Each and every member of Congress swears to ""support and defend the Constitution." When the Executive is violating the Constitution the ONLY defense is impeachment. Congress, and only Congress has both the power, and the duty.

Under the constitution, treaties, like statutes, are the "supreme law of the land." The Geneva Conventions, a treaty to which we are a party, prohibit torture. Bush and Cheney were torturing in plain sight. Each and every member of Congress had a duty to impeach to defend the constitution against presidential violations of the "supreme law of the land."

Each and every member who refused to join the effort to impeach violated their oath. That the co-conspirators in the Republican party violated their oath is no surprise. That so many of the "good guys" -- the Dems -- refused is tragic. And when momentum for impeachment starting really rolling, the Democratic leadership went all out to stop it before it became unstoppable. They were successful, and that is appalling.

I'll run through the other cases when I have more time. I'm signing off. It's late.