Dispatch from New York City - 4:00P EST

This is a recording of a quote from Congressman Nadler made at the NOW meeting Sunday Jan 13, 2008 in the Gramercy Park National Arts Club. Unfortunately his words are rhetoric, nothing more, just meant to terrify us into voting for the Democratic Party in November. He does Hillary, whom he supports, no favors by using this tactic because it makes one wonder why a Congressman, who has sat on the Judiciary Committee in the House since January with the Democrats in control, has not started the Impeachment of Bush and Cheney. (Click on the word Transcript to hear the audio, sorry if it doesn't work I'm still learning)

Transcript of remarks: This is not very clear but it is as good as I can get it.

Nadler:

“The Constitution, they’ve shredded it. I never thought that in my wildest dreams from the time I started to work on politics that I would one day introduce a bill called the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act” (Laughter)

Garble (Something about the Magna Carta)

“We have a President with claims of power that include jailing anyone in this room because you’re an enemy combatant because I say so
And because I say so we’re going to throw you in jail forever
With no hearing, no appearance before a judge, no due process, no evidence, no nothing of any kind.”

End

He went on spouting so much hot air I was wondering why he didn’t float up to the ceiling but he must have been tethered to his chair. This is what happens when a Congressman is so comfortable about reelection that he considers himself invulnerable to any opposition. He may be right as no one in his District is running against our favorite ‘Liberal’.

I caught up with the Congressman at the cheese table and it was indeed admirable to see him resisting temptation to gorge on the snacks so close at hand. (I truly do admire it and wish I could have been so in control!) The following is a recording of my conversation with the Representative Nadler. He was on the verge of sprinting out of the Arts Club on hearing my first question and I had to rapid fire questions just to slow him a bit. I admit to having very little patience when asking about Impeachment these days being so disgusted with the frightened Democratic Majority in Congress. So I tried to appeal to his patriotic side in doing so we got hung on the technical issue of needing a simple majority to Impeach but not needing a majority to start an Impeachment. Congressman Nadler knew full well the difference but was most likely amused at my mistake. (Click on the word Transcript to hear the audio, sorry if it doesn't work I'm still learning)

Transcript of Conversation:

BlueHighwayman: When does the Constitution become more important than reelection?

Nadler: That’s not the question

Bluehighwayman: If he (Bush) is shredding the Constitution why isn’t he impeached?

Nadler: Because we don’t have the power to do it. To be blunt we don’t have the power to do it.

BlueHighwayman: You don’t need a super majority to impeach.

Nadler: First of all you couldn’t get a simple majority.

Here we banter back and forth about the simple majority to impeach required by the Constitution. My mistake but he knew I meant to start an Impeachment which after three tries I finally correct. Stupid me!

BlueHighwayman: Does the Constitution say you have to have a majority to Impeach?

Nadler: Sure

BlueHighwayman: Does it?

Nadler: Yes

BlueHighwayman: Really?

Nadler: Yes (With Emphasis Added) You have to impeach

BlueHighwayman: No I mean to start a case

Nadler: To start it no, To start it no, There’s no point starting it if you can’t finish it

BlueHighwayman: Didn’t you take an oath to defend the Constitution?

Nadler: Yeah, and it’s up to me the best way of doing that. I think I’m going over here (some word)

End

I was not surprised at any of his responses and admit I cut him off several times. It’s just that we’ve been hearing these lame excuses a million times by now. I’m feeling like Ponce de Leon searching for the ‘Fountain of Youth’ even though everyone says it doesn’t exist when asking about impeachment.

Politicians like Congressman Nadler will be shouting all over the country this year of the extreme violations of the Constitution by Bush and Cheney. They will claim since the Democratic Congress came into office there has been accountability. We will hear of the screaming need for a bigger Democratic Majority in Congress and a Democratic President to stop these outrageous violations of our freedoms and, to use Rep. Nadler’s parlance, the ‘shredding of the Constitution’. There are those in Congress that do care but I’m sad to say it is a pitifully small number like Congressman Wexler and Congressman Kucinich who still have some of the backbone of our Founding Fathers. In the end though the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have more courage in their little toes because they put their lives on the line everyday thinking the Constitution actually matters.

I, like most people on this site, will likely vote Democratic this year not out of the pride we take in what the Democratic Congress has done but because there is no other feasible choice. It is too bad the Democratic Party chose not to make 2007 a historic year by Impeaching both Bush and Cheney for their crimes! Together with the historic campaigns of Senator Clinton and Senator Obama people would've look back to this time and said,

“The Democratic Party had the courage to restore the Constitution and make America truly the land our Fore Fathers dreamed of when they laid the foundation of this nation.”

I guess one out of two isn't that bad at least to some people!