Is Impeachment Inevitable, Now?
I used to laugh at the prospect of impeachment, thinking it was the goal of far-flung lunatic-fringe groups like the folks at democrats.com (not the party, mind you). I thought it would be bad for the left to pursue such a measure, equally pathetic as it was when the Republicans went after Bill Clinton over a minor, stupid issue.
But now, it seems like it might happen. Congress is dead-set against adding more troops to Iraq, with good reason. Bush won’t compromise and had spent the better part of the last six years usurping the power of the Congress with things like "signing statements" and so on. While the previous lapdog Congresses had little choice but to shut up and take it, this Congress doesn’t. With Bush a lame duck and the Congress controlled by the Democrats, we could be headed for a Constitutional crisis, as both branches fight over separation of powers.
Bush and his people seem accustomed to fighting against people unwilling to fight back (see: media, the) and seem confused that recent attempts to cow the Congress and Federal Judges seem to be backfiring. Instead of compromise, they dig their heels in deeper.
That’s where I see a crisis starting to build. Congress is prepared to fight over the surge and can tie the pursestrings of the president (which was intended by the framers to prevent any president from having dictatorial power) to stop the troop surge and force a gradual withdrawl. Furthermore, there might be enough votes in Congress to deauthorize the war in Iraq, which could then provoke a Constitutional crisis, as it is plainly spelled out that only Congress has to power to declare war.
I do think there is broad and popular support for the war to end. Anger at Bush and his unwillingness to face facts is growing among average people (I’m praying that the Secret Service has increased its protection of the man by a factor of 10, only because I’m very worried that some nut job will make an attempt — and while I very much disagree with him, I do not want to see anything happen to the man outside the legal system) so Congress, Democrats and Republicans, will feel emboldened to stand its ground and fight the president on the grounds of separation of powers and ultimately, as with Andrew Johnson, be willing to impeach him for ignoring the will of the Congress.
I fear very much for that and the impact it will have on our nation, but it seems almost inevitable.