If Shirley Golub beats Nancy Pelosi on June 3rd, is then impeachment on the table?...

[cascadiance]

If voters cast out Pelosi for the nomination for her seat a week from Tuesday, is that the time when finally the Democratic Party bosses realize that the answer to getting their party's congressional ratings up is to put back impeachment on the table? What would happen then if Pelosi, our Speaker of the House suddenly becomes a short timer? Would we put in place a new Speaker then?

[Ian David]

1. What's the maximum donation an individual can legally make? n/t

[cascadiance]

3. I believe it's $2300...

I'm not that rich, but I already kicked in $50 for her earlier... I think a lot of people must be kicking in, because I've heard her radio spot a lot here while visiting the bay area this week.

[Ian David]

4. I'm not rich, either. But I just might max-out anyway. n/t

[MonkeyFunk]

2. LOL

no.

And Shirley Golub has as much chance of beating Pelosi as I do.

If Golub somehow DID manage to get elected, you think she'd singlehandedly, as a freshman representative, impeach Bush in the two weeks or so between her swearing in and Bush's departure?

[cascadiance]

6. She herself wouldn't do it, but the symbolism of what America wants WOULD be there!

And Nancy Pelosi WOULD be a lame duck Speaker for six months, even if someone else would become speaker later. I almost think that if the Dems want to build on to their majority, they might want to switch someone else in as Speaker before the November election even, to send a message to the constituency that they hear America on what they think their priorities should be. Nominating Golub, even if she herself wouldn't be Speaker, nor be able to start an impeachment resolution, would send a message to those in congress now that that is what America wants, and if they want to do well in November, they should respond in kind!

[MonkeyFunk]

7. ah

I see your mistake. You think America wants Bush impeached. Polls don't back that up.

[cascadiance]

9. A majority of America DOES want Cheney impeached!

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56546

And even without impeachment hearings, 45% want Bush impeached. That's probably about the same before Nixon got impeachment investigations going on him too. And we're talking here about a nomination process for Pelosi, not a general election. I suspect MOST Democrats in her district want Bush and Cheney impeached. That is what counts for June.

[MonkeyFunk]

12. a small majority want Cheney impeached

and it depends on how you ask the question. The ones I've seen are predicated on him already being guilty of something, such as "If it were shown that he committed felonies, would you support impeaching Cheney"? Or, they're asking if people would support hearings.

Anyway, it's never going to happen. Pelosi and other democratic leaders know that Bush and Cheney will never be convicted and removed in the Senate, and that trying to do so a few months before the end of their terms wouldn't help us in the general election.

Sorry, I'd LOVE to see them impeached, convicted and removed. But it's just not going to happen. There simply aren't 17 republican senators who would vote to do so.

[cascadiance]

17. What is a "small majority"?...

:rofl:

A majority is a majority! That's kind of like your saying a "small majority" wants Obama, and therefore we should nominate Clinton instead.

The bottom line is that it isn't about necessarily convicting Bush and Cheney that is an issue here. We probably can prosecute them when they leave office, though who knows if they won't do something before then to prevent that from happening later.

The point is that the congress is responsible in holding them accountable for their egregious actions. We vote in congress to be responsible in running our country and holding our leaders accountable for their actions, NOT just to get reelected and hold on to power and not do anything else to speak of. THAT is why Congress's ratings are lower than the president now! THAT is why avoiding impeachment is NOT necessarily going to help this election.

What doing an impeachment trial will do is put members of congress's hide on the line for their vote on whether they vote for or against impeachment, so that the voter knows if their representative is doing their job in holding our leaders accountable for criminal acts. If they don't they will pay for it with the voters. THAT is why they are afraid of doing an impeachment. They don't want to vote on issues where their voters will be offended at their efforts of defending the establishment power base (which their corporate contributors want to have them keep in place).

That is why the grass roots must demand impeachment hearings!

[MonkeyFunk]

19. Yes, a small majority

there are small majorities and large majorities. I didn't invent the concept.

And a majority do NOT want Bush impeached. A small majority does want Cheney impeached in SOME polls, but it depends on what the exact question is.

Regardless, it's not going to happen, so why drive yourself nuts over it?

[Ytzak]

5. That would just initiate a fight to see who is next Speaker...

I'd be willing to bet it would be Stenny Hoyer. Unless she stepped down, Pelosi will continue to be Speaker until the next Congress, January 2009.

So, no, it won't make a bit of difference in the impeachment of G. W. Bush.

[cascadiance]

8. I suspect that the Progressive Dem Caucus would fight this..

If they wouldn't get someone else outside the realm of Steny Hoyer/Rahm Emmanuel group, they might fight to keep her in so that a newer Speaker might be elected in 2009 more to their liking (with more Progressive Dems in congress then!).

They WOULD have an argument that the reason why she lost and why many Dems would lose in November, is that America doesn't like the "impeachment is off the table" paradigm that would be THE reason why Pelosi got thrown out! And perhaps many besides the Progressive Democrats Caucus would join in on that sentiment if that happens.

[az chela]

10. Vote independant on this one

CINDY SHEEHAN is running against Pelosi.She has a lot of supporters

[MonkeyFunk]

13. Pelosi will be reelected

easily.

[cascadiance]

15. If Shirley doesn't win, that would be the next step...

But voting Shirley is still supporting a Democrat, and voting out Pelosi this early MIGHT just make a difference in impeaching Bush/Cheney before they leave office!

I feel that getting at least an impeachment effort started BEFORE they leave office is critical for future precedent. If we don't confront this abuse of power while they are still in office, it will just incentivize that abuse moreso later. Even if we impeach and prosecute them once they've left office, that will just serve notice that the mistake these guys made is not "covering their butts" before they left office, which the next ones will do by martial law or something similar if it comes to that. But they will be emboldened to do things if they don't feel they will face impeachment in office.

That's why I think it's important, even if you want Cindy Sheehan to ultimately win later for you to vote for Shirley Golub now! Especially if you support impeachment. A vote for Cindy Sheehan might be more an interpretation of a rejection of Pelosi for her lack of an effort to stop funding the war too, which is more what Sheehan would be running on rather than impeachment.

[DaDooRonRon]

16. She's got one here!

I met her by the side of the road in a backwards Texas town a while back. :)

No worries with regards to party loyalty or becoming part of the "club" with Cindy.

Vote progressive this time, not party!

Take it back one step at a time.

[anigbrowl]

22. Only in the Mission district

She's going to split the impeachment vote with Golub, but neither of them are going to come close to beating Pelosi, whose support base stretches across the city. She can pretty much rely on 30% of Asian voters in her district who neither know nor care who Golub and Sheehan are, as well as Latino voters.

The impeachment fans are dreadfully disorganised as a political force - a lot of hippies and professional protesters, but zero campaign savvy. Sheehan will probably beat Golub because she's better known, but on the other hand she's an out of towner. She has virtually no signs up and neither of them will get much donation money because the 'Impeach Now!' brigade aren't high earners.

I know these voters like the back of my hand, having worked on Kucinich rallies and on Matt Gonzalez' last electoral campaign, as well as the San Francisco DA's, and I've been through the Mission district (where Sheehan's campaign is based) 3 times just in this week. I doubt she'll poll more than 10%. People are more exercised about the ballot measure that would eliminate rent control, and there's a lot more posters up about that than there are about Sheehan.

[sniffa]

11. No

Also, if aliens landed at the White House, would that mean that Bush answers to a higher power?

[lsusteel]

14. *sigh*

People who think impeachment is even a possibility or who think the current administration will be prosecuted after leaving office don't understand reality.

[CK_John]

18. Cheney will be 44 when * pardons DC then resigns and 44 will then pardon 43 then ? will be 45. n/t

[tritsofme]

20. If pigs could fly.....Pelosi will get 85%+, lets put our thinking cap on.

nt

[NJSecularist]

21. Golub will be lucky to win 15% of the vote in the primary.