City Council and impeachment

See also: Blumenauer impeachment vigil [Week 10 / Week 11]


When i heard that the City Council was hearing testimony calling for the impeachments of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, i knew i wanted to be there to show my support. The chambers were full by the time i pedaled across the Willamette. Imagine my surprise when i saw sitting among the dozen or two bright red IMPEACH T-shirts none other than Oregon's soon to be ex-Speaker of the House, Jeff Merkley.

Imagine my disappointment when i learned that he had just shown up with a few other legislators in order to receive a deserved pat on the back. Still, this is the closest Speaker Merkley has come to supporting impeachment. Well... it's the closest he's come to so many impeachment supporters. There was that other time at the recent vigil on the Hawthorne bridge. The Speaker showed up and spoke about ending the war and holding bush accountable. But then he left, leaving the protest to the actual protesters. According to Merkley's media man at Mandate Inc., "Candidate time is the scarcest resource any campaign has."

The Mayor invited the politicians to stay for the upcoming testimony urging the the Council to join other cities in saying the time for dithering is over. The time to take a stand for the Constitution is now. But Speaker Merkley (and his internet spin-mistress, Carla "raving hypocrite" Axtman) had to leave, not wanting to squander the valuable capital which is "candidate time." On the plus side, with the pols leaving, they freed up some more seats for the people; normal people who assembled peaceably to petition their City Government. Sometimes, We the People must lead, especially when our elected leaders are beating a hasty retreat.

Grant from Veterans for Peace addressed the council. (I'll come back and post some of his cogent testimony - in the meantime, we can reflect on an earlier comment he made...)

My question related to whether Sen. Wyden thought the invasion/occupation was in violation of the Constitution, specifically Article 6. I whipped out my pocket Constitution edition copy ala, Sen. Byrd, just because I like to read from it instead of relying on memory. He went on to answer that he argued this on the floor during the debate. Well that's nice but what has he done about it since then? If it was in violation of the Constitution then it still is and his first duty is to uphold his oath of office.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.[

It seems there are too many members of the House and Senate that put politics and party above their sworn obligation. They don't seem to realize they can "multi task". Did the Congress come to a screeching halt during Watergate? During Monicagate? No. Committees met, floor debate continued and bills were passed.

[video h/t Joe Anybody]
See also: Blumenauer impeachment vigil [Week 10 / Week 11]