Wexler wants hearings … and so do 190,266 other Americans (and counting)

1/16/08 is national call in day to impeach VP Cheney (see below)'ImpeachToday on the House floor Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) called for impeachment hearings against Vice President Cheney to be started immediately. In doing so, he defied his party's leadership, and indeed, when he made his speech, most of his fellow Democrats had fled for the hills — or the safety of a back room where I guess they could chuckle about his foolishness.

But in the chamber, he got applause from the gallery — those members of the public had to be chastised for the show of emotion.

He referred to the tens of thousands of signatures he had collected online, and the evident desire of the people for accountability, and of course the many “high crimes and misdemeanors” committed by Cheney (of course Bush is guilty too, but Wexler is focusing on the VP).

From politico.com:

The House voted on Nov. 6 on a resolution by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to bring articles of impeachment against Cheney for pushing for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, repeatedly suggesting that there ties between al Qaeda and the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and advocating military action to overthrow Iran.

When Republicans, in a bid to embarrass House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders, voted for the measure, the House was thrown into a brief deadlock. The measure was eventually approved and sent to the Judiciary Committee, where Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) has declined to take action, despite pressure from Wexler and liberal activists outside Congress.

Tomorrow, Rep. Wexler will present his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee all the names of those who joined his call for congressional hearings on impeachment. Mine will be among them.

In a diary today on Daily Kos, Wexler put today in context, that this is just the latest step in this movement.

Tomorrow, I will deliver a letter to my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee, encouraging them to sign on to a letter in support of Cheney impeachment hearings to Chairman Conyers.

This is a critical point in the impeachment movement. Congress is very much aware of what we