# How come you Americans haven't impeached Bush? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 29, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605 "2006-05-29T06:37:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/41 "2006-05-30T21:02:19Z")
They went after him for being Bill Clinton. The “perjury” allegation was just the best excuse they could come up with. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/42 "2006-05-30T21:03:35Z")
[QUOTE=Clothahump] Sigh. They didn’t. They went after him for committing perjury, which is a felony. [/QUOTE] We already tried that this thread. Here, have my lance. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/43 "2006-05-30T21:11:26Z")
[QUOTE=Duckster] As for Bush, many will not rest until he is impeached. [/QUOTE] Bumper sticker I’ve seen: “I don’t care if he’s dead, I still want to IMPEACH NIXON!” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/44 "2006-05-30T21:19:45Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] We already tried that this thread. Here, have my lance. [/QUOTE] Pretending that Clinton’s impeachment was rooted in any sort of honest concern about “perjury” is just as disingenuous now as it was then. The whole thing was never anything but a plan C trap devised after years of investigation had failed utterly to turn up anything else. It was painfully transparent then and it still is. No passage of time will ever legitimize or dignify it. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/45 "2006-05-30T21:27:41Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] during an investigation about whether or not he had a history of sexual harrassment. [/QUOTE] Well, technically, it was an investigation about a real estate deal. A partisan SP went on a fishing expidition. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/46 "2006-05-30T22:25:06Z")
[QUOTE=Alex\_Dubinsky] Any doctor will tell you of the vast brain damage that life-long alcoholism will bring. Damage that is perfectly evident in his speech. [/QUOTE] As much as I think G.W. Bush is an idiot and an incompetent, I don’t buy the alcoholic brain damage argument. Look at the off-the-cuff remarks of his father. Incoherence runs in the family. > [@](#): > > Note how the guy who tried to assassinate Reagan (when Bush senior was vice president and next in line for power) was the son of a family friend of the Bushes (another oil man). Six years ago even such a surprising connection could reasonably have been waved off as coincidence. Now… Sometimes a nut is simply a nut. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/47 "2006-05-31T01:12:46Z")
The Center for Constitutional Rights published a work outlining the justifications for impeachment and can be found [here.](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933633085/ref=pd_cp_b_title/002-1689591-0555258?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155) ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/48 "2006-05-31T02:39:55Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Come on, I’m not even a political cat, but even I know they didn’t technically try to impeach him for a blowjob. They tried to impeach him for perjury - for lying to a court while under oath by saying he hadn’t had sex with Monica. Or was it some other chick? I don’t care. But he did lie, and he was under oath. [/QUOTE] Care to explain to me why Bill Clinton was forced to testify under oath about a personal relationship, while GWB has not once testified under oath about his decision to start a war under false pretenses? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/49 "2006-05-31T02:45:41Z")
Can we PLEASE ad a collorary to Godwin that states you automatically lose an argument if you counter a Bush discussion by bringing up Bill Clinton? ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/50 "2006-05-31T02:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=northern canuck] … Curious too how gasoline prices suddenly jumped shortly after the war began in Iraq…it reminds me vaguely of how we were told petroleum was running out in the early 1970’s and prices escalated…nothing like today, but similar… [/QUOTE] Actually, the prices first went through the roof after Memorial Day (Late May) 2000. I just bought a new truck and paid 1.98 per gallon on a road trip. We had been paying far less than that before. I found a receipt from 3/2002 where gas had gone back down to $1.32. Not sure where you were going with this assertion, but think again. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/51 "2006-05-31T09:12:44Z")
[QUOTE=magellan01] Do you have any evidence that might indicate that if he hadn’t lied under oath that he still would have been impeached? If so, what would the charges have been? [/QUOTE] What did he lie about? Oh, yeah, the blowjob. The blowjob. That’s right, it was a blowjob. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/52 "2006-05-31T09:27:50Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Can we PLEASE ad a collorary to Godwin that states you automatically lose an argument if you counter a Bush discussion by bringing up Bill Clinton? [/QUOTE] 'Twould be nice. But look for this thread to become a template for national debate if the Dems win control of the House in 2006. The reason you haven’t heard much in the press about Bush’s perfidy is that the Dems have no power to drive the debate, having no power and all. But if they win the House, they will be able to start investigations. Investigations with subpoena power. Then you’ll hear Pubbie supporters howling that it’s all cheap political tricks. And THEN you’ll hear comparisons between the current investigations of the Bush administration for war crimes, treason, profiteering and such and the Clinton impeachment over a blowjob. And the Pubbies will respond “it was about perjury.” And once again, no one will believe them. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/53 "2006-05-31T12:30:35Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Can we PLEASE ad a collorary to Godwin that states you automatically lose an argument if you counter a Bush discussion by bringing up Bill Clinton? [/QUOTE] Can’t do that. Too many posters would never have anything to say in any political threads. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/54 "2006-05-31T13:38:04Z")
To answer the OP’s question, though, there is a strong tendency among Americans to regard impeachment as a last-resort policy, to be undertaken when there is no alternative whatsoever. Mr. Nixon’s impeachment was well underway when he resigned, and I think there is common consent that he should have been impeached, tried, and removed from office. Messrs. Johnson and Clinton, the majority view seems to hold, were impeached for purely political reasons by Republican-Party House of Representatives leaderships that appear to many to have been arrogant and overreaching in both cases. Compare dethroning a monarch in the U.K. There’s historical precedent, from 1327, 1649-51, and 1688. But it’s lunatic-fringe material to suggest it be done today (as distinguished from the sane minority which advocates replacement of the monarchy with a republic; I’m talking about the “impeach Liz and substitute Wills” nuts). In short, Mr. Bush’s policies are disliked by a great deal of Americans, arguably violative of constitutional rights, and otherwise execrable to many. But they do not rise to the level of “impeachable offenses” in the eyes of many Americans, including some strongly opposed to Mr. Bush – he was re-elected for a four-year term, and in the absence of actions truly destructive to the American tradition of representative government, he has the “right” to serve out that term, however much we may dislike his policies. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/55 "2006-05-31T15:41:26Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] In short, Mr. Bush’s policies are disliked by a great deal of Americans, arguably violative of constitutional rights, and otherwise execrable to many. But they do not rise to the level of “impeachable offenses” in the eyes of many Americans, including some strongly opposed to Mr. Bush – he was re-elected for a four-year term, and in the absence of actions truly destructive to the American tradition of representative government, he has the “right” to serve out that term, however much we may dislike his policies. [/QUOTE] This is exactly right…“casually” impeaching a president undermines the democratic process, and could cause chaos to the system. We have an election every 4 years to give the people an opportunity to get a new person in there, and we even have a law now that no one can be President for more than 2 terms, just to avoid being stuck with a bad apple for too long (which some people actually believe is in itself contrary to the democratic process). So, as disliked at W is by some, impeachment is not necessarily the way to solve the problem. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/56 "2006-05-31T16:36:46Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Can we PLEASE ad a collorary to Godwin that states you automatically lose an argument if you counter a Bush discussion by bringing up Bill Clinton? [/QUOTE] “Godwin” doesn’t say that at all. What Godwin sez is that you lose if you compare a fellow _Poster_ to Hitler. Not just bring up his name. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/57 "2006-05-31T16:40:21Z")
Besides which, impeaching Bush would be futile. You impeach an individual, not his entire administration, and if Bush were removed from office, Dick Cheney would be president. “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/58 "2006-05-31T17:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Besides which, impeaching Bush would be futile. You impeach an individual, not his entire administration, and if Bush were removed from office, Dick Cheney would be president. “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” [/QUOTE] That’s true, too. I am not one of the “hate W” people, but I venture to say that if people put the entire administration into a hierarchy, with most hated at the top, W would be at least 1/2 way down the list. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/59 "2006-05-31T17:18:50Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] “Godwin” doesn’t say that at all. What Godwin sez is that you lose if you compare a fellow _Poster_ to Hitler. Not just bring up his name. [/QUOTE] Actually, Godwin’s Law says, “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” [Godwin's law - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law) ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605/60 "2006-05-31T20:05:54Z")
[QUOTE=Merijeek] Can’t do that. Too many posters would never have anything to say in any political threads. [/quote] Sure, but silencing those folks would have the result of raising the intellectual level of most discussions by at least 15%. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-americans-havent-impeached-bush/358605.md?page=4)