Reply #39: Can't know how many will choose to defend the indefensible until. . .

[pat_k]

. . .the accusation is "on the table." At that point, every Member of the House must choose: defend, stay mute, or join the accusers.

The ONLY way to find out how many, or how few, will actually attempt to defend the indefensible is to accuse; to impeach.

IF it gets to the Senate (and there is reason to believe it won't even get there) there are many reasons to believe that those willing to "stand up for Bush" will be too few.

From http://journals.democraticunderground.com/pat_k/12

Republicans are likely to be VERY motivated to pressure Bush and Cheney to take the resignation "exit strategy."

Republicans may not be willing to defend the indefensible for long. When Bush nullified McCain's anti-torture amendment (which passed with over 90 votes) he slapped them in the face. They would be hard pressed to defend Bush for abusing signing statements to nullify the overwhelming will of the people in order to keep torture "on the table." Warner, Graham, McCain, and Collins (may have been others I'm not recalling) came out against the "War Criminals Protection Act." The "compromise" they got was not much of one, it just shifted the responsibility for actually approving torture to Bush (as opposed to approving it themselves and becoming War Criminals). Specter dismissed the WH defense of the criminal surveillance program as absurd. There are some other "rational" Republicans (Snowe, Hagel, and Lugar).

Repubs will certainly try the "Un-Patriotic to attack the President in War time" bit (the only "attack" on impeachment we have heard out of them) but that doesn't go far if Repubs aren't willing to defend against the indefensible charges (which they aren't even doing now).

Bush and Cheney are an albatross that many Republicans would be happy to get rid of.

Whatever our fears or hopes, defending the Constitution against the destruction requires demands that we fight to remove the destroyers. The Congressional oath is not an oath to win; it is an oath to fight -- to "support and defend." They have a choice: Duty or Dereliction. Those who choose Duty will be in the right side of history, win or lose.