OK Help me out here. What the hell happened yesterday?

[radiclib]

Did Repugs vote not to table the impeachment resolution because they thought the Dems would EMBARRASS themselves with a pathetic, transparently political dog and pony show? That there was NO CASE to be made for Crashcart's criminality? How delusional is that?
And were the Dems so afraid of eloquent speeches by Repugs on the floor denouncing the duplicitous Dems for undermining our stalwart leadership in a "time of war" ? Is that why it ended up in committee, where it will probably rot and die? How cravenly gutless is that?
This Congress is a parade of cartoonish assclowns. It would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic for us all.:wtf:

[robinlynne]

1. ahhh. but, it is now the committee's job to investigate the charges.

and the telephones are ringing, my friend.

[radiclib]

6. I believe Conyers has to call for hearings

in order to find cause to bring charges. And, since the Dems acquired the subpoena power that comes with majority status, Conyers has been behaving like someone who has been threatened or blackmailed. Remember how gutsy he was in demanding the WH respond to the Downing Street memos? Or the hearings he was forced to hold in the basement? Now he flinches at the mention of Fox News.

[robinlynne]

8. the pressure is on him. and yes you're right something changed in february.

[peacetalksforall]

9. Aw, but distinctions. Don't forget the distinctions -

his pressure might be from Pelosi and Hoyer. We can't assume he is being blackmailed.

He just seems to smart to do something that would lead to him being blackmailed.

When it comes to character and presence - I think of Fred Friendly. Here he is - this top lawyer and he is cleaning up after Gonzalez and hustling to keep stuff buried - while he is now in receipt of a letter stating he will be in Contempt of Congress if he continues to ignore the House.

I hope I can, we can, trust Conyers.

[radiclib]

11. Just to be clear

I'm not suggesting he was blackmailed. He's just behaving that way.

[sce56]

10. Can you spell A N T H R A X ? ? ? ? BLACKMAIL

That is the way the BFEE works to get there way how else would they stop congress!

October 17, 2006,Will be remembered as the Enabling day of the 21st Century!
"The government will make use of these powers only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary measures..."
~Adolf Hitler, March 23, 1933, before the German Parliament (Reichstag) as he urged them to pass his "Enabling Act"





http://www.georgewalkerbush.net/bush-nazilinkconfirmed.htm

[peacetalksforall]

15. The neo-cons are not a creative group - they only copy. Thanks for

the quote - I never heard that before - or it didn't seem relevant.

[Capn Sunshine]

2. Foghorn Leghorn was a better legislator

and he was a cartoon character.

[jmp]

3. The Republicans can bring a knife to a gunfight ...

And win every time. Our leadership folds like a cheap suit.

[rwheeler31]

5. Not true

We are winning elections.

[MADem]

4. Here's what I wonder. Those GOP legislators are all up for reelection.

They can tell their constituents that they voted FOR impeachment if the shit gets bad, in an effort to hang on to their seats.

If the Judiciary tosses that thing on the floor for a vote, they'll be 'flip floppers'--with the measure, before they were against it!!

It could be used as a tool; a "too clever by half" tool.

That might be optimistic (there's a pony in there somewhere) but ya never know.

[CK_John]

7. Nothing really, the GOP understand Robert's rules of Order better than the DEM's. n/t

[onenote]

12. nothing of any consequence.

Some political theater on all sides, with an audience that consisted of, relative to the entire electorate, a handful of folks who got themselves all hot and bothered over nothing.

DK offered his resolution stating articles of impeachment as a privileged resolution which let him read the resolution into the record on the floor. Three things could have happened at that point. The resolution could've been tabled (essentially killing it). The resolution could be referred to committee (where there is no guarantee that it will ever be acted upon in any way). Or it could've been set for one hour of debate and then voted on.

If the last of the options had been followed, the resolution would have been defeated, and badly. Congress isn't going to adopt articles of resolution based on one hour of debate, with no inquiry by the Judiciary Committee. In fact, if impeachment is to go forward, the articles will be drafted following by the judiciary committee after the full House votes to authorize and direct the committee to investigate and report back. Does it have to happen that way? No. But as a realistic, practical matter, based on the precedent from every other presidential impeachment conducted in US history, that is the way it would happen. So DK had to know he would lose if it came to a vote.

But he knew it never would. The expectation was that his resolution would be tabled by a bi-partisan majority vote. The repubs would argue that they voted to table because they think the idea of impeaching cheney is silly partisan stunt by dems. The Democrats that voted to table would defend their vote by saying that they havae more important things on their agenda (hey, I'm just saying what they would say, not that its true). And some would say that they voted to table because it would have been premature to vote on DK's articles without first following the ordinary procedure of havoing the Judiciary COmmittee investigate and report.

The twist came when the repubs decided that it would be more fun to spend a half hour making fun of DK's resolution before joining with enough Democrats to vote the thing down and put an end to DK's efforts completely.

Fortunately, the Democratic leadership had one last maneuver left (which, in all honesty, was the maneuver I thought they'd go to in the first place rather than trying to table the resolution). And that was a motion to refer the matter to Committee. That action, while characterized by some here at DU as an act of cowardice, was actually supported by almost all of the co-sponsors of DK's resolution, including Lynn Woolsey, Keith Ellison, Sheila Jackson-Lee, etc.

So in the end, DK, who already had introduced an impeachment resolution that had been referred by the Speaker to Judiciary, got to introduce another version of the same thing, read it into the record, and then watch it get referred to the same committee, where in all likelihood it awaits the same fate as his original resolution, which is no action.

DK did draw some attention to his efforts, and its not completely out of the question that he will have succeeded in spurring some action by Conyers in the form of a hearing. But whether that occurs remains to be seen. If its anything more than a perfunctory hearing that is all but ignored by the repubs (and viewed as simply more theater by the press), I'll be surprised.

But, hey, surprises happen, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[radiclib]

14. Thanks for the cogent analysis

I wonder if the overwhelming majority of citizens who pay absolutely no attention to this shit is actually much smarter than the rest of us. They care about stuff where shit actually happens, like Dancing With the Stars and the NFL.

[rockybelt]

13. tHE REPUGS

This ill advised tactic by the repugs may very well come back to haunt them. They deliberately left this bill on the floor and started voting for it to panic the dems into running out of the building.
Dennis is very prepared for what is happening and it is starting to ignite a fire under the bloggers and what little independent press that we have left. It is up to us to keep spreading the word and force a vote on the impeachment of darth vader.