Letter to Editor on impeachment published in the Cecil Whig (MD)
Timothy Butcher’s letter of 9/7 about Democrats “circling the wagons” omits any mention of George Bush or Dick Cheney.
Granted, Bill Clinton’s personal conduct was deplorable, and the Republican Congress at the time decided it amounted to an impeachable offense.
Since then, President Bush took us to war under false pretenses (including a deliberate lie in his 2003 State of the Union address), violated U.S. law by flouting the Geneva Conventions and the FISA act requiring court approval of domestic spying, and purposely exposed one of our undercover CIA agents. The Republican Congress squelched any meaningful investigation of these incidents, unlike their vigorous investigations of Whitewater, which occurred before Clinton’s presidency, and “Travelgate.” Both investigations ultimately exonerated the Clintons.
Now, comparing the two presidents’ lies and illegal acts, which would you say have had the most serious consequences for our country?
The President and the Congress took an oath to uphold the Constitution. The President and Vice-President have breached that oath, and Congress will have too if it fails to hold them accountable. By not pursuing impeachment, Congress is implicitly stating such acts are constitutional, setting a precedent allowing similar transgressions in the future.
Another impeachment trial would be very hard on our nation, but isn’t preserving our Constitution worth some trouble and inconvenience? For over 200 years brave Americans have unselfishly given life and limb defending it. If we permit the abuses of the last six years to stand, how can we ever ask them again?
Michael Burns
Cecil County Democrat