“And if that doesn’t work, impeach the guy.”

Anybody else get this e-mail from MoveOn.org?

You’ve probably seen the news this morning: President Bush let Cheney aide Scooter Libby, the one man who was convicted for the lies around the Iraq war, go free. Paris Hilton served more jail time than he will.

Bush and Cheney think their administration is above the law. That’s un-American, and this July 4th it’s time for Congress to re-assert its constitutional authority and stop the administration’s obstruction of justice.

Congress can start by demanding answers from the Bush administration about the Iraq war and their illegal spying program, and not backing down until they get them. Cheney won’t testify? Subpoena him. He won’t come? Hold him in contempt of Congress and send over the police. And if that doesn’t work, impeach the guy. We just can’t let President Bush and his administration dismantle our Constitution.

[Emphasis mine.]

Them’s fighting words. Please sign here to regain our checks and balances.

As far as I know, this is the first time a major progressive organization has called for impeachment of the VP under certain circumstances. (As always: correct me if I’m wrong.)

A quick opinion poll over at Pollster.com should show you why.

Wow, that’s a lot of angry liberals.

But aside from the polls, this is just the right thing to do. Either Congress uses its powers to hold the Executive branch accountable (I suppose, the Executive Branch and the Cheney Branch) or it doesn’t. It either follows the Constitution, or it doesn’t. We either have a unitary executive, or we don’t. Coming up on 4th of July, I think now’s the time for Congress to grow a spine and hold these people accountable.

Also: if you’re on facebook, join the facebook group here. What do you think?

Update: Of those who are familiar with the case, pollster has this to say:

Not surprisingly, 79% of liberals wanted to see Libby serve his sentence, with only 9% approving Bush’s decision and 11% wanting a full pardon. Moderates were only a little less bent on punishment: 69% wanted prison time, while 19% approved the commutation and 11% wanted a full pardon. But what surprises me is the Conservatives. They broke into rough thirds: 31% wanted a complete pardon and 31% approved the decision, but a surprising 35% thought Libby should have served his prison sentence. For all the talk of the President needing to respond to a conservative base fired up for a full pardon, this evidence suggests the President has failed to satisfy two-thirds of that base.

Please share widely!

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