The little congressman who could

(Read time: 5 minutes.)

The little guy with the big ears and the strong, staccato speech had a couple of false starts calling his press conference on impeaching Dick Cheney.

Dennis Kucinich, in my opinion, is not presidential material, but he is steadfast in his ideals and a strong voice for Americans who believe in those ideals.

Kucinich recently circulated an email in Congress advising his readiness to introduce “Articles of Impeachment” against the vice president of the United States.

He held his press conference yesterday at 5 p.m. Twice he had postponed it: once in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy and earlier yesterday following reports about Cheney’s health.

The press conference got no live TV coverage, save for a brief sound bite on CNN.

In a 5:40 p.m. interview with Wolf Blitzer, “The Situation Room,” CNN (LINK), Kucinich gave this synopsis of the three “Articles of Impeachment” he had just presented to Congress - as House Resolution 333:

ARTICLE I: Dick Cheney “fabricated a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify the use of the United States armed forces against the nation of Iraq."

ARTICLE II: Dick Cheney “fabricated a connection between the government of Iraq and al Qaeda and used that to justify war."

ARTICLE III: Dick Cheney “is openly threatening aggressive war against Iran, which is a violation of Article 6 of our Constitution and a violation of Article 2, Section 4 of the U.N. Charter.”

A majority of Americans – and not just the so-called “far left” – expected a Democratic Congress to hold the vice president and the president accountable for misleading the country on Iraq. House leaders Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have chosen a softer route – one that would not throw the nation into a “crisis.”

News flash! This nation IS in a crisis.

Pelosi, Hoyer and other House Democrats were set up for the sting.

Prior to the mid-term election, the rat-a-tat of the right wing’s “If you vote for them, they’ll impeach the president” forced the Dems into the embarrassing position of dodging the pointing fingers of the “We told you so” crowd.

In an ironic twist, they are appeasing the opposition while forsaking their supporters.

In his commentary, “Impeach Cheney First?” (LINK), The Online Beat, The Nation, 18 April 2007, John Nichols writes:

“Cheney's office sees no grounds for impeachment. ‘The vice president has had nearly 40 years of government service and has done so in an honorable fashion,’ says Megan McGinn, Cheney's deputy press secretary.

“McGinn got that line out with a straight face.”

It would be wrong to hold the vice president accountable only for his lies about Iraq – his continuing lies about Iraq – when there are so many other reasons to impeach him.

If you don’t know the grievances against Cheney - or, for that matter, George W. Bush - over the last six years, you are not going to discover them in sound bites, this fledgling blog or inane Fox News banter.

There are numerous books on the subject. You can start with a tiny paperback copy of “The Constitution of the United States of America.”

I recall the veep’s old friend Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser under presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush, saying Dick Cheney has changed, is not the Cheney he has always known.

That change seemed to come when he signed on to the “Statement of Principles” of the neoconservatives, the “neocons.”

What a misguided think-tank intelligentsia that bunch of bumbling warmongers* turned out to be!

Nichols’ commentary concludes, “Impeachment activists have in recent months pushed an ‘Impeach Cheney First’ message, in part to counter the complaint that impeaching Bush would put an even darker figure in charge. Of course, going after the most powerful vice president in history has consequences, as well. In the unlikely event that Cheney were removed from office, one line of reasoning goes, Bush would for the first time find himself in charge.”

Holding this administration accountable is long overdue, and the American people are letting their representatives and senators in Washington know that – in an unprecedented flow of letters, emails, petitions and phone calls.

Dennis Kucinich has long been fair game for the poking-fun crowd. His three “Articles of Impeachment” are no laughing matter.

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* warmonger (n.) Pejoratively, someone who is anxious to encourage a people or nation to go to war. Often used to describe militaristic leaders, commonly with the implication that they either may have selfish motives for encouraging war, or may actually enjoy war.