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A conservative’s case for impeachment |
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Tuesday, 12 February 2008 |
Letter from Ralph Lopez
Tularosa, N.M.
Most people don't know it, but a 60-year-old man recently marched in the cold to Washington, D.C., to say Bush and Cheney need to be impeached in order to save the Constitution. The man said he doesn't like hiking, and he doesn't like cold, but that someone had to do something. He dipped deep into his retirement savings for the project, so much that he's not sure what he's going to do about retirement now. But he's convinced that if Bush and Cheney are not called to account for breaking the law and violating the Constitution, right now, the country will never be the same. As he marched, people walked alongside, waving and wishing well as he went.
His name is John Nirenberg, a college professor from Vermont. He may be liberal, but I'm not, so I've drawn up my own little list of "Why They Should be Impeached," so we conservatives can be counted, too.
n Because George Bush locked up an American citizen, Jose Padilla, without the jury trial that is his right as an American, and claims he can do exactly the same thing to any one of us.
n Because Bush violated our right to freedom from search and seizure without probable cause, and twists it to sound like he's not allowed to spy on terrorists, which is false. Even John Ashcroft from his hospital bed couldn't stomach the NSA warrantless surveillance, and he's not exactly liberal.
n Because someone in his administration exposed an American intelligence officer, Valerie Plame. These people take an oath to do their jobs even if it costs them their lives. Their own Commander-in-Chief should be the most concerned, not make excuses for whoever did it.
n Because he failed to secure 360 tons of HMX high explosives in Iraq back in 2004. He knew exactly where they were. These are killing our soldiers now.
n Because he refused an urgent request by the Special Forces commander on the ground at Tora Bora, for troops to cut off bin Laden's escape. As we can see from Pakistan, bin Laden is alive and well.
n Because he didn't have the sense to at least plant some WMDs in Iraq so the world wouldn't think we were there for the oil. Now way more people hate us than did before. I am only half joking here.
I call myself an Eisenhower-Roosevelt Republican. Eisenhower warned us of the threat to our freedoms of the "military-industrial complex." Teddy Roosevelt wanted the little guy to have a chance against big business, so he busted up the monopolies. I believe that if either of these men were alive today, they'd be calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.
What people don't realize is that John Nirenberg is standing up for the rights of even those calling him a nut. He believes, as the Constitution says, that every American has the right to a jury trial, no matter what the charge is. Under the label of "enemy combatant" George Bush can now sweep up anyone, waterboard them, and no one will ever know it.
Nirenberg walked from Boston (he left on Dec. 1) to D.C. (he arrived on Jan. 12) with a stack of letters and signatures for Nancy Pelosi telling her to put impeachment back on the table.
Editor’s note: If you want to more about Nirenberg’s efforts, go to www.MarchInMyName.org
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Last Updated ( Friday, 23 May 2008 )
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