http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/iraq_at_home/residents_in_congressional_dis.phpResidents in 1st Congressional District Call for Impeachmentby Christine Stuart | July 16, 2007 12:38 AM
Posted to Iraq at Home
Some of U.S. Congressman John Larson’s constituents are asking why Congress hasn’t aggressively pursed impeachment proceedings against the White House.
At a Sunday forum on the Iraq War, Lois Bromson of East Hartford said the biggest mistake Democrats made when they took control of the House was continuing to fund the war.
She said she watched Bill Moyers Journal Friday and is now convinced “impeachment is the way to go.” The room of about 50 people gathered at the Pitkin Community Center in Wethersfield
applauded Bromson’s comments. Larson was quick to caution, but not entirely dismiss, the idea of impeachment. He said if you impeach President George W. Bush then you get Vice President Dick Cheney, and if you impeach them both the next person in line for the job is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He said the order of constitutional succession makes it difficult for Pelosi to sell the idea of impeachment without seeming self-serving.
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Cheryl O’Connor told Larson toward the end of the two-hour forum that
he underestimated the strength of the American people to support Congress if it decided to take action. She said a public opinion poll from the American Research Group reported that more than 45 percent favor impeachment hearings for President Bush and more than 54 percent favor impeachment for Vice President Cheney.
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“I heard you tonight and we’re not going to take impeachment off the table,” Larson said.
Larson said earlier in the discussion that he prefers to go after ending the war by Congressional resolution. He said the House has now passed three separate pieces of legislation regarding the war, but none of them have become law. Last week, the House passed a bill that would require a redeployment of troops in Iraq by April 2008 and would begin 120 days after the bill is enacted. The president has threatened a veto, and it is unlikely to make it through the Senate for a vote. But Larson still holds out hope for Iraq War legislation passing both chambers. He said the House will take up the defense appropriations bill at the end of July. He said other likely topics will include legislation banning permanent bases in Iraq and cracking down on illegal contracting, as well as the issue of torture.
“I think the dam is going to burst,” Larson said. MORE