Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Dear Congressman:

I understand that politics often demands hard choices and necessary compromises between what we believe is the right thing and what can realistically be achieved. However, I am convinced that the impeachment and removal of the President and Vice President is not only possible, but imperative. President Bush and Vice President Cheney have laughed at the law and the Constitution, almost from their first day in office. Among the most glaring examples of this are the signing statements, where Bush has signed a law passed by Congress -- and then directed the government to ignore it. If these were trivial matters of policy, the case would not be so urgent -- but among the results of Bush's signing statements have been the torture of innocent people, or at the very least, suspects where there is insufficient evidence to charge them in court.

I am not the only person to be appalled at these misdeeds by the leaders of our government. Various polls have indicated that a majority of the American people wish Bush and Cheney to be impeached and removed from office -- because if they remain in power, they will torture more people and commit more crimes. More to the point: Bush and Cheney are determined to "stay the course" in Iraq, or use fancy language to justify sending more troops so to follow the same failed strategy. Any expert can tell you that the result of "staying the course" in Iraq has been the needless deaths of thousands of our soldiers. Moreover, our country is now in greater peril than we were before the war started. God knows the only way to end the war in Iraq is to remove Bush and Cheney from office. The Vice President's mind is closed to any other possibility, and the President is psychologically incapable of admitting a mistake.

Congressman, the majority of Americans support impeachment. Opposing it are Karl Rove's Republican machine and a whole lot of money. Who will win? Will it be the American people, the Constitution, and the rule of law? Or will it be the neoconservatives and big oil?

Speaker Pelosi has my highest respect, but if she believes that impeachment will divide the public and Congress, it's too late. The public and Congress are already divided by the policies of Rove, Bush and Cheney, who spent six years proclaiming that if you don't support the war in Iraq, you're a traitor. Speaker Pelosi is also mistaken if she believes that Congress will be able to address the problems of our nation through legislation alone. With his signing statements, Bush has done everything he can to render Congress impotent. As far as Bush and Cheney are concerned, Congress can pass all the laws they want -- because the President will ignore them.

The Constitution requires the President to ensure that all the laws are faithfully executed, not just the ones he agrees with. If Congress does not impeach a President who has recklessly broken hundreds of laws, then this President will continue to wage unnecessary wars that weaken our country. Bush will continue to torture people and brand his critics as traitors. If Congress does not impeach this President, then the same powers will be abused by future Presidents. If Bush's attitude towards the Constitution is allowed to stand, everything that makes America great -- civil liberties, the rule of law, the democratic separation of powers -- will fade away.

Congressman Kucinich has done the correct thing in listening to the American people and introducing articles impeaching the Vice President. Congressman, I ask you to support Kucinich's effort, and to ask Speaker Pelosi to do so as well. Impeachment is the only way to stop the war in Iraq, for the war will certainly continue as long as Bush and Cheney are in office.

As always, I remain yours sincerely,

C. Colvin

cc: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House; Senator Dianne Feinstein; Congressman John Conyers, Jr.