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National center to impeach Bush and Cheney launched

By Charlene Muhammad
Staff Writer | Last updated: Jul 19, 2007 - 1:01:00 PM

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The L.A. National Impeachment Center open for activism at 8124 W. 3rd St, Los Angeles, where every Saturday between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., volunteers make phone calls, write letters, and gather petition signatures, which are then distributed to every Democratic member of Congress, particularly to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
�I feel the most patriotic action I could take today is to be here in support of impeachment and especially impeachment of the poster boy for what is wrong with this administration.�
�Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)

LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) - Approximately 500 anti-war and peace activists launched a national center to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney with an Independence Day press conference and gathering at La Cienega Park July 4.

The Los Angeles National Impeachment Center is the brainchild of Attorney Peter Thottam, who resigned from his job to focus on his anti-war activism. His frustrations over the Bush Administration’s disregard for the American people’s demonstrations against the Iraq War also prompted him to drum up the idea for the hub two months ago.

“We have got to wake up! This country is turning into Germany 1938 with people busy following the leader, doing what’s told and passively submitting to authority; but it’s time to step up to the plate and hold these people accountable,” Atty. Thottam declared.

According to a July 5 survey by the American Research Group, Inc., 45 percent of more than 1,000 U.S. adults probed during telephone interviews favored beginning proceedings to impeach Pres. Bush; 54 favored the same for V.P. Cheney.

Also, 84 percent opposed Pres. Bush’s complete pardon for former Vice-Presidential Chief of Staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby and 64 percent opposed his commuting of Mr. Libby’s 30-month prison sentence. Mr. Libby was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation into the Bush administration’s actions leading into the Iraq War.

This movement reflects sentiments expressed by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan during his February 2007 Saviours’ Day address titled “One Nation Under God.” He outlined the impact of the Iraq War from spending to casualties, and prompted the Democratic Party to utilize their newfound power to free the people by impeaching Pres. Bush and his entire administration for its wicked policies and lying to the American public, or at least to censure him.

Atty. Thottam believed that individual groups working for impeachment would benefit from a central resource location and he hopes to gain as much ground from people’s dissatisfaction over the recent Libby incident.

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Dimitri Merritt signs up as part of the strictly-volunteer force working to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney at the L.A. National Impeachment Center July 7.

Sponsors of the Impeachment Center include Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, Westside Greens, Santa Monica Democratic Club and the Los Angeles Greens. It subsists through donations from supporters and volunteers and although based in Los Angeles, it collaborates with several national pro-impeachment and anti-war efforts such as the Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus, which is chaired by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif). The Caucus was created in June 2005 and consists of 72 members of the House of Representatives, working to bring troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Congresswoman Waters helped to launch the Impeachment Center, stating, “I feel the most patriotic action I could take today is to be here in support of impeachment and especially impeachment of the poster boy for what is wrong with this administration.” She commented on the House’s decision not to go forward with impeachment because it had just taken over and used the time to manage other matters, such as increasing minimum wage and ensuring children’s health care.

“All that’s good, but this issue of the president and vice-president with all of this power—using it in any way that they see fit to continue to support the misdirection that they have taken this country in—has got to stop and somebody’s got to say that,” she insisted.

Debra Sweet, director of World Can’t Wait—Drive Out the Bush Regime, said that its national office fully supports the center’s efforts in the national movement to “impeach Bush and Cheney, the war criminals.”

“We’re very concerned that the Bush regime is going to attack Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons, if they are not removed from office with disgrace as soon as possible,” Ms. Sweet said, adding that the Impeachment Center is advantaged for its location in one of the largest cities mobilizing for impeachment, and she would like to see other centers throughout the U.S.

According to Atty. Thottam, numerous calls to the Center include those from citizens in Minnesota, Missouri, Georgia, Florida and Vermont, all seeking materials on how to establish an impeachment center in their states. In addition, Code Pink, a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement, utilizes the center for research, planning lobbying sessions and uniting on civil disobedience actions, Atty. Thottam informed.

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Attorney Peter Thottam, executive director of the L.A. National Impeachment Center, displays cards to be utilized during impeachment mobilization efforts, while he addresses approximately 40 volunteers at the center�s first work session July 7. Photos: Charlene Muhammad

The center’s resolution to impeach Pres. Bush and V.P. Cheney stem from their pre-emptive strike against Iraq under false pretenses and resulting war, ordering of the massive illegal spying on U.S. citizens, aiding and encouraging Florida election thefts in 2000 and 2004, 9/11 cover-up and obstruction of justice, violating constitutional rights of citizens and international treaties, use of torture, gross negligence on Hurricane Katrina, and Iraq War profiteering and racketeering regarding Halliburton “no-bid” contracts.

A national strategy also includes supporting current legislation such as those authored by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), MoveOn and the United States Social Forum.

Rep. Kucinich introduced Articles of Impeachment against Mr. Cheney in April and MoveOn has begun a petition drive for his removal, whereas, the U.S. Social Forum, a network of national and international organizations, among others have already adopted a resolution in June that calls for “the impeachment, conviction and removal from office of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney.”

In order to impeach Pres. Bush on grounds of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, the House of Representatives must formally accuse or impeach him with a majority vote, but the Senate tries him and requires a two-thirds vote to convict. Although V.P. Cheney presides over the Senate, the chief justice of the Supreme Court would govern the president’s trial.

Many U.S. citizens and worldwide observers were promised and expected the voter-forced Democratic takeover of both the House of Representatives and the Senate last November to begin correcting the abuses by bringing U.S. troops home, cutting off war funding and ultimately ending the Iraq War.

The Democrats failed them. As The Final Call recently reported, “The truth of the matter is that the Democrats in Congress have waved the white flag of surrender to President Bush and his allies who want a permanent war and occupation of the oil-rich Muslim lands of the Middle East.”

A total of 86 Democrats in the House voted to finance the war without restrictions until Sept. 30, and the Senate favored funding 80-14.

In his article “The Case for Impeachment,” which appeared in the March 2006 edition of Harper’s Magazine, Lewis Lapham wrote that his adaptation of impeachment sentiments grew out of Congressman John Conyers, Jr.’s (D-Mich.) resolution proposing a committee to investigate the Bush Administration’s intent to enter war without congressional authorization and manipulation of pre-war intelligence, the president’s conspiracy to commit fraud, and other things.

“Before reading the report, I wouldn’t have expected to find myself thinking that such a course of action was either likely or possible; after reading the report, I don’t know why we would run the risk of not impeaching the man. We have before us in the White House a thief who steals the country’s good name and reputation for his private interest and personal use; a liar who seeks to instill in the American people a state of fear; a televangelist who engages the United States in a never-ending crusade against all the world’s evil, a wastrel who squanders a vast sum of the nation’s wealth on what turns out to be a recruiting drive certain to multiply the host of our enemies. In a word, a criminal-known to be armed and shown to be dangerous,” Mr. Lapham wrote.

(For more details on the Los Angeles National Impeachment Center and its resolution for impeachment visit http://www.bcimpeach.com.)