Votes on Cheney Impeachment Fell Between the Cracks
Ah-hah! So now we know what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi meant when she said impeachment was "off the table."
Voting cards on the issue were literally just that - off the table - during Tuesday's zany brouhaha when Republicans briefly hijacked control of the chamber with that black-belt procedural maneuver and thrust the Democrats perilously close to debating a resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.
Offered by long-shot presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the unusual resolution would have resulted in the quickest impeachment debate ever -- one hour - followed by a final vote on impeaching the unpopular vice president.
Knowing how little Democratic leaders wanted to handle Kucinich's hot potato, Republicans began switching their votes late in the process, hoping to shame the Pelosi and Co. into a debate that the GOP thought would expose the radical left in the chamber. And they used the old-fashioned voting cards instead of voting electronically, which, of course, ground the House even further to a halt.
And then something happened purely by accident during the nearly two-hour disruption on the floor that helped Republicans gum up the works even more: a stack of voting cards fell between a crack in two adjoining desks on the dais.
The poor clerks were using rulers, pencils and anything else they could find to fish the cards out.
The House Clerk's office didn't respond to requests for comment about the SNAFU, but a Republican aide who was privy to the mishap said, "Accidents happen, but accidents in the middle of votes to debate impeachment don't happen every day. Unfortunately for the Democrats, it was that kind of day."
Random nonsequitor: And just so you know what Kucinich, a vegan, is eating these days: he had a wrap sandwich for lunch on Wednesday. A Sleuth informant spotted him in the cafeteria of the Longworth House office building, by himself, like the Regular Guy candidate that he is, grabbing a wrap to go.
By Mary Ann Akers |
November 7, 2007; 7:40 PM ET
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Next: Kucinich Emboldened In Impeachment Quest
Posted by: ceflynline | November 7, 2007 8:23 PM
More nonsense from the Dems and little substantive action.
The fact that Rep. Dennis "I saw the UFO" Kucinich was allowed to foist this ridiculous Cheney Impeachment stunt is indicative of how low and to the Left the Democrats have sunk.
Posted by: David | November 7, 2007 8:56 PM
Bwaaahahahaha! Soon your children will be GAY!
Posted by: The Left | November 7, 2007 11:02 PM
Cheney is at 9% approval, and still the Republicans support him? More amazing, Pelosi (should I say Rahm Emmanuel) have yet to realize the Republicans are going to throw sand in the gears of even benign and beneficial legistation called "Healthy Kids", I mean, SCHIP.
C'mon Rahm, at least force the Republicans to debate Cheney! What have you got to lose?
Posted by: National_Insecurity | November 8, 2007 12:56 AM
This just in: Dick Cheney has been diddling an intern! Oh goody, that means we can debate impeachment, right?
(oops, wrong rumor) Cheney's just taking us into another pre-emptive war, again, and will cost our kids another TRILLION dollars. Never mind. Back to E!, I see there's some supermodel on again.
Posted by: National_Insecurity | November 8, 2007 1:08 AM
Voting "cards fell between a crack ..."
Reminded me of Yogi's sage advice:
"If you come to a fork in the road ... take it!"
Posted by: sookie | November 8, 2007 1:15 AM
Finally someone with guts to seek the truth and remove these idiots from power. After dickless and clueless george are gone I say go after the war profiteers,there are plenty I'm sure. You can say goodbye to the wide stance party and their "values"! What a joke they've become. LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: jime | November 8, 2007 1:30 AM
The radical right-wing Republicans are pushing their "Unitary Executive" myth hard. Under that theory, about the only weapon Congress has against such a dictator is impeachment. Close to a majority of Americans favors impeaching Cheney, whose support in opinion polls is reaching the vanishing point. Moreover, if anyone in American history has ever deserved impeachment it is Cheney. Why, therefore, are the Democrats so timid about bringing up this subject? I have read their reasoning, but I just don't get it.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 8, 2007 3:19 AM
When this regime burglarizes one of America's finest citizens, they should be impeached. Even if you think a million dead Iraqis is worth the chance to show off in an unarmored humvee, these burglars can not excuse their domestic crimes.
Maybe White House Spiritual Leader Pastor Ted Haggard or Singing Senator Larry Craig or wh*remonger Senator David Vitter (Republican) can give Oil Slick Dick a blow job so we can impeach the looter.
Iraq is not the reason to impeach. Their domestic crimes against America are worse.
The spineless Dems who are afraid to impeach should pay more attention to reports from domestic whistleblowers and torture victims and burglary victims.
Dennis4president.com
Posted by: Singing Senator | November 8, 2007 5:10 AM
If ever a person deserved impeachment, it is Dick Cheney. Or maybe he should be submitted to a psychiatric barrage of tests and committed.
To try to hide this cold, hard fact by making fun of Kucinich, as Mary Ann Akers has done, is to be complicit in a status quo which criminally damaging to the American people.
I am surprised that this light-hearted report should come from a WAPO staffer.
Hasn't she read the newspaper's damning series on Cheney, which doesn't even include his role in foreign affairs? Hasn't she read the op-ed column in which Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid revealed that Cheney is directing the administration's foreign policy toward dictator Musharraf. Clue: Cheney loves Musharraf.
I'm sure that the lawyers who are protesting so valiantly against the brute force mobilized by Musharraf to stay in power would second the motion to impeach Cheney.
Posted by: fedup1 | November 8, 2007 5:39 AM
It is good to see Republicans backing Cheney to his end (and theirs too).
Posted by: Warren | November 8, 2007 7:23 AM
The current Democratic leadership in the House doesn't hold any priciple dear other than their own re-election. That's why we ended up with gutless Hoyer instead of Murtha. Don't the Pelosi go along to get alongs see they are paving the way for the Republicans to take the House back? Pleasee stand for something other than cowardice for a change. Impeach Cheney and then Bush.
Posted by: azjimn2son | November 8, 2007 7:45 AM
There was a time when I was considered really conservative, and I voted Republican. By the standards of the modern Republican party, as exemplified in the Bush administration, I'm a radical liberal nutjob. I hate the way they have hijacked a party I used to respect.
Dick Cheney's impeachment should be based on the sweetheart arrangement he's had with Halliburton going back to his days as Secretary of Defense under Bush the elder. He began awarding no-bid contracts then, and got the job of CEO as soon as he was no longer SecDef. When he came back as VP, a war was created and the biggest beneficiary for no-bid contracts has been Halliburton. And who is poised to return to his job as CEO on Jan. 22, 2009?
Starting the impeachment now will mean only that the interesting evidence has mostly been gathered by the end of Cheney's term of office. If the evidence supports the blatant appearance of the situation, he should spend the remainder of his life in prison, where his standards of social discourse won't be as startling as they are on the Senate floor.
Posted by: Andrew | November 8, 2007 7:51 AM
Impeachment is needed to restore credibility to our system of government. Right now, a few big corporations own Congress and their "men" are in the White House. They don't give a rat's ass about the people except for what lies they need to tell us so we'll stay on our asses in front of the TV. Our grandchildren are going to be pretty disgusted by us, generally speaking. Kucinich is a rare example of integrity in Washington, D.C. -- a place where the word means next to nothing.
Posted by: tenstring | November 8, 2007 7:56 AM
Andrew: take some comfort in the fact that you're not alone. It's hard to find oneself politically homeless in such perilous times.
Posted by: Tim B | November 8, 2007 9:46 AM
Surprising, or maybe not, how swiftly the mainstream media, WP included, is dumping this under the rug. IMPEACHMENT must be kept on the table and in the headlines!! How could a B... Job be so worthy of impeachment proceedings and what this cabal has done doesn't merit a nod? That our legislators and media are so out of touch with their constituents makes me crazy!! Thank you Dennis for having the courage to stand up to the scum in the white house.
Posted by: Judy Hildebrand | November 8, 2007 11:16 AM
Restore our constitution.
Posted by: A.Jim Grimm | November 8, 2007 12:40 PM
The time has finally come for the American
people to strike back at the Bush Cheney
loonies. Impeachment hearings will bring out the details of the nightmare these
idiots have created for us. let the hearings start, let the truth come out so
that we can start to restore the liberty
and freedom that has been taken from us. I
hope that Conyers has the courage to do the
right thing. Hurray for Kucinich and Cohen.
Posted by: Al | November 8, 2007 12:46 PM
Forget impeachment, how about incarceration?
Posted by: ejb | November 8, 2007 12:49 PM
The Democrats are such a joke! I can't believe I used to be one!
Posted by: msmyra | November 8, 2007 1:07 PM
I think the whole thing with the paper falling in the cracks is just a strategy to buy time, like a filibuster. I think that Cheney is semi-insane and should be impeached, but it won't be happening soon. What is with that "TREATED AS SECRET" stamp that he stamps on documents anyway, wasn't "CLASSIFIED" and "TOP SECRET" enough? He is unfit for office and I think that he is too violent. I am somewhat sad to hear that the impeachment is "off the table".
Posted by: somemongolianguy | November 8, 2007 9:36 PM
See Bruce Fein's (Reagan lawyer) case for impeaching Cheney:
Posted by: CDF | November 9, 2007 5:14 AM
Hey, that's "non sequitur" not "nonsequitor." Just shows we are reading the fine print.
Posted by: pat | November 9, 2007 10:18 AM
Hey, that's "non sequitur" not "nonsequitor." Just shows we are reading the fine print.
Posted by: pat | November 9, 2007 10:18 AM
It is no silly matter as to why some are trying to unseat the war mongers.
Here's an approximate quick tally of what these political devils are hiding:
The most recent international figures of the war on terrorism I could find are from June '07 reports, except for current U.S. troop deaths that I've added.
Keep in mind that "seriously injured" means cannot return to service or for civilians it means dismembered or maimed for life!
World Troops "dead" fighting terrorism: 43,791+
World Troops "seriously injured": 190,222+
Civilian Casualties "dead": 789,442+
Civilian Casualties "seriously injured": 1,420,996+
Total approximate serious Casualties: 2,444,451+
Approximate AWOL's due to atrocities: 40,000+
Approximate new total of dead, wounded or missing: 2,484,451+
The real figures are far beyond this June '07 tally. This is also "why" they're beginning talks of re-instituting the draft for your children, which is what they're hiding from you.
They definitely need more warm bodies for sacrifice! If you let them kill off your children for their sacrifices, then y'all deserve it.
Do you still find Impeachment amusing? Or, do Americans consider this normal?
Posted by: Spectrum108 | November 9, 2007 2:52 PM
Bush and Cheney should have been impeached long ago.Our Representatives should be ashamed of themselves!Apparently, the recently elected Dems are not much better than the Republicans.
Our country has gone to hell in a hand bag. I've been "subjected" to lots of Presidents (I go back to FDR)and Bush is by far the very worst.
I'm wondering whether he should be entered in The Guiness Book of Records or Ripleys
Believe It Or Not as the biggest A-- Hole ever created.
Posted by: ST. Jerome | November 12, 2007 2:43 PM
ST. Jerome, don't you think Adolph, Joe, Mao et al will be disappointed to be displaced by a lightweight like Bush? Or is it just that your politics and your hate for Bush outweigh what little common sense you may once have had?
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The comments to this entry are closed.
This little imp in the bottle is about to get a life on the outside all by its lonesome. If enough constituents push their committee persons, there will have to be hearings. Subpoenas. Compulsory testimony under oath, and executive privilege won't help a Vice President who has been far too secretive for far too long. I don't remember hearing the Friends, Romans, Countrymen part of the Kucinich speech, but even now "Cry Havoc, and let slip the dog's of war," is moving to the tongue. Can "Burn, kill, let not a traitor live!" be far behind?
Caesar be NOT still, whilst yet a traitor lives.