I've seen a lot of vitriol in this country, religious, racist, sexist, homophobic, partisan, all in various forms and degrees. When I saw today, that you can already buy 'impeach Obama' stickers online, I nearly lost it. To top that, groups are forming around the internet that support the removal from office, a man who, and I apologize for the caps, IS NOT EVEN IN OFFICE YET! Do I need to repeat this absurdity? Do I need to sit here and formulate a cogent argument for you as to why this is deeply insulting to the democratic values that are the foundation of America?
Fine. I will.
Look, I was not a fan of George W. Bush in 2000, much less 2008. I was not a raving proponent of Gore, either. I was highly skeptical, to say the least, of the events surrounding the 2000 election. There were, and still are, unexplained statistical anomalies, voting machine errors, and ethically questionable practices of over-sight officials. Nevertheless, from the moment Al Gore conceded the race, I made a conscious effort to settle down and make an difficult acceptance: George W. Bush, whether I agreed with his politics or not, would be my president for at least the next four years.
During the eight years that followed, I very deliberately avoided the dismissive and derisive pitfalls many of my fellow progressives took. I never refered to Bush as an "unelected president." I did not call him a member of a "crime family," or a "warmonger," or a diminished his office in anyway as fraudulent. I criticized his politics at every turn, at every opportunity that presented itself, to any one or anything that would listen. I made every effort I could to challenge the understanding of his supporters until, from the constant effort, I became exhausted and dispassioned. But I tried to keep my head-above water, my pleas intellectual and not emotional.
It was not until, by my judgement, that Bush administration, under his guidance of George W. Bush, committed genuine offense to the spirit and language of law did I begin to actively call for his impeachment. No, it was not the start of Iraq War. I believed then and I still do, that it is entirely possible the Bush Administration effected well-intentioned, but gravely misguided and mis-informed judgement in the committal of troops to warfare. I did not call for his impeachment after the Abu Ghraib or Gitmo detention scandals, because, though I found the abuses reprehensible to my sensibilities and morals, I did not find a basis for impeachment in the language of the Constitution, which does not expressly grant constitutional rights to non-citizens. Nor did I call for his impeachment after the politically-motivated exposure of an under-cover CIA operative because no conclusive evidence surfaced linking the president directly to the crime.
But when he violated FISA laws and launched a warrant-less domestic surveillance campaign on American Citizens, (and particularly when I learned this happened BEFORE 9-11), when he issued an executive order removing the right of habeas corpus from citizens he alone declared terrorist threats without a check and balance from second branch of government, I came around to the idea.
In other words: I waited through some pretty twisted shit before I pulled the big red impeachment fire alarm because I took the wording of the Constitution as conservatively as possible: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
You'll see that it calls specifically for impeachment STRICTLY on the basis of criminal activity: not for stupid wars, not for calling you a communist, not for behaving like a jackass, not for doing things you find morally or politically disagreeable, not for wearing silly hats . . . not for anything less than a crime.
Call Barack Obama an elitist, a socialist, a communist, you can even call him a terrorist if you really feel that way (I really can't understand why you would, but whatever). You can call him a hack, a self-serving politico, limp-wristed wiener, a nazi, a space-martian, an igneous rock, anything you want! But you can't POSSIBLY argue with me on this one point: THE MAN HAS NOT COMMITTED A CRIME IN THE OFFICE PRESIDENT. Try it! Try arguing that! Its just not going to fly.
. . . okay. Truthfully, I wrote this more for my benefit than yours, because frankly, I was so pissed I didn't know what I was going to do the next time I saw a facebook group devoted to the impeachment of a non-existant president. Its insulting and its only going to get worse, I know it. Oh man, this is not going to be an easy four years.
