What? IT'S ALIVE! Republicans vote FOR impeachment, Dems vote AGAINST!

The Democratic Activist
Just when it seemed politics in America couldn't get more surreal ... House Republicans today voted en masse IN FAVOR of the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, while the Democrats voted against it!

Excellent articles on this potential watershed political event are linked below:

Cheney Impeachment Resolution Sent to House Committee

Debate on Cheney Impeachment Averted

The Die is Cast

Here's the text of the resolution:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich Privileged Resolution

In a characteristic display of bullying arrogance and overconfidence, Republicans, thinking they could gain political traction by once again stealing the Democrats' leaders' lunch money and making them look like the wimps and fools they are, dared the fearful, cowardly Democratic Party to debate the impeachment resolution brought to the floor by their own Dennis Kucinich ... by voting FOR the impeachment resolution ... despite the best attempts of the panicked Democrats to make the awful thing go away!

Suffering as it's been for the past two decades from a political version of "battered wife syndrome," the Democratic Party doesn't even know anymore when it's being abused and spat on, so this seemed a pretty safe move on the part of congressional Republicans.

Cowering in fear, afraid to follow the majority of Americans (who by a 54-40% margin already favor impeaching Cheney) and openly debate Kucinich's impeachment resolution on the floor of the House, the Dems' only alternative was to send the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee ... which is where articles of impeachment originate!

So ... by a strange twist of fate fortuitously created by the precise pathologic dysfunctions present in both parties, a reality warp so bizarre it wouldn't be believed as an episode of "The Twilight Zone" ... it looks like impeachment of Dick Cheney may now actually be a serious and imminent possibility!!

---

To read the full text of the impeachment resolution:

1. go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/;
2. enter "H. RES. 799" (without the quotes) into the field titled "Search Bill Text;"
3. select "Bill Number" (immediately below the search field);
4. click the "Search" button.

---

It's now time to FLOOD the offices of members of the House Judiciary committee with communications (phone calls, emails, letters, etc.) demanding that they do NOT allow this impeachment resolution to die in committee ... but, rather, that they pass the resolution along immediately to the full House for consideration.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is Illinois representative John Conyers. He's the one who will have the greatest influence on the outcome of this historic opportunity for America to save its dying democracy.

In addition to Mr. Conyers, all other members of the House Judiciary Committee also need to hear our demand for the will of the American people to be heard, and no longer ignored, by the very party we put into power in 2006 to change course and restore the Constitution and accountability to our government.

The toll-free Capitol Switchboard phone number is:

1-800-828-0498.

Below are links to pages where you can get full information on committee members' names and full contact info:

---

http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx

http://www.house.gov/

---

Now is the time to let Mr. Conyers and others on his committee know that we demand he and the rest of the Democrats stop collaborating with neocon criminals, fully support the impeachment resolution presented by Dennis Kucinich (the bill is H. Res. 799), and put American democracy, the rule of law, and impeachment of criminals in the Bush Administration back "on the table" where it has always belonged!

This could actually happen, as unbelievable as it sounds, despite the seemingly intractable corruption in both parties ... if we really pour the pressure oto the right people, right now.

Call everyday, if you can, till the impeachment resolution is passed out of committee to the full House for their consideration.

Please ... do all you can to support this crucial effort, at this most critical time (to read an important action alert update on this, click here).

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Action Plan: Cheney Impeachment Resolution

The Democratic Activist
(Note: this post has been updated, here.)

Of the 38 members of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC), 23 are Democrats, 15 are Republicans.

The Dems on the HJC voted to support the resolution 14 to 9. That's 61% of the Dems on the committee -- a MUCH higher percentage than among all House Dems (that's encouraging).

However, we still need 6 more Dems to have a majority of committee members who will vote to move H. Res. 799 (the new version of H. Res. 333, the original Cheney impeachment resolution introduced by Kucinich back in April that's now before the HJC) through the committee process and on the full House.

So, our job is to convert 6 of 9 recalcitrant Dems on the committee.

Here's a list of the Dems on the HJC, showing how they who voted to on the motion to table the Cheney impeachment resolution (a "Nay" vote indicates support for the resolution; a "Yea" vote indicates opposition to it; those Democratic reps who voted "Yea," against the resolution, are in bold, and are the ones we need to concentrate on):

---

Adam B. Schiff - (D) California, 29th
Yea

Anthony D. Weiner - (D) New York, 9th
Nay

Artur Davis - (D) Alabama , 7th
Yea

Betty Sutton - (D) Ohio, 13th
Nay

Brad Sherman - (D) California, 27
Nay

Debbie Wasserman Schultz - (D) Florida, 20th
Yea

Hank Johnson - (D) Georgia, 4th
Nay

Howard L. Berman - (D) California, 28th
Yea

Jerrold Nadler - (D) New York, 8th
Yea

John Conyers, Jr. - (D) Michigan, 14th
Nay

Keith Ellison - (D) Minnesota, 5th
Nay

Linda T. Sánchez - (D) California, 39th
Yea

Luis Gutierrez - (D) Illinois, 4th
Nay

Maxine Waters - (D) California, 35th
Nay

Melvin L. Watt - (D) North Carolina, 12th
Nay

Rick Boucher - (D) Virginia, 9th
Yea

Robert C. Scott - (D) Virginia, 3rd
Nay

Robert Wexler - (D) Florida, 19th
Nay

Sheila Jackson Lee - (D) Texas, 18th
Nay

Steve Cohen - (D) Tennessee, 9th
Nay

Tammy Baldwin - (D) Wisconsin, 2nd
Nay

William D. Delahunt - (D) Massachusetts, 10th
Yea

Zoe Lofgren - (D) California, 16th
Yea

---

Action Plan:

The easiest way to do contact congressional representatives (in the House or Senate) is to call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at:
1-800-828-0498, and ask to speak to the office of a particular congressperson or senator.

Here's what you can do:

1. Contact House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (either by calling the Capitol Switchboard number below, or by calling his Washington D.C. office number: 202-225-5126), expressing support for Cheney impeachment resolution H. Res. 799 and demanding that Congressman Conyers make passing this resolution the committee's top priority, hold a hearing on the resolution as quickly as possible, and work hard to swiftly move the resolution out of committee and on to full debate and consideration by the entire House.

2. Contact each Democratic member of the HJC who voted "Yea" to table H. Res. 799 in opposition to the Cheney impeachment resolution (names in bold in list of Democratic committee members, above), express your own ardent support of the resolution, and insist that recalcitrant Democrats on the committee fully and enthusiastically support the resolution and its quick passage to full debate and consideration by the entire House (you might also want to contact all the "Nay" voters to applaud them for their support of the Cheney impeachment resolution, and the office of Rep. Dennis Kucinich to thank him for his courage and commitment in authoring and presenting the resolution to congress).

3. Contact House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Steny Hoyer (call the Capitol Switchboard number, above) to express your support of the Cheney impeachment resolution and demand that they obey the will of a solid majority of Americans and the vast majority of Democrats to immediately impeach Dick Cheney, to put impeachment back on the table where it belongs, and to energetically work as leaders of the Democratic Party to see that Cheney and other criminals in the currently administration are removed from office and held fully accountable before the law.

4. Contact your own representative in the House (click here to find your representative's name and web site), express your fervent support of the Cheney impeachment resolution, urge him or her to co-sponsor the resolution to impeach Dick Cheney, and ask him or her to lobby members of the HJC to work hard to advance the resolution swiftly through the committee and on to the full House.

5. Contact national mass-media outlets and request full coverage of this important news story (click here to go to a page listing addresses, phone numbers, and live email links to major U.S. news outlets).

Afterdowningstreet.org has their own action page (click here) with additional ideas and ways to further the cause of impeachment.

Be creative!

Add to this list of action items by including your own ideas and links in comments to this post, so others can benefit from them.

---

Carrying out the full action plan above requires that you make 12 short phone calls.

12 calls to the Capitol Switchboard takes about 15 minutes. Committed individuals could easily do it on their lunch break, using their cell phones (not at all a difficult or onerous task, for those who really care). In addition, you can quickly and easily send email messages to your congressperson and senators, Speaker Pelosi, the HJC, and a letter to your nearest daily newspaper in support of the Cheney impeachment resolution by clicking here.

Activists should implement the action plan each day, till the resolution is moved to a hearing, and until we get public commitments to support the Cheney impeachment resolution from HJC Chairman John Conyers and at least 6 more Dems on the HJC.

Direct action is only half the battle, though. The other half is enrolling others in the fight.

In addition to making these critically important calls yourself, it is VERY IMPORTANT that activists email a link to this page and the information it contains to as many people as possible, with an short explanation of the crucial issue at hand and a request for their own active involvement at this critical time.

Letters to representatives are also extremely effective, more so even than phone calls ... though they do, of course, take more time to generate and mail. Please consider writing a short letter template, and then printing out and mailing a separate copy of your letter to each of the HJC members who voted "Yea" to table H. Res. 799 (for mailing addresses, click here to go to the HJC main page, then click on a member's name to go to that representative's web site and contact page). Make clear your unequivocal support for Cheney's impeachment, and that your continued support of the Democratic Party, financially and otherwise, depends on Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee acting speedily and decisively to move the Cheney impeachment resolution through the committee to the full House.

Although most House members only accept email messages sent through the contact page of their web sites from zip codes within their home districts, HJC Chairman John Conyers can be contacted directly via email at the following address:

John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

Letters to Chairman Conyers can be addressed to:

Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515

Click here to read the text of the Cheney impeachment resolution, and here to view supporting documents.

Dick Cheney, in addition to conceiving and committing the high crimes outlined in the impeachment resolution, is the man most responsible for the insane plan to attack Iran, probably timed to occur next spring or summer, before the election ... which Republicans fear they're otherwise almost sure to lose.

Are the American people ready for another outrageous, ridiculous, felonious, wasteful war based on greed, deceit, and power-madness?

Are we as a people and as individuals willing to lose America to a budding dictatorship, risk the advent of WW3, and ignore the most fundamental principles of American democracy ... by leaving criminals like this in office one day longer?

This is it. We actually have a real chance to impeach Dick Cheney.

It's now, or never. Time to move. It will take work. But we can do it.

Please forward this information to as many people as possible, make calls and send letters yourself, and urge others to do the same.

(Click here to read the update to this post.)

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Update: Cheney Impeachment Resolution

The Democratic Activist
After initial success on Tuesday, I've been utterly unable to get through by phone to the office of House Judiciary Committee Chairman, John Conyers, since then. Repeated attempts each day. Nothing but busy signals. All phone numbers completely jammed.

(Note: as of Tuesday, 11/13/07, phone calls to the office of John Conyers are once again getting through.)

So, what can an activist do, after making his daily round of calls to the "Ninny Nine," as blogger Gail Jonas calls them?

Keep those phone calls coming ... but don't forget to write!

Good, ol' fashioned snail-mail letters count much more than phone calls to reps who receive them, since they take more effort to send and therefore far fewer people do so.

Below, you'll find postal address information for each of the nine Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee who voted to table the Cheney impeachment resolution earlier this week (indicating their opposition to impeachment). They're the folks we need to target with calls and letters. (Remember ... the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number is: 1-800-828-0498. Have you memorized it, yet? Put it in your speed dial!)

If you're organized, you can easily compose a short, three paragraph letter template, print nine letters, and then sign, stamp, and seal them, in half an hour.

Ideally, you should also send letters to Chairman Conyers, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while you're at it. We really do need to bombard Mr. Conyers with letters ... since the poor chairman has his phones jammed up so terribly. (Postal addresses for Mr. Conyers, Mr. Hoyer, and Ms. Pelosi are included under those for the "Ninny Nine," below.)

It's way past ironic (truly surreal) that the only thing standing in the way of removing criminals from the highest offices in our land is the leadership of the Democratic Party.

Surreality aside ... please ... get those letters printed and mailed, asap!

Mine are ready to be mailed, and will go out this morning after I finish this post.

We've got to keep up the pressure well into next week, and probably beyond, to move the Cheney impeachment resolution (H. Res. 799) to a hearing, and on to the full House. That means each of us should make a daily round of phone calls to the "Ninny Nine," at minimum, if possible. In addition, calls and emails to family, friends, neighbors, etc. with info about the resolution and requests for their active involvement are just as important at this extremely critical time.

Here are the postal mailing addresses you'll need, ready to copy and paste:

---

The "Ninny Nine:"

Hon. Howard Berman
2221 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Hon. Frederick Boucher
2187 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Hon. Artur Davis
208 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20515

Hon. William Delahunt
2454 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Hon. Zoe Lofgren
102 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Hon. Jerrold Nadler
2334 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Hon. Linda Sanchez
1007 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Hon. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
118 Cannon H.O.B
Washington, DC 20515

Hon. Adam B. Schiff
326 Cannon House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515

---

Democratic Party Leadership

Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Mr. Steny H. Hoyer
House Democratic Majority Leader
H-107, The Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

---

Note: Gail Jonas has posted complete contact info (including fax numbers, district office address and phones, etc.) for Chairman John Conyers and the "Ninny Nine" in a new post at Thinking Out Loud. To get the info, click here.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Low-Tech Letters to Pelosi Could Do the Trick

The Democratic Activist
(Note: as of 11/16/07 I and others now believe that the commitment reportedly made by Nancy Pelosi to move the Cheney impeachment resolution forward if she were to receive 10,000 hand-written letters supporting impeachment was, in fact, just a rumor, and that Ms. Pelosi has made no such promise.)

~~~

An unconfirmed but intriguing rumor is circulating.

Apparently, the word is that Speaker Pelosi CAN be convinced that impeachment should go forward. Her's is really the only mind we need to change on this score. The rest would just fall into place like snow on Santa's back lawn.

Here's the alert:

---

"Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is reported to have replied to the question of impeachment that if she received 10,000 hand-written letters she would proceed with it. What are we waiting for? Letters should go to her San Francisco office."

---

Here is a link to Blogger Gail Jonas's post in which she broke this story.

Whether or not the Speaker actually said such a thing ... this is a GREAT idea, and a fantastic goal. It's doable. It's energizing. And no doubt it would leave a strong impression in the mind of the recalcitrant Ms. Pelosi."

I would add the following suggestion:

Add a cc at the head of the letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and your own congressperson; then send a photocopy of your original hand-written letter to Pelosi along to Conyers, Hoyer, and your local rep.

Speaker Pelosi's district office address and phone number are below:

---

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Avenue, 14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 556-4862

---

Here are the addresses for Mr. Conyers and Mr. Hoyer:

---

Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515

Mr. Steny H. Hoyer
House Democratic Majority Leader
H-107, The Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

---

To find the address for your own congressional representative in the House, click here.

Remember ... letters to our representatives, hand-written or otherwise, need not be long. The point is to get them counted (and they WILL be counted).

A salutation, three short paragraphs (with even just a couple of sentences in each), and signature is really all that's needed. It would literally only take a few minutes, plus 10 or 15 more to make copies and then stuff, address, and stamp envelopes.

I'll get mine letters out as soon as I get back from hearing The Nation's John Nichols speak to the masses in San Francisco this afternoon:

---

San Francisco Green Fest
Noon Sunday, Nov. 11
Main Stage Giftcenter Pavillion Theater
888 Brannan Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

---

I'll be reporting on the event after its conclusion, and will do a short video interview with John before he speaks which I hope to be able to get online, as well.

Now ... starting hand-writing those letters! Let's hear it for good ol' writer's cramp!

P.S. Here is something further you can do with your letters (Cindy Sheehan, running from the left for Congress in 2008 against Nancy Pelosi, is planning to deliver a Thanksgiving gift to Madam Speaker ... and you can help!).

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Cindy Sheehan's Thanksgiving Gift to Ms. Pelosi

The Democratic Activist
Here's another great thing to do with copies of your letters to the Democratic leadership supporting the Cheney impeachment resolution (H. Res. 799)!

Our good friend Cindy Sheehan wants you to send letters demanding Dick Cheney’s impeachment to her so she can send a sack of letters to Nancy Pelosi before Thanksgiving.

Send them to:

---

Cindy For Congress
RE: Impeach Dick Cheney
1260 Mission Blvd.
San Francisco, California 94103

---

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

What can liberals do? Take back the Democratic Party!

The Democratic Activist
Pelosi and company have behaved disgracefully.

To my mind, the Democratic Party leadership is guilty of nearly the same disloyalty to our nation and constitution as are the neocons headed by Bush/Cheney. Those of our elected leaders who refuse to enforce the laws, who who ignore the will of the people, who refuse to honor their oaths of office and hold criminals in our government accountable, should themselves be held accountable as criminals.

Nevertheless, there seems to be no simple way to remove Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the other Democratic neocon collaborators from their positions of power within the oldest and largest politcal party in America.

However, there is something we can do that may influence the Speaker to change her corrupt, wimpy, invertebrate ways.

As a species, what most motivates politicians? That's simple. The thought of being re-elected ... or not.

Aside from persistently lobbying our own senators and congresspersons to dump the Democratic Party's quisling congressional leadership, I think the best thing we can do about Ms. Pelosi is to put the fear of God into her by working to nominate Cindy Sheehan to take her place as the Democratic candidate in the 2008 congressional election. As Madam Speaker begins to see throngs and throngs of volunteers and wads of $100 bills going to support Sheehan, she may just realize the error of her ways. Even if she doesn't, getting behind Cindy Sheehan with everything we've got just may get her nominated and elected (I hear Pelosi's San Francisco constituency really is generally pretty unhappy with her performance on their behalf, to say nothing of her stubborn dedication to appeasement of neo-fascists as Speaker of the House).

Bye-bye goes Pelosi. And good riddance.

To support Cindy Sheehan in her quest to liberate Nancy Pelosi's seat in congress, click here.

Those of us who can should immediately plop down contributions as large as possible for Cindy Sheehan's campaign, and then sign up as volunteer "boots on the ground" that always make such a difference in critical elections like this.

What can liberals do? Take back the Democratic Party! There's really no other way. Air America host Thom Hartman has been harping on this theme for some time now.

It's time we get on board, and get it done.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Only a few HJC Dems are blocking impeachment. It's still alive ... KEEP CALLING!

The Democratic Activist
It seems the Cheney impeachment resolution is still very much alive.

I just got off the phone today, an uneventful Thursday, with the office of House Judiciary (HJC) Chairman John Conyers. Initially, I had called to indicate once again my support for the Cheney impeachment resolution being considered by the HJC, and was shunted over to a "House Judiciary Committee Comment Line." Turns out ... the comment line voice mail was filled to capacity, and wasn't taking any more messages. I then called back Mr. Conyers's office to let them know that I was unable to leave my message for Mr. Conyers because their comment line message box was full.

What follows immediately below (roughly paraphrased) is the conversation I then had with a member of the HJC Chairman's staff:

"That's probably because we've been receiving hundreds of calls today," the staff person told me. "You're supporting the Cheney impeachment resolution, right?" he went on. I said that I was, and asked what Mr. Conyers was doing to move the resolution forward to a hearing. "He is trying to move it forward. There's a fight going on right now among the Democrats on the committee," the staff person went on to say. I asked who specifically was holding up the resolution, and was told "The fight is between those Democrats on the committee who favor the resolution, i.e. those who've co-sponsored it, and others who oppose it."

It seems that the pressure on the HJC in support of the Cheney impeachment resolution now before the HJC hasn't slackened over the past couple of weeks, but on the contrary, has at least held steady! We now know that Conyers has felt compelled to go to the trouble of installing a special "comment line" to save his staffers from having to take all the calls he was getting in support Cheney's impeachment, so numerous have they become.

It's working, people ... keep it up!

Given the massive public support for Cheney's impeachment that the Chairman Conyers is continuing to receive, and the apparent fact that it's only opposition from a few Democrats on the HJC that's holding up hearings, we all now really need to keep those calls and letters going to those Dems on the HJC who opposed the most recent incarnation of the Cheney impeachment resolution (H. Res. 799).

Please ... pass along this information to as many people as you can, and make daily rounds of calls yourself to the "Ninny Nine" (those Dems on the HJC who've showed opposition to impeachment), Chairman John Conyers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer supporting the Cheney impeachment resolution now awaiting a hearing in the HJC. It seems we've almost got this ball rolled to the top of the hill; with a just little more effort, another big push or two, we may actually be able to get it over the top and rolling down the other side.

We're getting there. Imagine ... impeachment could actually happen!

Click here for full information on exactly what to do, and how to do it.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Santa Rosa City Council Passes Impeachment Resolution!

The Democratic Activist
Great news ...

Last night, the city council of Santa Rosa, California overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for the U.S. Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney!

The vote was 5 to 1 in favor of the resolution, with one abstention. Santa Rosa now joins Sebastopol, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and other cities across America that have endorsed impeachment. Advocates of the resolution presented signatures of more than 2,000 Santa Rosa residents, and the massive show of citizen endorsement convinced at least two council members to change their minds and vote in favor of the resolution. The city council will now send an official letter to Washington to "petition congress to start impeachment hearings."

Click here and here to read articles on the council's resolution that appeared on the web site of the local Santa Rosa newspaper, The Press Democrat.

Here's how the individual council members voted, along with their contact info:

---

Mayor Bob Blanchard
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 543-3017
Fax: (707) 543-3030
bblanchard@srcity.org

Voted "No."

---

Vice Mayor Lee Pierce
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 579-1449 ext. 300 ("The Tiosk Group")
Fax: (707) 579-0882
lpierce@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

---

Councilmember Jane Bender
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 538-9644
Fax: (707) 543-3030
jbender@srcity.org

Abstained.

---

Councilmember Carol Dean
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 575-3350
Fax: (707) 543-3030
cdean@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

---

Councilmember Susan Gorin
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 525-8335
Fax: (707) 543-3030
sgorin@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

---

Councilmember Veronica Jacobi
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 575-5594
Fax: (707) 543-3030
vjacobi@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

---

Councilmember John Sawyer
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: (707) 578-6006
Fax: (707) 578-6006
jsawyer@srcity.org

Voted "Yes."

---

Unfortunately, the Council is taking a lot of heat from local residents for passing the resolution. Those opposed to impeachment are leaving negative comments under The Press Democrat article linked above, and, presumably, others are contacting the council directly to register their displeasure.

It's important that impeachment supporters, especially those that are Santa Rosa residents, contact their city council members to express their thanks for the courage and patriotism showed by the council in passing this important resolution. Our city has joined others in setting the right example, and it's critical that these local governmental leaders hear applause and appreciation from grateful citizens.

Here's what you can do:

---

1. Contact the Santa Rosa City Council members individually to extend your personal thanks for their appropriate, principled stand in support of impeachment at this critical time in our nation's history. Phone calls, emails, letters, and faxes to council members would go a long way to balance the opposition they're currently receiving from local Bushites.

2. Read articles in The Press Democrat discussing the resolution here and here, and add your own supportive comment at the bottom of the page. You will need to register, to do so. (Comments are limited to 250 characters – so keep yours short, but passionate! And don't worry ... they take a few minutes to show up on the comments page).

3. Send a "letter to the editor" to Santa Rosa's local newspaper, The Press Democrat!

Here's the address:

letters@pressdemocrat.com

Keep your message under 200 words, and be sure to include your name and address (they'll print your name and city).

Why not forward a separate copy of your letter to The Press Democrat to all seven city council members, to let them know of your active support? (But don't cc the council members – "letters to the editor" cc'd to others are unlikely to get printed.) Using the links under "Media" in the side bar to the right, it just takes a few more clicks to send your message to editors of other local and national newspapers and major electronic media outlets. (You could also use the text of your message to easily craft individual emails, faxes, and/or letters to council members.)

4. Send a short message about this story, along with a link to this post, to as many impeachment supporters as possible (those both inside and outside Santa Rosa) -- or to your entire email circle!

---

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Wexler Wants Hearings ... Sign His Petition!

The Democratic Activist
The struggle for the conscience of the Democratic Party continues.

As party leaders continue to refuse to hold criminals in high office accountable for a long list of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in direct violation of their oaths of office and against the wishes of the vast majority of rank and file party members, vertebrate Democrats in congress are standing up and pushing back.



Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida (D - 19th) has begun a petition drive demanding that hearings begin immediately on H. Res. 799, the Cheney Impeachment Resolution now in the House Judiciary Committee. Together with fellow HJC members Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Wexler needs to convince reluctant Democrats on the committee that, in America, elected leaders who commit egregious felonies and war crimes should not be put above the law, and that the founders designed the tool of impeachment for just such an occasion as this. A few days ago, this trio of principled fighters for democracy in America issue an op-ed titled "A Case For Hearings" to launch the petition effort.

Wexler, who set an initial goal of 50,000 signatures total, got 30,000 the first day the petition was online. Public response has been strong, with approximately 20,000 new signatures signatures coming in each day (currently 111,000+ as I write this). Wexler's current goal is to gather at least 250,000 signatures by midnight, 12/31/07. It is noteworthy that the mainstream media is ignoring the Wexler petition, as it has the impeachment movement generally, but that nevertheless both the petition and nationwide support for impeachment continue to grow and expand by viral methods and the innate power of a righteous idea.

It is urgent that impeachment supporters sign the Wexler petition, encourage others to do the same, and demand mass-media coverage of this important news story.

Here's what you can do:

---

1. Sign the petition here!

2. Spread the word! Write a short message on the Wexler petition containing a link to the information in this post, and email it to everyone and anyone you know who may be interested in supporting the impeachment effort.

3. Lobby the main stream media! Calls and email messages sent to electronic media outlets and local and national newspapers have a real effect on news coverage.

CNN Viewer Comment Line:

1-404-827-1500.

MSNBC (ask to leave a message on their Viewer Comment Line):

1-201-583-5000, or 1-212-664-4444.

Click here for dozens of email links to key departments in mainstream media organizations, and see the links in the "Media" section of the sidebar of this blog for links to local, national, and international newspapers.

4. Call congressmembers Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, and Tammy Baldwin, and thank them for their patriotic stand in support of impeachment. While you're at it, call HJC Chairman John Conyers and the "Ninny Nine" and demand that they either join the impeachment effort or get out of the way! (Click here for complete info on contacting these key individuals to encourage their support of the Cheney impeachment resolution.)

Here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number:

1-800-828-0498.

---

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Help John Edwards Get Coverage!

The Democratic Activist
John Edwards is getting ripped off ... and so is the American voting public.

While news and informations abounds throughout the media about both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, coverage of the John Edwards message and campaign is almost non-existent.

The reason is obvious: Edwards is the only viable populist, anti-corporatist candidate running for president in 2008, and corporate-owned media outlets are loath to bring any real attention to his message and candidacy.

These days, we activists have to learn to lobby media outlets, as well as government representatives. And now is the perfect time to do so, when Edwards desperately needs all the activist support and mainstream media coverage he can get.

Inspired by the efforts of activist friends who invited me to become involved in this effort, I spent roughly 30 minutes sending 50 email messages to electronic media outlets highlighting the unfair non-exposure given to John Edwards by the national media and requesting equitable, proportionate coverage of the Edwards message and campaign. It was easy, using a short, generic template message and live email links provided on this blog's media contact page.

Here's the message I just sent out:

---

Dear People,

Why is the media virtually ignoring John Edwards, while over-covering the campaigns and candidacies of Obama and Clinton?

This unfairness is noticed, and remembered.

We can find all the news we want about Hillary and Obama on lots of other stations. It's everywhere. I am tired of hearing the same spin on the same candidates. By comparison, coverage of John Edwards is almost completely absent from the main stream media.

The American news consumer deserves hard facts and updates on the Edwards Campaign. You can be the first media outlet to move news, information, and coverage about John Edwards into reasonable proportion compared to the time spent covering the other two major Democratic candidates for President in 2008.

Will you do it?

Please reply, and let me know about what you plan to do to stop the coverage blackout on John Edwards.

Thank you.

---

Please ... take half an hour, and do the same!

You can use the message I wrote above for talking points or as a starter, but please don't just copy and paste it verbatim, since doing so will dilute the impact of such messages. (Feel free to use part of it, or even most of it, but do make sure your template message is recognizably your own, and not just part of some sort of mass mailing.)

UPDATED 1/8/08: At The Shonbrun Report, writer Will Shonbrun has just written an excellent piece explaining why he's supporting John Edwards as the best candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for president in 2008. In his most recent post, titled From Kucinich to Edwards in ‘08, Shonbrun concisely outlines the reasons liberals should rally around Edwards at this critical time and lend all available support to his campaign. His article is a great place to get a quick look at precisely why John Edwards is the best person for the job.

Let's get John Edwards the coverage that he deserves, and that Americans have a right to receive!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

George McGovern Joins the Impeachment Movement

The Democratic Activist
Last Sunday, former WW2 bomber pilot, congressman, senator and candidate for president George McGovern joined the impeachment movement with a piece at washingtonpost.com blisteringly critical of the Bush/Cheney administration entitled:
Why I Believe Bush Must Go.

In the article, McGovern sums up the case for impeachment nicely:

"Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' to use the constitutional standard."

Reflecting on the questionable elections of 2000 and 2004, the explosion of our national debt under Bush/Cheney, and administration attempts to legalize the abuse and torture of prisoners, McGovern asks:

" ... has any administration in our national history been so damaging as the Bush-Cheney [administration]?"

Commenting on the "murderous, illegal, nonsensical" U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, he wonders:

"How could a once-admired, great nation fall into such a quagmire of killing, immorality and lawlessness?"

Nixon's Democratic opponent in the 1972 presidential election goes on to opine on the karmic fallout from the Bush/Cheney years by invoking the words (and worries) of Thomas Jefferson:

"Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."

McGovern is under no illusions that the cause of impeachment isn't facing a steep, uphill climb in order to have any reasonable chance of success (or even of serious consideration by Congress). He takes responsibility for his own "belated" coming out as an impeachment supporter, and goes on to highlight what is certainly one of the most serious and irksome problems facing our nation, at present:

" ... a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians."

The entire piece is excellent, a concise, passionate exposé by one of our nation's greatest patriots that briefly but convincingly outlines the case for the immediate impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. I recommend it to you for your own edification, and as a tool to use in waking up those somnambulant sleepyheads you may know who haven't yet woken up to the social, cultural, and constitutional crises we now face, courtesy of these dastardly, impeachable, criminal Machiavellian twins.

(To see what you and others can do, right now, to support impeachment, click here.)

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Support Wexler's Impeachment Presentation!

The Democratic Activist
(Update: It looks like we got the details wrong on this. Apparently, Congressman Wexler was scheduled to make a pro-impeachment speech to congress the evening of Wednesday, 1/15 and to present his online petition and letters appealing for impeachment hearings to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers and the other members of the HJC sometime on Wednesday, 1/16 [here is the speech, and here are the letters]. Sorry about that. At least we were early!)

---

The pressure for impeachment appears to be building.

Last month, Congressman Robert Wexler (D – Florida, 19th) and two fellow members of the House Judiciary Committee and launched a high-profile effort to lobby other HJC members to support the Cheney Impeachment Resolution, H. Res. 799. Congressman Wexler started an online petition urging Cheney's impeachment that so far has garnered nearly 200,000 signatures, and will be presenting his petition to Congress this Tuesday, 1/15/08, between 7 and 10pm, EST.

In a further indication that things are heating up on this issue, the New York Sun reported on the recent arrest of activists engaged in civil disobedience to support the impeachment effort.

From the Sun's article on 1/4/08:

"Four anti-war protesters were arrested at Rep. Jerrold Nadler's Brooklyn office Wednesday night when they refused to leave after closing hours.

The demonstrators, part of a group of about 15, sought to convince Mr. Nadler, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney."

Congressman Wexler needs a huge deluge of support for impeachment right now to bolster his important presentation to congress this Tuesday evening!

The word has gone out to activists to get back on their phones and fax machines, and inundate key House reps with calls and faxes supporting Cheney's impeachment from early on Monday, 1/14/08 through 10pm EST on Tuesday, 1/15/08. In your communications to congressional reps, tell them of your enthusiastic support of the effort to impeach Dick Cheney, ask them for immediate hearings on H. Res. 799, and urge these reps to co-sign Wexler's impeachment letter to HJC Chairman John Conyers and to send their own formal pro-impeachment letters to the HJC chairman.

Here's what you can do, specifically, to join the effort:

---

1. Sign Congressman Wexler's petition here urging the immediate impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, if you haven't already done so.

2. Call the Capitol Switchboard toll free at 1-800-828-0498, and ask to speak to your own congressperson, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, and each of the nine Democratic members of the HJC opposed to impeachment (the infamous "Ninny Nine," listed below). About 15 minutes is all it takes to make these calls!

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, whose local office was the target of pro-impeachment civil disobedience earlier this month, is one of the "Ninny Nine" and chairman of the HJC subcommittee where the Cheney impeachment resolution is currently stalled. Right now, and until H. Res. 799 is moved forward to a hearing, it's especially important to contact Mr. Nadler ... in every way possible, as often as possible.

3. Compose a short letter template, and fax personalized copies of it to Chairman Conyers, Speaker Pelosi, and each of the "Ninny Nine" (snail-mail letters likely won't arrive in time before 1/15/08, but are always good for follow-up). See below for a complete listing of names and full contact info.

4. Spread the word! Publish and/or email a link to this post to as many people as possible who may be interested in working to support the cause of impeachment at this critical time.

---

Other ideas:

I've received reports that at 11:00AM on Monday, 1/14/08, Cindy Sheehan will be delivering between 7,000 and 10,000 pro-impeachment letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco office. Pro-democracy activists will also be on hand to deliver thousands of petition signatures urging Cheney's impeachment. Right now, your additional calls and faxes to Nancy Pelosi's local office (see Pelosi's contact info, below) sent in conjunction with activist efforts taking place early this week could have an even greater impact.

These days, we activists have to lobby the mainstream media as well as government representatives. It's easy, in a very short time, to send dozens of emails to key media outlets urging greater coverage of the impeachment issue and particular attention to Wexler's upcoming presentation to congress using the letter template you created (in step 3, above) and the live email links provided on this blog's media contact page.

Finally, a call and/or fax to Congressman Wexler thanking him for his principled, patriotic stand in support of impeachment is certainly appropriate and always greatly appreciated.

---

The "Ninny Nine:"

Hon. Howard Berman
2221 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4695
Fax: 202-225-3196

Hon. Frederick Boucher
2187 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3861
Fax: 202-225-0442

Hon. Artur Davis
208 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-2665
Fax: 202-226-9567

Hon. William Delahunt
2454 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3111
Fax: 202-225-5658

Hon. Zoe Lofgren
102 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-3072
Fax: 202-225-3336

Hon. Jerrold Nadler
2334 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5635
Fax: 202-225-6923

Hon. Linda Sanchez
1007 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-6676
Fax: 202-226-1012

Hon. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
118 Cannon H.O.B
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-7931
Fax: 202-226-2052

Hon. Adam B. Schiff
326 Cannon House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4176
Fax: 202-225-5828

---

Hon. Robert Wexler
213 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3001
Fax: 202-225-5974

---

Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072

---

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-4965
Fax: 202-225-4188

---

To find your own congressional representative (on any other congressperson), click here.

---

Okay, now ... let's get moving!

Make those calls! Send those faxes! Distribute this info!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

The Problem? It's Nadler ...

The Democratic Activist
For weeks, now, activists supporters of democracy all over the world have been waiting for a miracle to occur ... namely, for Democratic leaders to grow a spine, remember their oaths to defend the Constitution, learn to throw a punch, and begin impeachment hearings against American Vice President Dick Cheney.

What's the problem? It's Nadler.

The Cheney impeachment resolution is stalled in the House Judiciary Committee .(HJC) ... specifically, in the sub-committee headed by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY, 8th). Despite overwhelming pubic support of impeachment, and growing pro-impeachment pressure in the House, Nadler and company are, apparently, determined to defend not the Constitution but rather Republican criminals and emperor wanna-bes currently holding our nation's top elected offices.

Democrats like HJC Chairman John Conyers are even floating a proposal for non-impeachment hearings on the "imperial presidency" that they hope will enable them to run out the clock while mollifying the burgeoning impeachment movement that's been giving anti-impeachment Dumb-o-crats all such a headache.

Whether his policy of no-impeachment for imperial presidents and vice presidents is his own or was handed to him by Democratic Fuhrer Nancy Pelosi, it appears that Nadler is now the pivot point on the impeachment issue. He's the decider right now ... and as I opined in an earlier post, Mr. Nadler has become the man whose mind we need to change.

Here's what you can do:

---

1. Call, fax, and/or write Congressman Nadler to express your ardent support for impeachment and demand that he respect his oath of office, stop stalling impeachment hearings, and allow the Cheney impeachment resolution (H. Res. 799) now stuck in the HJC subcommittee he chairs to advance out of committee to full hearings before the House.

Nadler is the man, at this moment. He's the pivot point. Call him every day, if possible! (It really only takes a minute.)

Contact info:

Hon. Jerrold Nadler
2334 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5635
Fax: 202-225-6923
Email (only for those in Nadler's district):
http://www.house.gov/nadler/emailform.shtml

-

2. Call, fax, and/or write HJC Chairman John Conyers to communicate your pro-impeachment message, question the delaying tactics he and other Democratic leaders are using to stonewall impeachment, and insist that hearings be held on Cheney's impeachment immediately.

Conyers's flip-flop on impeachment is unconscionable. Let him know!

Contact info:

Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072
Email: John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

-

3. Call, fax, and/or write to the "Quilsing Queen" herself, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to tell her that she has no right to take constitutional provisions like impeachment "off the table" and that she and other leading Democrats must get out of the way of the people and allow impeachment to go forward.

Further, make sure that Ms. Pelosi understands that, absent a quick turn-around in the priorities of invertebrate Democratic Party leaders, she and other Democrats will pay with their jobs as a vast number of inflamed, irate democratic activists work to remove them from office and replace them with progressive candidates who do value the constitution and the privilege of representing us.

(Note: Cindy Sheehan is opposing Nancy Pelosi in the upcoming November election. Please ... lend all the support you can to Cindy's attempt to unseat Pelosi in California's 8th district! Click here to go to Cindy's campaign site.)

Contact info:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-4965
Fax: 202-225-4188

Email: AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov

-

4. Call, fax, and/or write to your own congressperson. It's easy! Just call the toll free Capitol Switchboard number during business hours and ask to speak to the office of any member of the House or Senate (if you're not sure who your representatives are, they can tell you).

Here's the number:

1-800-828-0498.

Click here to find your own congressperson's web site.

---

It literally takes just five minutes to make calls to these four congressional reps. Do it every day, if you can!

Again ... here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number (have you memorized it yet?:

1-800-828-0498.

In addition, it's important to lobby the mainstream media to publicize the impeachment, and the problem currently posed by sticks-in-the-mud Pelosi, Conyers, and Nadler. Click here to go to this blog's media contact page where you'll find dozens of live email links to key national media outlets. Please also consider contacting local, national, and international newspapers to express your support for impeachment and request more coverage of the issue.

Contrary to the president's stated belief, the constitution is not just a "goddamned piece of paper" but the living foundation of law in our nation. And contrary to neocon collaborators Pelosi, Conyers, and Nadler, impeachment is not optional. Impeachment is a requirement written into the constitution by our nation's founders to equip us to deal with exactly the kind situation we find ourselves in today ... with an iniquitous president and vice-president who fancy themselves dictators, men above the law, and rulers over us.

Time to get out those calls, faxes, and letters, people!

Right now ... it's Nadler.

Let's nail him!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Retire The Savage Weiner! NO SAVAGE!

The Democratic Activist
Michael Weiner, a.k.a. Michael Savage , is the third most popular talk show host in America, and reaches 8 million listeners every day 400 radio stations throughout the U.S. with his ultra-right extremist radio talk show, The Savage Nation.

Savage's message is truly savage: unyielding hate, authoritarian demagoguery and bullying, and fascist persecution. The same kind of religious hate, intolerance, bigotry, racism, and fascism that in the 1920's through 1940's turned democratic Germany into the sickest, most brutal nation the world has yet seen.

Click here for a sample (warning: this audio is upsetting ... but after hearing it, you'll likely want to do something to stop this guy). Then, on the same page, scroll slightly down and look to the left for a list of a few of Savage's other contemptible and chilling remarks (text and audio).

Don Imus was taken off the air and humbled for his offensive remarks, and rightly so. But Michael Savage, who's ten -- no -- a hundred times worse than Imus ever was, is for some strange reason still sponsored and allowed with impunity to continue using our publicly owned and funded airwaves to spew his crazy, disgusting, hateful daily diatribes.

An article recently appearing in The New York Times recounts the rise of The Savage Weiner, the controversy surrounding him, and the boycott now facing sponsors of his show. Hoping to further complicate things for The Weiner, activists at bravenewfilms.org have recently initiated a NO SAVAGE campaign to remove the stench of this man's message from American radio.

The good news is that several major sponsors of The Savage Nation have pulled their advertising since the NO SAVAGE movement began: Citrix Systems, Office Max, Intuit (TurboTax), TrustedID, Chattem (Gold Bond, Icy-Hot, Garlique), Union Bank of California, ITT Technical Institute. Congratulations and thanks to these companies for admitting their error and doing the right thing! Please reward them with your patronage and messages of approval.

The bad news is that, as of 1/25/08, the "still proud sponsors" of Savages's radio bullying include: Geico Insurance, Office Depot, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare (Advil, Robitussin, Centrum), and Stamps.com.

Citizens concerned with beating back the reactionary, fascist bigotry, unvarnished hate, and savage brutality that Savage and others like him promote every day across the public airwaves should urge Savage's remaining commercial sponsors to pull all advertising from his show.

Here's what you can do to help finally retire Michael Savage:

---

1. Call, email, or snail-mail the sponsors of The Savage Nation, using the links above.

Don't attack them, but let the sponsor know that Savage's insane bigotry and hate mongering is shocking and unacceptable, that you're sure they wouldn't want to be associated with such cruel and ugly behavior, that you'll not be a customer of theirs if they continue to sponsor Savage, and that you'll be encouraging others to act likewise.

2. Then have some fun!

The call-in number for his radio show is 800-449-8255, and he is generally on the air between 6-9pm ET. Bite your tongue in order to get by the phone monitors, but when you do and you get on the air, enjoy yourself. Take the high road. Don't go to his level. You might consider expressing your dismay that particular sponsors are supporting and promoting this sickness.

---

Together ... we can retire the Savage Weiner!

NO SAVAGE!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist