"Dennis Kucinich is on a quest of his own. He sees flying saucers and he acts like one, too"
Hey, I agree with Don Surber: the Alcee Hastings quote is the *perfect* title.
By Moe Lane Posted in Congress — Comments (14) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Representative Kucinich is going to bring this up in public, every chance he gets, for the rest of this primary season:
Kucinich's Cheney Impeachment Resolution Stays Alive in House, Moved to Committee
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich expressed satisfaction Tuesday with a series of procedural twists on the House floor that resulted in the Ohio congressman's impeachment articles against Vice President Dick Cheney being sent for committee review.A series of strategic maneuvers on both sides of the partisan aisle ended with a 218-194 vote along party lines to deliver the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee, the panel of jurisdiction for such matters.
"This vote sends a message that the administration's conduct in office is no longer unchallenged," Kucinich said after the vote.
Kucinich savored the victory, saying that Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers had reassured him and backers of the resolution "that he would in fact launch an impeachment inquiry." But Conyers told FOX News that he would announce his decision on Wednesday after speaking with House Democratic leaders.
(Via Don Surber; G/T: Instapundit)
Now, I will tell you a secret: this time last year, I was morosely sitting at my computer screen and wondering how the Democrats had managed to keep going when Congress wasn't theirs to command. I worried that I'd still be wondering, a year later, and so I am. I just never figured that the only change to the question would be that it would be in present tense instead of past.
Read on.
For those tuning in late, the short version is that Rep. Kucinich - who has parlayed the ability to say things progressives want to hear into a nice little business for himself (H/T: Protein Wisdom)* - had introduced a call for Cheney's impeachment. Old news, and this was all set to die: Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Hoyer have better things to do than cater to the delusions of the impeach-em-all crowd, and they've gotten away with ignoring it before, so why not now? So, Hoyer sets out to quash it - and then, as Don notes, "Republicans were all set to help him until it occurred to them, screw Hoyer. What has he done for Republicans?"
Don thinks that S-CHIP was the proximate cause. Me, I'm guessing nostalgia. The GOP loved letting the BDS sufferers in Congress bring up their pet causes to votes, solely to watch the rest of Democrats scurry for the floorboards. Normally, we can't do that anymore... but That Magnificent Basta*d Shaddeg and the rest guessed that the progressive faction of the Democrats was simply incapable of voting no on impeachment proceedings, and lo! - they were correct. So, it was set up for a floor vote... and then the Democrats scurried. Alas, gaining nominal control of Congress last year means that they have more procedural options, which is why it was sent to Judiciary in order to die an ignominious death. Comparing the tabling resolution with the one sending it to committee might be interesting, for those progressives out there wondering which of their purported Representatives are most likely to break under pressure; not that any of our lurkers are interested in doing as I suggest. Why, no. Not at all. Even when you know you want to...
But I'm being mean - and, do you know something? I'm genuinely curious: what in Hell are you people doing still supporting the Democratic Party? We're eleven months in for this new, supposedly improved Congress, and I still get to write stories about the way that the netroots get betrayed by their leadership. I may be actually writing more of them, because I'm getting more legitimate chances to do so. I'm certainly not gnashing my teeth over the way my cause has been stymied: the defense hawks haven't even been slowed down. Put it another way: you people out there in the netroots hate me - well, not me, personally (although I imagine that at least one or two people out there do), but rather the faction of the GOP that I represent. Hating us even seems to be - from an outside, prejudiced, and amused perspective, of course - the basis for your lives.
So why are you giving us cheap victories?
Moe
*As I've noted before, I hate the message but respect the player. You have to: he games the system at a level that leaves his competitors in the dust. Shoot, he even used it to marry above his level. Credit where credit is due.
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"Dennis Kucinich is on a quest of his own. He sees flying saucers and he acts like one, too" 14 Comments (0 topical, 14 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
The radical libs in the Democratic party have been clamoring for Impeachment for years. Kucinich is their water boy and he is going to be able to get a vote on this one courtesy of the House GOP forcing the Democrats to put their $ where their mouth is.
I'm loving it!
There are no legal grounds for impeachment - we know it and they know it on the other side - yet they are going forward with it anyway. I'm glad this is happening only because it will show all of America how beholden the Democrat party is to the left-wing nutters fringe. Bravo to the House GOP for making them show where they really stand.
Bring it on, Dems... BRING IT ON!!!
The extra-terrestrial illegal aliens, that is.
Because "lousy at fighting for the right things" is better than "good at fighting for the wrong things." It's that easy. I'm not satisfied with this Congress, because they're operating from a defensive crouch and getting easily stymied. But I'd rather have a stymied Democratic majority than a Republican one.
Is this awesome and great? No, it's lousy. But I'd rather be a liberal now than either a liberal last year, or a conservative this year, as much fun as you're having.
The alternatives you're suggesting to supporting the Democratic party are what exactly? Retreating into Naderism or apathetic disengagement (the same thing, functionally)? Supporting Republicans, who instead of being an ineffective, watered-down version of what I stand for, are more or less the opposite of what I stand for? I'm genuinely curious to what you think a voter like me should do.
I actually appreciate seeing your posts like this, Moe, because as much as they get to me - and you're right, they do - they help me be realistic about the compromises I'm making, and the necessity of not getting complacent. Naturally, I hope you have as few opportunities to write posts like this as possible, but we have a narrow, cautious, skittish majority, a skillful minority better at obstructing than they were at governing, and not enough votes to beat back filibusters or vetoes.
(Note: I'm speaking more in general than about this particular issue. Impeaching Cheney is not a big guiding principle for me.)
OK, then: you sit down, look over everything, and at least seriously contemplate the possibility that the reason why my faction keeps winning even under these technically adverse conditions is [not because of] the reasons that you describe, but simply because we're right and you're wrong.
Hey, you did ask. :)
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
And I appreciate your taking the time to reply. So I guess of the options I presented, which are "disengage from politics" and "change my principles," you're suggesting the latter. Fair enough.
(I'm not usually a commenter, despite being a daily reader for basically RS's entire existence, but since you asked a question that seemed non-rhetorically directed at me here, I figured I'd give answering it a shot.)
...and I'm not a complete monster. Still, I should note that my reply is not that you change your principles so much as you ask yourself whether your current political positions are really the best way to express them. Although if the answer is "Yes," well...
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
...facing many of my lefty colleagues. They suspect that they've been duped, but now they're seriously starting to wonder how badly they've been played by their own party.
The Dems have been pounding on Bush and the war with so much vitriol and for so long, that their followers actually believed that they were serious. However, there were no real consequences when the Dems were the whining minority - only upside in terms of positioning themselves to gain political power. Now that they have the majority to act on their whining, they're doing nothing but occasional posturing to placate their perpetually angry and easily manipulated base.
Add in the "bad news" about the progress of the surge in Iraq, and many of my less BDS-afflicted cohorts are beginning to wonder if the Dems haven't known all along that success in Iraq is necessary. IOW, they knew that Bush was right.
I'm not sure that the Democrat leadership is that smart, but I do think that their only *real* concern is pushing their social agenda: higher taxes, more warm fuzzy entitlements, greater dependence on government, etc. They'd just as soon ignore national security and hope that inconvenient jihad thing goes away.
--
"We want great men who, when fortune frowns, will not be discouraged." - Colonel Henry Knox
1. Reexamine your basic political beliefs.
2. Realize that socialism is at the root of a great many evils.
3. Switch to our side.
As Moe said, you did ask.
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
I'm not convinced of the brilliance of this strategy.
I think the public is generally dissatisfied with every leader we've got so I wouldn't count on a huge outpouring of support for Cheney when his own party allowed the question of his impeachment to proceed.
The Dems would be equally wise not to tempt the public by mockingly opening investigations into Harry Reid.
These are dangerous times to be playing 'I dare you'.
...with its objectives met. It's not getting revisited unless the Democrats on Judiciary let their BDS override their good sense - 7-5 odds and pick 'em, true - so I wouldn't count on public opinion being a factor in this one at all, at all. Especially since the people most affected by it - Democratic Congressmen - reacted to the whole thing by frantically running away.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
I love this, actually.
Democrats are forced to say publicly that they want to impeach the VP or forced to defend him.
Win Win is what comes to mind
And seek to impeach someone who they cannot possibly have an actual *case* against.
And Pelosi/Reid are polling dramatically lower than the President, even with the help of the MSM.
It is hard to imagine a better circumstance, given the realities of where we are.
The perfect spokesman for the extreme left in the Democrat party - how anyone takes him seriously is beyond comprehension. Although, I do think he would look much more believable with a ring in his nose or lip (I'm not going any further than that).