My Sunday Column

IMPEACHING BUSH

There is no doubt in my mind that if the Democrats are able to gain control of the House of Representatives in November, they will draft articles of impeachment against President Bush. It will be tough for Democrats to win either house of Congress in the Fall. Just the sheer number of seats they need to gain, plus other obsticles like gerrymandering will make their efforts difficult, but not impossible. Luckily, Republicans have 7 months to try and turn things around, and the President also has time to boost his sagging approvals. I believe President Bush's future as our Commander-in-Chief relies on the 06' elections.

We already see Democrats taking steps toward impeachment. Senator Russ Feingold recently tried to censure the president because of his domestic spying program, a measure not takin since the 1800's. In an interview, Feingold tried to defend his proposal by saying the motion to censure is not the same as impeachment, but then saying what the president did is an impeachable offense. Obviously, with the GOP controlling both houses of Congress, impeaching the president today is an impossibility, that is why no major movement to do so is underway. However there are numerous small grass-roots efforts across the country trying to persuade congressmen and women to draw up articles to impeach, and in fact some in congress have already.

As your recall, Bill Clinton was impeached bye the House back in 1998, for lying to a grand jury about his role in the Monica Lewinsky affair (no pun intended). However, the Senate failed to carry enough votes to get Clinton out of office, mostly because of a lack of Republican votes. Today's situation is much different. George W. Bush is hated by many people on the far left today, and even among some moderate Democrats. Clinton was not a hated president. People knew he messed up, but most did not want to see him thrown out of office. Bill Clinton's presidency was nothin like George Bush's, Clinton had few tough decisions to make during his tenure, and the overall peaceful and prosperous times allowed him to do nothing and alienate few.

George W. Bush's presidency has been the exact opposite of Clintons. Bush has had to deal with a horrific terror attack, a catastropic natural disaster, a worldwide war on terrorism, and many other very serious issues. Any leader forced to deal with problems of that magnitude is likely to make enemies with his policies, and Bush's enemies are out for blood. As I said earlier, the far left hates him beyond measure and want him out of office by any means necessary.

Im not sayin that President Bush's impeachment is inevitable, but you can bet if Democrats are successful in 2006 they will try their best oust him. I hope that Democratic candidates are asked about this issue throughout this years campaign, because I believe we all deserve to know their opinion on such an important issue. I also hope that the people around and advising the president understand the severity a replay of 1994 by the Democrats this time will have on the policy of this country. As of right now, they dont seem worried about it, but all I know is that I sure am.

-Brad