[NYTr] Impeachment: BS Excuses from another congressman

[nytr at olm.blythe-systems.com]

sent by MichaelP (activ-l)

After Downing Street - Jul 23, 2007
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24660

[Latest BS Excuse from Congressman John Olver -- reads rather like 
deFazio's BS Excuse

Only Impeachment, Removal or General Strike Can Stop Bush -M]

This from Rep. John W. Olver:

Dear Sally:

Thank you for contacting me with your support for the impeachment of 
President George W. Bush and/or Vice President Richard B. Cheney. I 
appreciate learning your views.

In 2002, I voted against the resolution to use military force against
Iraq because I did not believe that President Bush presented ample
evidence that Iraq posed a threat to our nation's security. It has now
become clear that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction and
that the Bush Administration manipulated intelligence to gain support
for the war.

During the 109th Congress, I cosponsored H.Res.635, a resolution that 
would have created a select committee to investigate the
Administration's intent to go to war before congressional
authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and
countenancing torture, retaliating against critics, and to make
recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment. H.Res.635
was not voted on during the 109th Congress.

This Congress, Representative Dennis Kucinich has introduced H.Res.333
to impeach Vice President Cheney for high crimes and misdemeanors.
H.Res.333 states that the Vice President purposely manipulated the
intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress about a
threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and about an alleged
relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda in order to justify the use of
the U.S. Armed Forces against Iraq in a manner damaging to our national
security interests.

While I feel the same outrage and distrust clearly felt by those who
want to launch impeachment proceedings against the Vice President and 
President, I believe that the 67 Senate votes constitutionally required
to remove either of them from office cannot be achieved in the 110th 
Congress. I want an end to the war in Iraq and a robust reassertion of 
Congress's co-equal authority in decision-making and ensuring
compliance with federal law, and I believe that a significant change of
U.S. policy can be achieved by repeatedly challenging the President
legislatively on Iraq and other matters, even without a veto-proof
majority. With growing bipartisan support for legislative efforts to
draw down U.S. military forces in Iraq, there will be repeated
opportunities to enact legislative reversals of President Bush's
disastrous foreign policy. It is also critical that the 110th Congress
spend time on other issues, like reforming immigration, improving
education, expanding and improving health care coverage, curbing global
warming and restoring and strengthening civil liberties. With close
majority-minority ratios in both the House and the Senate, some
bipartisanship is also probably necessary to address these challenges,
and I support doing what is necessary to achieve successes in these
areas.

I have and will continue to support investigations to hold the Bush 
administration accountable for its conduct. I want many of President 
Bush's policies to be permanently reversed, and you can be assured that
I will work to achieve that end in the shortest amount of time possible.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please continue to let me know your 
thoughts on matters of concern to you.

Sincerely,

John W. Olver

                           ***

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24358 

Congressman John Olver Believes Bush Will Cancel 2008 Elections, Still 
Refuses to Support Impeaching Him or Cheney

By Bob Feuer

At 9 am, some twenty of the successful presenters of impeachment 
resolutions at their W. Mass. annual town meetings met at the Jones 
Library in Amherst, MA. We ratified our agenda and prepared ourselves
for our 10 am meeting with Cong. John Olver.

At about 10 am, the congressman came into the room with his aid, and
Susie Patlove welcomed the congressman, laid out our agenda, and the
congressman approved.  We commenced with individual introductions and
brief reports on the outcomes in each of our towns. Cong. Olver asked
us to spare him a review of what he already knew and believed about the
crimes of the Bush administration, and of the overwhelming majority of
his district in favor of impeachment. When he aggrandized himself on
his voting record, I took exception to 24 April 2007. When he asked
what I was referring to, I challenged him to co-sponsor H. Res. 333;
and he emphatically refused.

Nonetheless, we informed him of the good that would come out of an 
impeachment, and gave intelligent and caring answers to all of the 
objections he might harbor.  We had present a young U.S. soldier, a 
veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations, who directly
asked the congressman what could we do to move him towards co-signing
H. Res. 333. The congressman did not answer that direct question.

He is deeply concerned whether we will actually have an election in
Nov. '08, as he believes this administration will likely strike Iran
from the air, declare a national emergency, and cancel the '08
elections. He sees ending the war as his primary goal, and he believes
the brilliant Nancy Pelosi has a strategy more potent than
impeachment.  He thinks impeachment is a futile waste of legislative
energy, will be harmful of democratic '08 victories, and further
tighten the "gridlock" he has complained of for the past few decades.