Impeachment.

I touch upon my political views from time to time, but rarely go in-depth on them. Today will be one of those days. I am very much for the impeachment trials of both the President and Vice President. And I'm saddened, disappointed, and more than a bit worried that such a movement has not come to the forefront. If there's one thing that I don't like about the Democratic party, it's their collective lack of conviction. When our last Democratic president received oral sex, there was an uproar. The entire country was stirred into a frenzy. Impeachment proceedings were brought on. However, we are currently under the rule of a Republican, who has committed atrocious crimes against our nation, our Constitution, and humanity in general, and no one in power can muster the courage to make the move toward impeachment.

I believe it was summed up best in an article I read, quoting a resolution passed last night by the town of Middlebury, Vermont:

“We the people have the power -- and the responsibility -- to remove executives who transgress not just the law, but the rule of law.
The oaths that the President and Vice President take binds them to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." The failure to do so forms a sound basis for articles of impeachment.
The President and Vice President have failed to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" in the following ways:
1. They have manipulated intelligence and misled the country to justify an immoral, unjust, and unnecessary preemptive war in Iraq.
2. They have directed the government to engage in domestic spying without warrants, in direct contravention of U.S. law.
3. They have conspired to commit the torture of prisoners, in violation of the Federal Torture Act and the Geneva Convention.
4. They have ordered the indefinite detention without legal counsel, without charges and without the opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention -- all in violation of U.S. law and the Bill of Rights.
When strong evidence exists of the most serious crimes, we must use impeachment -- or lose the ability of the legislative branch to compel the executive branch to obey the law.
George Bush has led our country to a constitutional crisis, and it is our responsibility to remove him from office.”

Fortunately, the movement has recently been gaining ground. In all, 36 towns in Vermont passed similar resolutions last night. Some states have already started the process (albeit very slowly) of drafting impeachment resolutions. New Mexico's resolution has already passed through two committees. And a former legislator from Minnesota who introduced an impeachment resolution there is now a member of Congress. Unfortunately, Congress as a whole has failed to act appropriately. They have thus far made it clear that they will not pursue such actions any time soon. This lack of action needs to be changed, and soon. The President has already been putting the pieces in place for his next illegal war.