# How could we impeach Bush now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 14, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962 "2007-01-14T18:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/21 "2007-01-15T04:26:07Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] You’d be wise to stop perpetuating the false meme that Clinton was **not** impeached for a blow-job; at least if you want to be taken seriously around here by anyone other than the wingnuts. [/QUOTE] As between you and **John Mace** , who do you believe is taken more seriously around here? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/22 "2007-01-15T04:44:08Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] And you’d be wise to stop perpetuating the false meme that Clinton was impeached for a blow-job; at least if you want to be taken seriously aroudn here by anyone other than the wingnuts. [/QUOTE] You know, there’s not a huge difference between for" a blow-job" and “for lying about _a blow-job_”. Do you maintain there would have been an “impeachment” with\*out \*the blow-job? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/23 "2007-01-15T04:53:27Z")
Pardon my playing Junior Mod. here, but I am **supremely** pissed about the idea that a question about Mr. Bush is **always** subverted into Bill Clinton’s taste in oral sex. It’s a sad cry when the collective wisdom of this board cannot distinguish between the need for constitutional government and illicit sex. Granted that for most of the public, talking about blowjobs is more interesting than the contents of the Presidential oath – but I would like to think we’re a cut above that. The issue is **not** what Bill Clinton was impeached for (not blowjob, not perjury, but lying about having gotten a blowjob under oath, and that’s batshit insane to try to remove a President for, while allowing refusal to provide the needy aid in the Depression, attempting to arrest veterans for asking for the pay promised them, manipulation of the cotton price to affect an election, attempting to stack the Supreme Court, nationalizing the steel industry, influence peddling by the White House Chief of Staff, sex with Marilyn Monroe, blatant lying about Vietnam, an “enemies list,” willful polarizing of the country, incompetence in protecting our embassies, Iran-Contra, failure to capitalize on the fall of communism, and blatant misrepresentation of the truth about Al Qaeda, WMDs, torture, and who knows what else, to go unpunished. (Note that that catalog of sins is bipartisan and goes back before World War II.) There may or may not be grounds to impeach George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, and there may or may not be sufficient grounds to convict and remove him on impeachment. But that has nothing to do with the husband of the Senator from New York who was his predecessor and what may or may not have been his sexual peccadilloes. Sorry to all staff and Dopers for getting bitchy. But that is one repeated action that is within the board’s rules but that drives me up a wall. I do not care if William Jefferson Clinton and Osama Bin Laden had a threesome with Mother Teresa one night in Bangkok. It has nothing to do with the presidency of George W. Bush and whether he should be impeached. Please, please, cut it out. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/24 "2007-01-15T05:16:05Z")
Ok. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/25 "2007-01-15T11:03:07Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Cite? I have to believe that if the man was willing to risk so much for it, it was far beyond “mediocre.” Sorry for the hijack, but seriously – can’t we at least imagine that it was WORTH IT? [/QUOTE] If you like, **Bricker** , you might open up a separate thread to discuss the quality with which Jewish women of a certain age dispense oral sex, and I’ll be glad to explicate my argument for “mediocre,” But I don’t want to risk incurring the Wrath of **Polycarp** any more than I absolutely need to (even though Im not quite sure who he’s pissed at here, me for cracking wise about the bj in the OP, or **John Mace** for admonishing me for my allusion to that meme, or just to everyone for discussing it again.) But I think a “Was Monica Lewinsky Highly Skilled at Performing Oral Sex?” thread might be worth a post or two–I feel very strongly that she did not and would be happy to explain my reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/26 "2007-01-16T01:22:20Z")
“Mediocre head” … “mediocre head” … um, I don’t understand, sorry. But anyway, a slow-to-catch-up-with-the-people Congress need not be an impediment - [\*state \* legislatures can start it instead.](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/1/12/14726/1248) Keep your eyes on Santa Fe, kiddies. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/27 "2007-01-16T01:42:14Z")
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] …impeaching Bush (and Cheney) is in their best interests?..[/SIZE] [/QUOTE] Impeaching Bush _and_ Cheney at the same time would like a coup attempt by Pelosi. :eek: Unless there’s a reasonable chance at getting 67 senators to vote for removal an impeachment would be a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/28 "2007-01-16T02:05:43Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] “Mediocre head” … “mediocre head” … um, I don’t understand, sorry. [/QUOTE] She bit it off midway? ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/29 "2007-01-16T07:39:11Z")
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] …My serious answer, **John,** is that just impeaching him would send a message to the world as to how deeply the US regrets following this stupid turd into this quagmire… [/QUOTE] I think this is correct. Also it may be the only way that the US’ reputation in the wider world can be restored. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/30 "2007-01-16T19:49:11Z")
The Special prosecutor went after Clinton for years wasting incredible amounts of money. I have heard it was a payback for impeaching Nixon. I have also read that it was an attempt to handcuff his presidency by constantly keeping him on the defense. I do not know, but I would like to see how Bush would react to some serious legal problems. There is a vulnerability to signing statements, torture and ignoring the constitution he swore to uphold. The Special Prosecutor was not formed to go after the Lewinsky case but was just handed it . Clinton should have not denied it and gone on his way. I would love to see what Bush would do when he is cornered. The arrogance of the Imperial presidency could be stripped bare for the world to see. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/31 "2007-01-16T20:02:25Z")
I don’t think Bush/Cheney should be impeached at all. We have a couple of years to shove things up their ass like they’ve done to us for the past six years; I think they should be made to answer for their hubris while in office and on the record, not after it’s pipe-and-slippers time out at the ranch. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/32 "2007-01-16T20:16:10Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] But anyway, a slow-to-catch-up-with-the-people Congress need not be an impediment - [\*state \* legislatures can start it instead.](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/1/12/14726/1248) Keep your eyes on Santa Fe, kiddies. [/QUOTE] AWESOME! 😃 :eek: 😃 ::runs for popcorn:: I can’t wait to see \*this \* show. Seriously, I would pay the $60 a month for cable TV if this event were aired on a cable-only station. I soooo hope this guy has the nuts to follow through. Yay. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/33 "2007-01-16T20:33:38Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] The Special prosecutor went after Clinton for years wasting incredible amounts of money. I have heard it was a payback for impeaching Nixon. [/QUOTE] That would be curious, since Nixon was never impeached. I’d think the Democrats taking both houses of Congress is signal enough to the rest of the world what the public thinks about Iraq. Impeaching Bush, as fun as it would be, is not going to help one senior citizen, get one soldier out of Iraq, feed or educate one child, or provide one dollar to stem cell research. What do you think is more likely to elect a Democratic president and a stronger Democratic congress in 2008 - a knockdown dragout fight that at best would make Dr. Evil president, or passing this sort of bill - which at worst would make Bush veto it, so we can hold it against the Republicans. Let’s look outside the Beltway for once. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/34 "2007-01-16T20:57:50Z")
From Daily Kos:[New Mexico Legislature to get impeachment bill](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/1/12/14726/1248) It looks like the House may end up voting on it even if none of them want to. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/35 "2007-01-16T22:38:06Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] That would be curious, since Nixon was never impeached. I’d think the Democrats taking both houses of Congress is signal enough to the rest of the world what the public thinks about Iraq. Impeaching Bush, as fun as it would be, is not going to help one senior citizen, get one soldier out of Iraq, feed or educate one child, or provide one dollar to stem cell research. What do you think is more likely to elect a Democratic president and a stronger Democratic congress in 2008 - a knockdown dragout fight that at best would make Dr. Evil president, or passing this sort of bill - which at worst would make Bush veto it, so we can hold it against the Republicans. Let’s look outside the Beltway for once. [/QUOTE] The machinery was in motion and it was going to happen. he quit to avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962/36 "2007-01-17T01:22:24Z")
From “A Letter to My Grandchildren,” epilogue to [_The Truth (with jokes),_](http://www.amazon.com/Truth-jokes-Al-Franken/dp/0452287677/sr=8-2/qid=1168996868/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-2118375-7995946?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Al Franken: > [@](#): > > The President won [the 2008 presidential election] in a landslide, defeating Republican nominee Bill Frist, whom Karl Rove had been advising from prison. (Not because of Plame. He punched a cop.) And not only did we gain an additional forty seats in the House, but we took the Senate. It was the happiest day of my life, except for the day I married Grandma, the days your parents were born, the days each of you were born, and the day I’m about to tell you about. > > Can you guess which day that is? That’s right, Barack. The quickie impeachment of George W. Bush. > > Yes, kids, it was an actual historical event before it became a popular Saturday morning cartoon show. As you no doubt have learned from the cartoon, each new Congress is sworn in a few weeks before the presidential inauguration. The old president, in this case, George W. Bush, becomes a lame duck. > > The quickie impeachment was your grandfather’s idea. Everyone in our caucus said, “Why bother? He’ll be out of power on January 20 whether we impeach him or not. Why do it?” > > My answer, “Because we can,” led to my second _Newsweek_ cover. > > Besides, I wanted to usher in an era of personal responsibility. And what better way of kicking it off? > > But it wasn’t until I proposed my Grand Bargain that the caucus and, it would turn out, virtually the entire House and Senate fell in love with the idea. Here’s how it worked. In exchange for impeaching and voting to convict George W. Bush of the many high crimes and misdemeanors that the House investigations had uncovered, Democrats would agree to share power with their Republican colleagues, giving them a few committee chairmanships in an unprecedented Unity Congress. Unlike the GOP, we were magnanimous in victory, and gave some authority to those Republicans who weren’t crazy or big jerks. > > On January 18, 2009, President Bush was impeached, convicted, and began drinking again, all in the space of a single afternoon. America’s reputation around the world was restored. > > Dick Cheney, who, up until that day, had suffered a mere four heart attacks in his entire lifetime, managed to double that total in his forty-eight hours as president. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-impeach-bush-now/387962.md?page=1)