Poll: Impeachment talk gains steam after Libby move

cat's meow · #1 (**permalink**) 07-08-2007, 02:51 PM

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Poll: Impeachment talk gains steam after Libby move
By Herald wire services
Sunday, July 8, 2007 - Updated: 07:44 AM EST

A bad week for President Bush may foreshadow a dismal political season, as the president’s poll numbers plummet, Republicans abandon his Iraq policy and he faces a nascent censure and impeachment movement.

A new survey by the American Research Group found that only 31 percent of respondents approve of the president’s commutation of former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s prison sentence. The study by the private New Hampshire-based polling company canvassed 1,100 Republicans, Democrats and Independents from July 3-5, finding 64 percent disapproved of the commutation and 5 percent were undecided.

The president commuted the sentence Monday, saying the 2 years imposed last month on Libby, who was found guilty of perjury and obstructing justice in a case linked to the Iraq war, was “excessive.”

The commutation has sparked a firestorm on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), who has drafted a resolution to censure Bush, said the president’s “intervention is an unconscionable abuse of authority by George W. Bush, and Congress must step forward and express the disgust that Americans rightfully feel toward this contemptible decision.”

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has scheduled hearings Wednesday on the commutation. The hearings will include pardons made by Clinton, former President Bush and possibly other past presidents.

Those hearings may be the least of the White House’s problems.

The ARG poll found a remarkable 45 percent in favor of the U.S. House of Representatives beginning impeachment proceedings against Bush.

In Los Angeles, a storefront “impeachment headquarters” emblazoned with American flags opened July 4. Activists who gathered to open the center accuse the Bush administration of condoning torture, spying on Americans and misleading citizens about the war in Iraq. They also were angry at the president’s decision to commute Libby’s sentence.

“Isn’t it ironic that Paris Hilton will spend more days in jail than Libby?” said Byron De Lear, a Green Party activist.

The White House declined to comment on the impeachment poll, the latest bad news for a president who has seen his public opinion standings dragged to record lows by the unpopular war in Iraq. A Newsweek poll puts Bush’s approval rating at 26 percent.

In the past two weeks, three Republicans - Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana, George Voinovich of Ohio and Pete Domenici of New Mexico - have announced they can no longer support Bush’s Iraq war strategy and have called on the president to start reducing the military’s role there.

“I have carefully studied the Iraq situation and believe we cannot continue asking our troops to sacrifice indefinitely while the Iraqi government is not making measurable progress to move its country forward,” Domenici told reporters. Domenici has embraced a bill that would put U.S. troops on track to leave by the end of March 2008.

A spokesman for the White House, Tony Fratto, said that position amounts to the same one sought by the Democrats, ”which is, in fact, a precipitous withdrawal.”

“We think that’s absolutely the wrong way to go,” Fratto said Friday. “It would be dangerous.”

Four other GOP senators have signed on to Salazar’s legislation: Domenici, Susan Collins of Maine, John Sununu of New Hampshire and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

Scoody Boo · #2 (**permalink**) 07-08-2007, 03:03 PM

I would still like to know what statutes impeachment hearings would be held under and what the evidence is.

"Wanting" Impeachment, "Desiring" Impeachment or clicking together the heels of your Ruby Red shoes and saying, "I wish! I Wish!" are not grounds for Impeachment.

cat's meow · #3 (**permalink**) 07-08-2007, 03:06 PM

Newt Gingrich 'desired' an impeachment too, he was not blocked by the opposing party though.

Scoody Boo · #4 (**permalink**) 07-08-2007, 03:11 PM

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Originally Posted by cat's meow

Newt Gingrich 'desired' an impeachment too, he was not blocked by the opposing party though.

Clinton was charged with a crime, not unpopularity, and impeached.

cat's meow · #5 (**permalink**) 07-09-2007, 12:12 AM

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Originally Posted by Scoody Boo

Clinton was charged with a crime, not unpopularity, and impeached.

Of getting a BJ and it took Ken Starr literally years of following him just to get that. The situation with Libby is far different because it involves complicit lying in a chain of events and the ultimately outted a CIA agent.

bluedog · #6 (**permalink**) 07-09-2007, 01:35 AM

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Originally Posted by cat's meow

Newt Gingrich 'desired' an impeachment too, he was not blocked by the opposing party though.

If there is "proof" of "high crimes or misdemeanors"....no one can block anyone....Mr. Clinton fell prey to even the simplest of misdemeanors...that of lying.......a fact "no one" has of yet to "prove" in relation to Mr. Bush. You speak as if the wanton "desire" to impeach Mr. Bush is new....yet the actions of a political "Vendetta" blood hunt is the only action undertaken by the house from the first day in power....all to the tune of the lowest approval rating in the history of the house....so much for the "mandate" of the american public for the democrats.....it was a mandate...but that of punishment for the republicans not wishing to do the will of the peoples that elected them.....I assume the public concluded if they are going to "act" like liberals.....might as well be having liberals in their steed....with the experience that comes from spending to excess and failure to adhere to the "rules of laws". BD

cat's meow · #7 (**permalink**) 07-09-2007, 02:02 PM

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Originally Posted by bluedog

If there is "proof" of "high crimes or misdemeanors"....no one can block anyone....Mr. Clinton fell prey to even the simplest of misdemeanors...that of lying.......a fact "no one" has of yet to "prove" in relation to Mr. Bush. You speak as if the wanton "desire" to impeach Mr. Bush is new....yet the actions of a political "Vendetta" blood hunt is the only action undertaken by the house from the first day in power....all to the tune of the lowest approval rating in the history of the house....so much for the "mandate" of the american public for the democrats.....it was a mandate...but that of punishment for the republicans not wishing to do the will of the peoples that elected them.....I assume the public concluded if they are going to "act" like liberals.....might as well be having liberals in their steed....with the experience that comes from spending to excess and failure to adhere to the "rules of laws". BD

Sorry, he made his own bed and had wide support especially during and just after 9/11...

#8 (**permalink**) 07-09-2007, 02:07 PM

More grandstanding by the demoralizing democrats. The DOUBLE D'S and also grandstanding by the sheep democrats on this website.

Scoody Boo · #9 (**permalink**) 07-09-2007, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cat's meow

Of getting a BJ and it took Ken Starr literally years of following him just to get that. The situation with Libby is far different because it involves complicit lying in a chain of events and the ultimately outted a CIA agent.

Clinton was never charged with getting a BJ. He was not impeached for getting a blow job. Had he admitted to it. Said, "Yeah! That bitch bonced her tonsils off of my johnson like she was starving to death," that would have been the end of it. There was no crime. Instead, he lied about it and THAT was a crime.

What are the lies? Both Cheney and President Bush have the power to basically classify or declassify whatever they see fit, including the identities of CIA agents. If the President or Vice President dem it not to be classified, it is not classified.

Also, what were the lies? If the crime of outting a CIA agent is so grave, why was not Richard Armitage, who admitted to it, charged with anything?

Why was Scooter Libby not charged with outting a CIA agent?

cat's meow · #10 (**permalink**) 07-09-2007, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoody Boo

Clinton was never charged with getting a BJ. He was not impeached for getting a blow job. Had he admitted to it. Said, "Yeah! That bitch bonced her tonsils off of my johnson like she was starving to death," that would have been the end of it. There was no crime. Instead, he lied about it and THAT was a crime.

Well, fine. Lying under oath. You seem to reduce it down to that, why was Clinton put in that position about this particular incidnet? Real wrong doing? Government secrets? Yellow cake in Niger? CIA agents?

No, a blow job...it was a complete waste of time altogether...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoody Boo

What are the lies? Both Cheney and President Bush have the power to basically classify or declassify whatever they see fit, including the identities of CIA agents. If the President or Vice President dem it not to be classified, it is not classified.

And thier AG seems to like to go into hospital rooms to get things approved too. They want to get thier way regardless of what goes on ethically or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoody Boo

Also, what were the lies? If the crime of outting a CIA agent is so grave, why was not Richard Armitage, who admitted to it, charged with anything?

Quote:

...reported that Armitage had also told Bob Woodward of Plame's identity in June 2003, and that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald investigated Armitage's role "aggressively", but did not charge Armitage with a crime because he "found no evidence that Armitage knew of Plame's covert CIA status when he talked to Novak and Woodward".

We did not lie before and Grand Jury and try to cover s*it up like Libby did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoody Boo

Why was Scooter Libby not charged with outting a CIA agent?

Because that is not what he did, what he did was try and cover sh*it up in the Fitzgerald investigation...and he appearantly did a dandy job and will probably be eventually rewarded with a full pardon...