Let Bush "Decide" - Exit Iraq or Be Impeached

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers says he can't impeach Bush or Cheney because he doesn't have 218 votes for impeachment out of the 231 Democrats in the House.

Why do most Congressional Democrats (including Speaker Pelosi) oppose impeachment? Because they say it would interfere with their efforts to solve the nation's problems, starting with Iraq.

So here's a simple two-step solution to both problems.

Step 1. In August, Congress should hand Bush a bill requiring a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops by April 1, 2008.

Step 2. If Bush doesn't (a) sign the bill (without a "signing statement") and (b) bring our troops safely home by next April, Congress should impeach Bush and Cheney and let President Pelosi finish the job.

In other words, the Democratic Congress should let Bush do what he likes best, which is to be the "Decider." But they should give him just two choices: exit Iraq or be impeached.

There are two obstacles to this plan, both of which are easily surmountable with some "hard work," as Bush likes to call it - even though he's never done any in his wretched life.

First, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs to pass Levin-Reed by breaking the Republican filibuster led by Mitch McConnell. Last week the cloture vote on Levin-Reed got 53 votes, 7 short of the 60 needed to end McConnell's filibuster. (Harry Reid voted tactically with the Republicans so he could call another vote at any time.)

Here's how to get to 60 votes:

1. Name names. Who are the 46 Senators who are keeping U.S. troops in Iraq? Call them the "Iraq 46", and make them household names. Every time a Democrat makes a speech on or off the floor of Congress, (s)he needs to recite the list in full. We can create web sites and viral emails. Print card decks and Wanted posters. Put billboards on our highways. Run newspaper, radio, and TV ads.

2. Weekly votes. Starting next Monday, Harry Reid should schedule a vote on Levin-Reed every week until it passes. If our troops don't get a vacation in the 130 degree heat of August, neither should the Senate. (That would also prevent "recess appointments" of more Republican ideologues and hacks.)

3. Frame the debate. Democrats have been way too polite in talking about the Iraq War. This war is destroying America. It is killing and maiming our troops, breaking our military, corrupting our intelligence, bankrupting our country, multiplying terrorists, and turning the whole world against us. And for what? For Bush's delusions, Cheney's lust for power, and the insatiable profits of Big Contractors and Big Oil.

4. Hit the Road. After each Monday vote, Senate and House Democrats should fly to each of the 30 states of the "Iraq 46," visiting one each day. Upon arrival, they should fan out and lead "Iraq 46" rallies in each county organized by local Democrats. For extra crowd appeal, the Presidential candidates should join them.

5. Take names. We know 70% of Americans oppose Bush's Iraq policy - but we don't know their names or where they vote. We need to create an army of voters who will march to the polls to sweep the "Iraq 46" out of office, starting with the 21 who are up in 2008. Let's use every technology - online petitions, text messaging, robocalls, Moveon-style volunteer phone banks, door-to-door canvassing - to get the names, addresses, phones, and emails of every single American who wants to get out of Iraq, along with a firm pledge to vote the "Iraq 46" out of office. And let's keep a running tally of pledges for each state with a goal of 70% of the state's voters.

6. Build a warchest. Republicans can't win elections without massive amounts of money to saturate the airwaves with Swift-Boat style lies. But with the support of 70% of the American people, Democrats can raise twice as much - or more. Democrats are already $100 million ahead in the money race. Let's make our lead so big that Republicans are too afraid to even run.

Some of this effort is already underway. A Moveon-led coalition called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (AAEII) is running a multi-million-dollar "Iraq Summer" campaign targeting Olympia Snowe (ME), Susan Collins (ME), Norm Coleman (MN), John Sununu (NH), George Voinovich (OH), Arlen Specter (PA), John Warner (VA), Mitch McConnell (KY), Chuck Grassley (IA), and Pete Domenici (NM). They have 100 paid organizers on the ground in 15 states.

It's hard to see how this plan can fail. 4 Republicans already support cloture on Levin-Reed: Susan Collins, Chuck Hagel, Gordon Smith, and Olympia Snowe. 4 more Republicans are wavering in public: Pete Domenici, Dick Lugar, George Voinovich, and John Warner.  Many more Republicans are hiding under their desks, waiting for the Petraeus report in September. The 21 Republicans who are up in 2008 know they will lose if our troops are still dying in Iraq next year, even if they live in a red state like Virginia (ask George Allen) or Montana (ask Conrad Burns).

So sooner or later the Senate will pass Levin-Reed. And then Democrats must make Bush decide: sign the bill and bring our troops safely home, or face impeachment and removal from office.

What should Bush and Cheney be impeached for? Ideally the whole Iraq War - the lies, torture, murder, corruption, and profiteering. But that would take a full-fledged War Crimes Tribunal which is beyond the capability of this Democratic Congress. So Congress should focus on one small Iraq scandal that symbolizes the whole disaster: the Oval Office conspiracy to punish whistleblower Joe Wilson by outing covert CIA agent Valerie Plame, and the Oval Office coverup to protect George Bush and Dick Cheney through perjury, obstruction of justice, and the commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence.

This crime was investigated for three years by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, but his investigation was blocked by Libby's perjury and obstruction of justice. Congress can simply pick up where Fitzgerald left off: issuing subpoenas to Libby, Rove, Cheney, and Bush to appear before Congress to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If they refuse to appear, plead the 5th, or lie under oath, the House can impeach them.

Impeachment in the Democratic-controlled House is the easy part since it requires a simple majority. All we need are the 219 Democrats who voted for an April 2008 deadline on July 12, plus the 4 Republicans who joined them to make it bi-partisan.

Following impeachment in the House, Bush and Cheney would go on trial in the Senate, where 67 votes are need for removal. If we've built a massive voter list and a warchest, we can apply the same intense pressure on the 21 Republicans who are up for election, and let them make their own choice - remove Bush and Cheney or lose.

So what would it take to implement this plan?

1. The support of the blogosphere, starting with DailyKos.com.

2. The support of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

3. The organizational leadership of Howard Dean and the DNC, Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, and the 30 targeted state parties.

4. The organizational support of Moveon and AAEII. 

5. A kickoff event at YearlyKos.

All in favor say Aye. All opposed say Nay.

Note 1: Here are the Iraq 46 (not counting Harry Reid):
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID) 
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN) 
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

Note 2: Here are the 30 states they represent:
AK, AL, AZ, CO, CT, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NM, NV, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WY