My Impeachment Letter, Mark One: "Every little bit helps." said the mouse, as he peed in the ocean...

John Conyers over in the 14th Michigan District says he would consider House impeachment proceedings if he had three more Congressmen ask him to do so. There are Democratic operatives so mercenary as to put impeachment off the table in order to have Bush as a punching bag in 2008. There's a lot of exhaustion from being run ragged by the patented Rove Truth-Is-What-I Make-It Machine, a feeling that impeachment wouldn't be worth the time and money spent over the next year and six months. (While we're being honest, if we start pulling troops out of Iraq today, it will still be more than a year before we're out... and thirty years before the Supreme Court shifts.)

Kalamazoo, a little island of progressive politics in Southwest Michigan, is outvoted by five other more conservative counties in the 6th Congressional District. We are "represented" by Republican Fred Upton of the Whirlpool Uptons, who blessedly avoids making a fool of himself on the national airwaves, stays in office by voting the party line, keeping the Dutch-German farmers indifferent and mollifying the Dick Cheney Republicans of Portage. Mostly he stays under the radar and doesn't piss anybody off. Fred voted to impeach the dastardly Clinton, but wouldn't vote for impeachment now if you caught Cheney with his arm up a live boy or a dead girl. What the hell, I wrote him a letter anyway:

Hon. Fred Upton
Washington D.C. Office
2183 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

In 1988, you voted for the impeachment of William Clinton on what I presume were well-considered, lawful reasons. I am writing you today to urge the same level of patriotism and regard for our country as regards the impeachment of Vice-President Richard Cheney, and the possible impeachment of President George W. Bush.

I am sure you are all too well acquainted with the domestic complaints against both the President and Vice-President. These might be debated point by point, and I suspect you and I would fall on different sides of the same issues.

However, both sides of the political aisle must acknowledge the extralegal actions of Vice-President Richard Cheney and President George W. Bush as regards the president’s role as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and the appropriation of unrestrained power by Vice President Cheney. It seems clear from both the public and private record that the leaders of this administration have presumed imperial powers as regards making war and the expenditure of lives and treasure.

These constitute high crimes, misdemeanors, and abuse of Constitutional authority. The Constitution, Sir, is not going to defend itself. It is your unfortunate duty, thrust upon us by time and circumstance, to acknowledge these extraordinary circumstances and to vote for articles of impeachment when they are brought up by the House Judiciary Committee.

Sincerely,
etc.