Why Impeachment?

Impeachment may seem to be a limited issue with which to launch a congressional campaign, but it is symbolic of so many of the things that are wrong with the Democrats’ performance in Congress. We know that a majority of Americans -- some polls say as high as 70% -- want to end the War on Iraq. Americans are also concerned about the economy, job loss, the mortgage crisis, healthcare, the environment, our treatment of veterans, election reform, civil liberties, and the list goes on and on. While the electorate has made it amply clear that they want action, members of the majority party in the House of Representatives continue to dance to the tune of one of the least popular lame duck Presidents in history.

Democrats say they want to end the war, yet cave in each time the Republican administration and their Congressional colleagues raise objections. Democrats say they want to protect people who are losing their jobs or homes, yet the best they could do was sign on to an ill-conceived tax stimulus package that probably won’t even keep up with inflation. Democrats say that they are concerned about Americans who can’t afford decent healthcare, the environment, taking care of our veterans, and of course protecting our civil liberties, but Republican don’t see it quite the same way, so the Democrats fold their tent and retreat. With the arrogance, petulance, and chutzpa of a schoolyard bully, George Bush makes it clear that it’s his way or no way. The Democrats in Congress cower and do it his way.

A few in Congress are standing up for what they believe, or what the American people want. When those courageous people do stand up, all that is heard is the deafening silence from their colleagues. Every possible action or issue that Americans care about, from impeachment to ending the war, has been taken off the table.

One wonders, especially after the midterm elections of 2006, why the Democratic Caucus is so weak and inept. Is it that the members’ main concern is to protect their jobs? Considering that we have a very unpopular lame duck President, it is startling that they have been unable to make substantive policy changes. It seems that a new dynamic has been established by this President and his Republican minority henchmen: majority rule is no longer the way we do business. Legislation can only succeed with a veto proof vote in the House and a super majority of 60 Senators.

So, with all that to chew on, you might ask why focus on impeachment? After all, impeachment won’t end the war, revive our economy, solve the home loan crisis, create jobs, or provide affordable healthcare. That is true. But, impeachment is a touchstone the sums up all the problems we currently have with our government. If Congress is unable to hold the President accountable for all the misdeeds he so willingly acknowledges, how can we expect them to act on any of these other pressing issues?

As a teacher who has supervised children in a school yard, I know how one out-of-control bully can create havoc with the play of the other children. There are times when the only effective way to restore order is to remove the bully from the playground. We may have just a few months to go before the end of the term, but the damage George Bush has done is great, and he will continue on the same path until the end of his term. Impeachment is not the only action that is needed to respond to the concerns of the American people, but it is an action that would set us on a better course.

Seeds of Democracy

I am covered in dirt. I’m taking a break from digging in my garden. After nineteen years of being a weekend gardener, I had planned to begin my retirement this spring as a full time gardener by devoting the needed time to digging, planting, and weeding. A peculiar thing happened and my plans have changed.

Let me step back and confess that I love politics. I’ve thought a lot about our elected officials and my dissatisfaction with the job that they are doing. I’ve speculated on how to unseat ineffective popular incumbents who are reelected whether or not they are responsive to their constituents or to the needs of the country. To run for office you need the time and money to do it. Many with the money have been elected, but I’ve often wondered about those people who have only the time to commit to an election campaign. Two groups come to mind, the retired and the unemployed. They have time and an understanding of the challenges that face the people of this country because of poor policy. When I mused about this possibility for recruiting candidates to run against incumbents, it never occurred to me that I might be one of them.

My prospective campaign landed on me the night before my last day of work. I had agreed to have a meeting at my home for a group that I had been working with to convince our New York City Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee, to initiate impeachment hearings. We have been working together for months and have sent letters, had meetings with him, set up a website, and have brought in experts on impeachment to education ourselves as well as Representative Nadler on the issue. Despite our efforts, he has remained firm in his position that he will not pursue impeachment.

That evening, I was baking goodies to take to my soon to be former colleagues at work, and wondering if the next day would really be my last. I had also been taken to lunch and given a beautiful gift, so I was feeling very special. At one point during the meeting, somebody said, the only way to get to Nadler take us seriously is to run somebody against him. I piped up with, “Well, I have the time.” And the people in the room responded, “Carla that is wonderful, you can be our candidate.”

If it hadn’t been for the fact that my candidacy gave such hope to the people at the meeting and those who they told, I would have let the whole idea quietly disappear, figuring that it was just a giddy moment that came about because I was feeling frisky.

I am an unlikely candidate for Congress. I don’t have a flag lapel pin and would probably wear it upside down if I did. I don’t salute to the flag, but can recite the Preamble to the Constitution and will do it if given a chance. I am not religious. I have traveled to some politically unpopular spots and am proud that I took these trips. I do not fit the traditional American political mold, but I am determined to make sure that we live by the ideas and the principles outlined in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. While I won’t swear allegiance to a piece of cloth, I would take an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Congressman Nadler took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, which is the reason that I and others like me are troubled by his unwillingness to initiate impeachment hearings. None of his arguments against impeachment -- the process will take too long, we need to focus our attention on the 2008 presidential election, Congress will be incapacitated by impeachment hearings, we don’t have the votes, we’ll investigate Bush after he leaves office -- honor the oath that Representative Nadler took to defend the Constitution.

Congressman Nadler voted against the authorization to allow the President to take us to war on Iraq. He deserves our respect for that vote, but five years later, we are still deeply mired in this war that should never have been started. Although Representative Nadler states that he opposes the war, he is convinced that it is a hopeless situation and nothing can be done to end it. If he can’t, or won’t, provide the leadership to change these circumstances, then I believe that our district, and our nation, would be better served by a representative who, at the very least, envisions the possibility of ending the war.

My goal in this candidacy for Congress is to educate the constituents of the 8th CD about the issue of impeachment and why it is critical to the future of our country that this course of action be pursued. I would like to remind Congressman Nadler of his obligation to the oath that he took to support and defend the Constitution. I also hope to give our community hope that the War on Iraq can and will be ended.

I love to garden, but have never felt particularly effective at it because my favorite part is working with the soil and doing the planting. As a part-timer, I slow down when the weeds start to pop up and take over. This year, I plan to give my full attention to weeds. We have reached a time when our government has been over taken by the weeds. We need to clear the soil and replant the seeds of democracy that our Constitution gave us “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”