"Anti-War Groups Push Impeachment"

The Politico:

On Monday, a small army of anti-war activists will fan out across Capitol Hill to lobby for congressional support to impeach President Bush, who's facing a storm of opposition for his handling of the Iraq war.

The activists may get a sympathetic ear on their anti-Bush message from Democrats, many of whom favor formal investigations into the administration's handling of the war and terrorism. But they'll likely get only get polite smiles - and little, if any, support - when they bring up the "I" word.

It's a tricky issue for Democrats in Congress, who share many of the same frustrations about Bush and the war, but are hesitant to even discuss impeachment. "Hell no," said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the House majority whip, when asked whether impeachment is a possibility.

Other members aren’t quite as emphatic as Clyburn, Yet, they make it clear that Bush will not get a free ride on his handling of Iraq and national security.

"The only "I" word I worry about right now is Iraq," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is planning hearings on the Iraq reconstruction next week.

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J. said that calls for impeachment were "premature" although he added: "If (Bush's) failures (in Iraq) continue, there is no telling what the outcome can be in terms of congressional attitude."

Others had a more practical concern. "If we impeach President Bush, then Vice President Cheney is next in line (to be president), so I don't think we'd go there," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Many members interviewed by The Politico said they were worried that impeachment proceedings would distract from congressional investigations into Bush's handling of the war. And Democratic Party leaders had indicated before they took control of Congress that impeachment proceedings would be off the table.

Nonetheless, a small but determined group of liberal activists is keeping up the impeachment drumbeat. And on Monday, it'll kick off an aggressive lobbying push.

Embolden by the large anti-war rally Saturday and the president's historic lows in the public opinion polls, impeachment activists sense the time has come for their cause.

"George W. Bush has repeatedly insisted that he has the unilateral right to initiate and escalate wars," said Bob Fertik, president of ImpeachPAC, which raised more than $80,000 last year to support candidates favoring Bush's impeachment. The president's "view of the unitary executive is nothing less than dictatorship. There has to be accountability, there has to be impeachment."

Only one candidate endorsed by ImpeachPAC actually won last fall, however: Rep Keith Ellison, D-Minn., who received $1,000 from the group. And he has backed off.

After calling for impeachment hearings at a campaign rally last October, Ellison recently told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he's now "a step before impeachment" as he adjusts to realities in Congress.

Tim Carpenter, national director of the Progressive Democrats of America, a left-wing organization that favors impeachment, said there are more than 1,400 members in the group who are specifically working on oversight and impeachment. And he expects "hundreds of them" to lobby on Monday.

Carpenter doesn't expect much traction on impeachment now, but has high expectations about congressional oversight. "So come a month from now, when the subpoenas start rolling, we will be confident that impeachment will be back on the table," he said.

The "impeachment and anti-war people overlap," said Fertik. "We feel passionately about both, so we are going to be pushing both issues as we walk the halls of Congress."

But not everyone who attended this weekend's march feels the same. Some fear that impeachment proceedings will in fact distract from the primary issue of ending the war. Sue Udry, legislative coordinator the United for Peace and Justice, the umbrella organization which sponsored Saturday's march and Monday's lobbying events, said he organization was not endorsing calls for Bush's impeachment.

Although impeachment supporters know that they face long odds with little support either in Congress or from other groups on the left, many like David Swanson, Washington director of ImpeachPAC vow to fight on.

"If election didn't do it then, the march doesn't do it, then lobbying doesn't do it then, well, we will have to try something else," he said.