive that has abused the powers of it's office. That is exactly what Cheney and Bush are doing in a manner unprecedented in the history of our country. Yet their war grinds on, consuming more lives and more treasure. House Democrats appear unwilling to stop it by refusing to finance the disaster any longer.
So when the Deputy Whip says on the radio that impeachment proceedings would be a distraction she shows she does not have the discernment of our polity or the understanding of our government necessary to be in a leadership position. When she says another member advocating consideration of the articles introduced into the House by Rep. Kucinich is "off base" she shows that she is merely good at parroting the cliches uttered by her boss, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A few dollars increase in the minimum wage and some pork barrel water projects is all the Democrats have to show for their collaboration with Republicans. The poor children's health insurance bill was vetoed without an override by Congress. By consent of the Senate, the Regime has a new Attorney General who refuses to call torture what it is for fear of legal action against the perpetrators. Illegal spying on citizens is conducted unabated. Our country gives aid to and supports dictatorships. The planet becomes warmer and storms get more intense, but there is no legislative action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Rep. Schultz is the one "off base" and out of touch. It is time for Democratic Representatives to act like adults, face the sickness in our government, and take the strong medicine the Founders so wisely provided.