Guest blogged by David Edwards
This weekend PBS’ The McLaughlin Group discussed the growing call for impeachment. There is a lot of talk but as long a Congress continues to defer power to the Executive Branch, public outrage will grow. The majority party in the House of Representative must be changed to realistically pursue impeachment.
Three Questions:
- Can negative perceptions of the Bush Admin. suppress the “Rove base” while motivating the anti-Bush crowds at the polls?
- Can this country conduct fair and untainted national elections?
- If the answer to #2 is “no” then does #1 really matter?
Brad noticed this clip first so he may have some comments to add…
Video in Streaming Flash format…
Video in Windows Media format…
UPDATE: David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.org/CensureBush.org sends us these thoughts on the above video…
The clip that McClaughlin plays from the Murtha-Moran town hall forum doesn’t show either of them saying a word. Rather it shows the hundreds of us who were packed in the room cheering for impeachment.
The quote McLaughlin reads from Al Gore is not from his speech, but from his response to a reporter’s question afterwards on the topic of impeachment — what people in the room were promotign with flyers and shouts.
Just as we forced the Downing Street Minutes into the news, we are forcing impeachment into the news. And Congress will follow. Please take a minute to contact the major media and to write a letter to the editor of your local paper. It could save this country. Here are some tips: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/media
And do everything you can to support serious progressive media outlets that cover the news, outlets like BRAD BLOG!
It was a great episode of the McLaughlin Group. I watch it every Sunday, no matter what. It’s 30 minutes of a political laser beam.
Thought of another faux Diebold slogan:
"DIEBOLD: The cure for inflammed constituentitis" (TM)
Americams must WAKE UP! and BOOT the Fucking White Trash from the White House (bush).
Thaks for bringing this video to us. I was unaware of the growing calls for impeachment – something I’ve been thinking for years. This is way more serious than stains on a blue dress and I hope Americans continue to call for impeachment trials – if we get loud enough, the media will have to address it and eventually, so will congress.
I watched this whole show and McLaughlin was fired up,about IMPEACHMENT! I say YES and I know a whole lot of people that feel the same way!
Question # 2 is interesting. Obviously, if we can’t conduct honest elections, then # 1 doesn’t matter, nor do any other questions.
But what’s curious about this is that PBS has pulled the issue of honest elections out of a hat. We’ve been talking about it for 14 months, but where is the context for PBS viewers? Have they devoted even a single special to the 2004 election?
This is similar to The New York Times’ handling of Diebold last month. No mention of O’Dell’s resignation and no mention of the class-action lawsuits against the company in the news section. Then at the end of the week they deliver a Sunday sermon reminding the company of its obligation to the democratic system. No context.
McLaughlin Group’s viewers must have been confused. "What’s this about clean elections?" "I thought all that talk was from conspiracy theorists."
The 3 questions – beautiful.
That’s why I have no hope.
It’s staggering to me really that after all blatant, in your face, crimes this administration has committed that there’s still 40% or so that support the sociopathic, inarticulate, little prick. And this doesn’t even take into account the 50% that don’t give or know shit about what’s going on.
Really? Ask yourself, how many people actually go out of their way to watch McLaughlin as apposed to "American Idol"? Then go on and ask what percentage use the Net to get unfiltered news?
So, here we are, raging at the choir.
One thing:peaceful civil disobedience. If we don’t start taking to the streets, putting ourselves in harms way, we’re finished. Words won’t do it. Consistent visual presents in ever growing numbers will. Forming a "human chain" that would surround the White House. Telling them were they can put their "free speech zone".
Yeah, that’s right, many will be arrested, some will be hurt, and, remembering Kent State, even die.
So, I have a 4th question.
How many of you are going to get off your fat asses, and actually do something?
It’s comforting, nontheless, that we are here. It’s comforting to know that there are others who see the truth.
If we can drag out three things until October of 2006:
1) The Plame Libby/Rove scandal
2) The Abramoff scandal
3) The NSA Spying scanal
Then we might have a chance to get these maniacs out of our government.
Call me cynical, but I’ve believed for a long time now that the sustained long attack on Clinton wasn’t specifically to get rid of him. Remember, the Republicans in the Senate didn’t convict. It shocked their House bretheren and caused an eventual eviction of Gingrich from the Speakership.
Nope, I think the whole brouhaha was to achieve several other important goals: to thoroughly discredit the Independent Council (and get rid of the law) and to sour the American public on Impeachment.
Why these goals?
Because their plan was already in place and they knew all the nastiness they had lined up for the next Republican administration with Dubya. And, they didn’t want any Democratic Independent Council mucking it up with an investigation and if there was, by chance, a Democratic Congress they didn’t want any Impeachment.
I don’t know whether 9/11 was part of their plan or if it was fortuitous to them, but as Condi Rice said, "Let’s not look at this as a disaster, but as an opportunity."
The Republicans (or as Hillary called them, The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy) do create the future and they do plan. If you can parse it out you can chart their movements — though I can’t say I ever managed this very well.
What do they want next?
Subverting our modern Democracy seems to be on the agenda. They’ve pretty well stacked the courts with Republicans. Dems have the majority on only one district (9th out west) and only one district is even (New York I think). The rest are Republican dominated.
If you were a Republican leader (or money man like Scaife) what would you do with that kind of judicial power? What end result could they be seeking except permanent political control? Hint: usually it has to do with money. Remember "deep throat" Mark Felt’s advice, "Follow the money."
What Say You bush ? . . . a a a a h . . . Plead the Fifth . . . . of JACK.
Tony blankley Makes me ROFLMAO . . . . It’s A Whale in an Expensive Suit . . . with a British Accent to boot !
Even if we’re still in the minority, which I doubt, we can make a crucial difference.
Don’t buy any product produced by a company in cahoots with the Bush crowd. And don’t watch any TV program on a Bush-friendly network or one using Bush-friendly spornsors.
You know who they are…Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Exxon/Mobil, Citicorp, McDonald’s, Nike, General Electric, Time-Warner, Viacom, Verizon, Provident Financial, Philip Morris, Anheuser Busch, Diebold, Nextel, or any company with "Capital" in its name.
Don’t use credit cards if you possibly can avoid them. Buy gas at Citgo. Boycott Disney movies and TV programs. If public-minded people can produce a 10% shrinkage in revenue for these companies, it could have a 25% or more impact on earnings. That will get their attention, I guarantee it.
Repubs and Dems alike – it feels good to take a stand instead of sitting on the fence. It takes kahones to stand and do what is right for democracy instead of going along out of fear, compromise or colusion. Try it – you’ll like it! It feels really good to speak on the right side, we have been doing it here for years!!!
It was good to see McLaughlin address this important issue. He expects the Dems to take control in 2007. Let’s not disappoint him.
RLM #11
I am with you on that. Its the Rosa Parks technique, and it works wonders.
Truth Seeker #13
Yep, we win the election in ’06 and they take office in ’07 …
#3 is the only meaninful question, the only next fallback is a velvet revolution, and after that the Republican "Terrorism" Framing alows them to kill any Americans who are willing to take up actual violence to restore Democracy.
People who wish freedom need to make the new Framing that it is "Conservative" and "Fundamentalist" that Defines the Terrorists from Osama to McVeigh.
When Bush first talked of bombing the capital of any state
IM NOT CRAZY! I’ve been calling for his impeachment since spring of ’01. Now that its been exposed that Bush SIGNED OFF on the wiretaps almost immediately when he entered the WH, I guess I was more on point than even I thought. Not to mention that shows he clearly entered the WH with some agenda involving sweeping government powers, not to mention the kind of "pressure" this would create for a Pearl Habor-like incident to justify this action. You know, something managable, where you pick the enemies who only die when you want them to and only pop up when your poll numbers sag.
I haven’t watched The McLaughlan Group in a long time and this brought back unpleasant memories. It’s like watching a bunch of drunks argue about UFOs halfway through the evening. Deafening, degrading, demeaning. American Idol packs as much gravitas.
I haven’t watched M’s show in a long time, luckily. This clip reminded me of what I loathed: the blustering air of lonely, miserable drunks arguing about UFOs, afraid to go home. It’s demeaning, degrading, with all the gravitas of American Idol. Every issue they touch seems cheapened by their loud glibness.
McLaughlin Group is fabulous viewing of political questions. They are the edge of the incoming wave in past stories. Hmmm.
I am so elated that there other people that want that want that yokel impeached I am beside myself! Why haven’t I heard of this before?! I keep up with the news and am a religous watcher of the Mc Group. That moron redneck came into office with an itchy trigger finger and a hard-on to begin with. If anybody listens to BBC world news, he’s a laughing stock all over the damn globe, and by extension so are we
Impeachment should be just the beginning, I think we need to get the rest of the rats off the ship. There are a lot of undesirables in Washington. We need to raise the scale of people we put up in Washington. Lobbying should be outlawed, greed needs to come to a stop. These Senators and Congressmen Don’t give a damn about the retired people but they can give themselves raises any time they want. We need to take care of our country FIRST, then we can worry about the rest of the wourld. We have hungry and homeless children in this country and that is unexcuseable. Thanks
The McLaughlin Group was not on our local
station (KCET) this week(Mar.4,Sat.6:30pm).
What happened?
:)The time is now to impeachment geroge bush and dick cheney. this administration, led by these individuals, is causing irreversable harm to our way of life and will cause us to become a third rate economic power. this whole war is all about oil, control of land and installing a permanant fixture in which colonialism will floursh.
I am very interested this theme, with attention I will read following informations.
For some of us the Bush Adminastrations motives and agenda have been transparent before the first election, long before. His propaganda has defiled the Christian Church with money- this is why there are so many new Church Schools. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with the Church School if it is built by the sweat and time of the Church congrigation. This amounts to fraud and gives no glory to GOD. He should be impeached for this reason only let alone the lies and organized crime that he benefits from.