Date: Monday, July 23, 2007
1:33 PM

>Thank you for voicing your strong concerns that President Bush and Vice President Cheney should be impeached.

>You and I agree on the abysmal record of this President and his Administration. And a growing number of Americans are beginning to agree on that as well. There are many things that are objectionable about the actions of the President, the Vice President and others in their Administration, the most serious of which is the decision to go to war in Iraq, which has become the worst American foreign policy disaster in over 50 years, and maybe even in this century.

>However, while I agree with much of the criticism of the President and Vice President, I strongly believe that my energies, the energies of the Congress, and the energies of the country should first and foremost be devoted to stopping the war in Iraq, where hundreds of American soldiers are being killed or wounded each month, where we are spending billions of dollars a month, and where America's security and standing in the world are increasingly jeopardized. The cause for going to war was not justified, and there is no cause for American troops to remain in Iraq. But without a clear and sustained effort to end the war, without a concerted effort to build more pressure on the Republican senators and congressmen who are keeping the war going, it will go on without end. And what has already been a gross tragedy will only get worse.

>Let me be clear, I agree with your concerns about the Administration. The problem is that an impeachment effort would consume the Congress, would not be guaranteed of being successful, and would take away from the effort to stop the war. We must bring our troops home and focus on truly protecting America from the threat of terrorism that this war has only fueled.

>What we can do, while we are trying to stop the war, is to hold the Administration accountable. Since the beginning of the year, the new Congress has begun to live up to its oversight responsibilities and has already held over 150 oversight hearings to review and thoroughly investigate the reckless policies of this administration. Oversight has consequences. Administration officials have resigned in disgrace, or have been brought to trial and convicted.

>As you know, the formerly Republican-controlled Congress was unwilling to conduct hearings on issues that were critical of the President. As a result, Congress looked the other way, while the President ran amok. Now with a change of control in both the House and the Senate, Congress is committed to holding the Administration accountable at every turn.

>I will do everything I can to continue to articulate the issues that are of concern to you and others in the country. I have started a virtual town hall discussion called "Ask George" that I welcome you to participate in, which you can see on my website. I believe people are listening to us and that we need to sustain our specific focus of congressional oversight on the policies past and present of this Administration and on ending the war in Iraq. Thank you for expressing your views to me.

Sincerely,

GEORGE MILLER

Dear Congressman Miller:

Thank you for your reply to my letter regarding impeachment.

Impeachment of Cheney, Bush and Gonzales would not be a distraction from ending the war in Iraq. It is the only way to end the war.

You are absolutely correct in about 99% of what you wrote. The war is killing our troops, there is no way to win, and there is no easy way out. The war has weakened our security and our efforts against terrorism. (Indeed, despite Bush's hundreds of statements otherwise, the invasion of Iraq never had anything to do with terrorism.) You have my complete support in your efforts and the efforts of your colleagues to end the war.

However, you wrote that impeachment efforts against the Vice President, the President, and the Secretary of Torture *cough* I mean the Attorney General would take away from the effort to end the war. I believe that the only way to end the war is to remove the Bush Administration from office.

Congressman Miller, Bush is a monomaniacal narcissist. He refuses to acknowledge that his incompetence has created a disaster in Iraq. Indeed, he is psychologically incapable of recognizing that. He has wagered his presidency on the Iraq war, and he is essentially holding our troops hostage. He does not respect the Constitutional role of Congress. The Republican-controlled Congress essentially gave him a blank check to do whatever he wanted for four years, and even then, he used signing statements to declare himself above the law hundreds of times. Bush and Cheney believe Congress exists for no other purpose other than to give them what they want, and they are intent on using signing statements to render Congress impotent. Moreover, Bush and Cheney have broken dozens of other laws, including the War Crimes Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The Republican Congress did nothing to stop this criminal behavior, and the Democratic Congress hasn't acted, either. A few months ago, Assistant Attorney General Comey revealed in his testimony that then-White House Counsel Gonzales had conspired to break the FISA act. With this information, Congress did... nothing.

Just this weekend the President wrote another executive order asserting that he has the authority to torture people. Torture is illegal and unconstitutional. Impeachment and removal from office are too good for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney -- they deserve very long prison terms for their crimes.

Congressman Miller, the Democratic Congress has taken the first steps in restoring reasonable behavior to the government, but Congress has twice voted to continue funding the war in Iraq. How is this helping our troops? How is this helping end the war? Congress must stop funding the war. It's the only way. Bush does not discuss, listen, or negotiate; he cannot be reasoned with. His only concern is his own power. He is unfit for the presidency, and he has used his powers to commit crimes. Congressman, I never thought I'd see the day when the President would order people tortured, and half the Congress wouldn't have a problem with him remaining in office. But that day is upon us. Even Nixon and Harding, the previous two most corrupt Presidents, never sunk to these depths.

So far, the only Administration official to be convicted is Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Fortunately for him, Bush commuted his sentence. Bush believes that sacrificing national security for partisan gain doesn't warrant a prison term. That alone proves that the only way to hold Bush and Cheney accountable is to impeach them. Cheney has focused his entire term as Vice President on gathering dictatorial powers for the presidency, and Bush has used those powers to spy on Americans and to torture people. Bush and Cheney will veto or ignore any efforts by Congress to do anything to rein them in or to end the war. Bush would rather see the Constitution destroyed and our democracy crumble than end the war in Iraq. The fear that impeachment might fail is no reason to allow Cheney and Bush to destroy our republic.

You made a good point when you wrote that impeachment of Cheney and Bush would probably not be successful. Earlier this month, Senator Lugar asked the President and Vice President to get their heads out of the sand and change their strategy in Iraq. Then, last week, Lugar kept to the party line and voted to continue giving the Administration carte blanche to continue their Iraqi disaster. The Republicans have chosen party loyalty over their oaths to uphold the Constitution.

Congressman, the bottom line is: you and your colleagues in both parties swore an oath to uphold the Constitution when you took office. The Constitution requires that government officials be impeached if they commit high crimes and misdemeanors. Cheney, Bush and Gonzales clearly have. They must be impeached; it is your legal obligation. If the House votes along party lines, the President, Vice President and Attorney General can certainly be impeached. Then it will be up to the Senate to remove them. You may think: if the Senate votes along party lines, the impeachment will fail, and it was all a waste of time and effort. That is not the case.

Bush and Cheney have broken hundreds of laws, if not thousands, and a majority of the American public want Bush and Cheney to be removed. The Republicans must be made to choose between Bush's career and their own. If a vote for removal comes to the Senate, the Republicans must be forced to choose between being dragged down with Bush and Cheney (and being voted out of office themselves in 2008) or obeying the will of their constituents.

The majority of Congressmen and Senators now realize that the war in Iraq has been a colossal mistake, and the only possible result of our troops remaining in Iraq will be more of them dying needlessly. Is Congress committed to saving the lives of our troops, or isn't it? Congress has tried debates; they have tried bills; they have tried votes of no confidence; and they have tried censure. Congress has tried symbolic, non-binding measures politely asking Bush to do what he's vowed never to do, i.e. set timetables for bringing our troops home. None of these things have worked. Indeed, since the Democrats took power, Congress has given Bush two more blank checks. If Congress is truly committed to bringing our troops home, Cheney and Bush must be impeached. At this point, it is the only step you haven't tried. Our soldiers and their families cannot wait for more meaningless resolutions from the Congress. Our troops are in danger now, and impeaching Cheney and Bush is the only way to bring them home.

Finally, Speaker Pelosi's pronouncement that impeachment is "off the table" has seriously weakened the Democratic leadership's efforts to uphold the law and hold the Bush Administration accountable. Bush, Cheney, and Gonzales have admittedly broken the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and it's obvious that they've also broken the Anti-Torture Act and the War Crimes Act. However, since Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership have said they will not pursue impeachment, Bush and company know that they will face no serious consequences for their crimes.

In 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made one of the the greatest mistakes in history. Chamberlain agreed to surrender western Czechoslovakia to Hitler, in return for Hitler's promise not to seek any more territory. Hitler broke that promise six months later. Why? Britain and France had told him that there would be no consequences for his belligerence. Similarly, since impeachment is "off the table," Bush, Cheney and Gonzales know there will be no consequences for breaking the law. Bush and Cheney know they will face no consequences when they refuse to negotiate on ending the war. Speaker Pelosi's pronouncement has fatally weakened Congress' ability to uphold the law and hold Bush accountable for his crimes.

Congressman Miller, even if Congressman Kucinich's impeachment efforts against Vice President Cheney are unsuccessful, it will help restore the rule of law in our nation. If impeaching Cheney fails, impeach Gonzales. If that fails, impeach Bush.

Every day, Cheney and Bush send our soldiers into the no-win situation they created in Iraq. They must be stopped, and their stubborn inflexibility has left impeachment as the only possible recourse.

Congressman Kucinich is right. Our troops cannot wait any longer; neither should Congress.

I remain sincerely yours,

C. Colvin

CC: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House; Congressman John Conyers, Jr.