June 11, 2008
Categories: Miscellany
Impeachment measure sent to Judiciary Committee, Kucinich vows to fight on
The House voted to refer articles of impeachment against President Bush to the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, though the bill's sponosor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), warned that he is not going to let the issue drop.
"I am going to wait 30 days to see if the committee holds a hearing," Kucinich said.
The former Democratic presidential hopeful told Politico that if the committee fails to take up the measure: "I'll come back again...with more articles."
The House voted 251 to 166 to refer the measure to the House Judiciary Committee, a procedure that is often used to kill controversial legislation. Interestingly, 24 Republicans voted with the Democrats to refer the bill to the committee.
Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) explained why so many Republicans voted against sending the bill to the committee
There should be consequences when the Democratic Leadership allows the House floor to be hijacked by the loony Left," said Steel. "Instead of acting to lower gas prices, pass a troop funding bill, or protect America by passing FISA modernization, they spent nearly nine hours listening to Rep. Dennis Kucinich talk about his rather fantastical theories about the President. This is just another example of the Democratic Leadership in the House indulging trivial and silly conspiracy theories, rather than working with Republicans to deal with the real issues facing the American people.”
A spokesman for the Judiciary Committee declined to comment when asked if chairman Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) was planning on holding a hearing on the issue.
Although Democratic leaders said the impeachment issue was off the table when they retook control of Congress last year, Kucinich continues to push for trying Bush for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
Kucinich has previously introdcuced articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. That measure was also referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which failed to act on it.
If this bill dies another quiet death in committee, don't expect Kucinich to let the issue drop. On Monday night, Kucinich read aloud the entire 58 page text of the bill, which took over three and a half hours.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0608/Impeachment_measure_sent_to_Judiciary_Committee_Kucinich_vows_to_fight_on.html
