It's Time for Impeachment Hearings to Begin.

President Bush this week vetoed a bill that could have finally ended the debate over waterboarding and torture by the United States. Instead of restoring our nation's standing in the world and setting us on a course to rejoin the league of nations that have signed the Geneva Conventions and that condemn torture of prisoners in any form, President Bush continues to support a policy that violates our values, diminishes our moral authority in the world, puts our own soldiers at risk and ultimately makes us less safe. It seems clear that this president sees himself as above the law and above answering to the American people who elected him (maybe).

Since becoming President and Vice President in 2001, George Bush and Dick Cheney have sought to increase the power of the Executive Branch. They have abused executive privilege and they have flaunted Congressional efforts to exercise their Constitutional power of oversight. They have violated domestic and international laws by ordering illegal wiretapping and by authorizing torture of prisoners held in US custody. They have done these things in an atmosphere of fear that was triggered by the events of 9/11. However fearful we Americans are about the security of our nation, we should not allow our leaders to overthrow the Constitution.

Leaders across the political spectrum have argued convincingly that Impeachment was created by the Founding Fathers as an ingenious and invaluable tool to prevent just the type of expanded Executive power we are witnessing today and that threatens the very foundation this nation was built on - most importantly that in America, no man is above the law.

For a balanced assessment of this topic, one can read the transcript or watch the video from Bill Moyer's Journal from this past July. Bruce Fein, a life-long conservative that worked in the Reagan Justice Department and wrote the first article of impeachment against Bill Clinton and John Nichols, a liberal correspondent with The Nation and author of the book The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism, both argue that impeachment of this administration is not only necessary, but it is America's duty in order to prevent this and future Administrations from exercising Executive powers not bestowed by the Constitution.

If you agree with this assessment, then you can take action by going to http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/. Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida is spearheading an effort to convince the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, John Conyers, to convene impeachment hearings pertaining to Vice President Cheney. Twenty members of Congress have already signed on to this effort. You can sign up to support this effort as well and let Congress know that you support the checks and balances that are spelled out in the Constitution. For more on this movement, go to http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/ or http://www.democrats.com/ and let your voice be heard.