Cynthia McKinney's Last Stand
Source: atlantaprogressivenews.com
By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor and National Correspondent (December 08, 2006)
US Rep. Cynthia McKinney today became the first US Congresswoman to introduce Articles of Impeachment against President Bush, as well as Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
Atlanta Progressive News has obtained the following remarks prepared by the Congresswoman, and has learned she was not allowed to read them on the US House Floor. The remarks are expected to become part of the Congressional Record but will not be available on thomas.loc.gov until next week.
The Congresswoman has scheduled an interview with APN for tomorrow to discuss her legislation. Stay tuned here for more.
The remarks are reprinted here in full:
Mr. Speaker:
I come before this body today as a proud American and as a servant of the American people, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
Throughout my tenure, I've always tried to speak the truth. It's that commitment that brings me here today.
We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has refused to hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe the stakes for our country are high.
No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, at the most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and then continue to govern, without a process for holding him accountable, what does that say about our commitment to the truth? To the Constitution? To our democracy?
The trust of the American people has been broken. And a process must be undertaken to repair this trust. This process must begin with honesty and accountability.
Leading up to our invasion of Iraq, the American people supported this Administration's actions because they believed in our President. They believed he was acting in good faith. They believed that American laws and American values would be respected. That in the weightiness of everything being considered, two values were rock solid: trust and truth.
From mushroom clouds to African yellow cake to aluminum tubes, the American people and this Congress were not presented the facts, but rather were presented a string of untruths, to justify the invasion of Iraq.
President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney and then-National Security Advisor Rice, portrayed to the Congress and to the American people that Iraq represented an imminent threat, culminating with President Bush's claim that Iraq was six months away from developing a nuclear weapon. Having used false fear to buy consent, the President then took our country to war.
This has grave consequences for the health of our democracy, for our standing with our allies, and most of all, for the lives of our men and women in the military and their families--who have been asked to make sacrifices--including the ultimate sacrifice--to keep us safe.
Just as we expect our leaders to be truthful, we expect them to abide by the law and respect our courts and judges. Here again, the President failed the American people.
When President Bush signed an executive order authorizing unlawful spying on American citizens, he circumvented the courts, the law, and he violated the separation of powers provided by the Constitution. Once the program was revealed, he then tried to hide the scope of his offense from the American people by making contradictory, untrue statements.
President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust of the American people.
With a heavy heart and in the deepest spirit of patriotism, I exercise my duty and responsibility to speak truthfully about what is before us. To shy away from this responsibility would be easier. But I have not been one to travel the easy road. I believe in this country, and in the power of our democracy. I feel the steely conviction of one who will not let the country I love descend into shame; for the fabric of our democracy is at stake.
Some will call this a partisan vendetta, others will say this is an unimportant distraction to the plans of the incoming Congress. But this is not about political gamesmanship.
I am not willing to put any political party before my principles.
This, instead, is about beginning the long road back to regaining the high standards of truth and democracy upon which our great country was founded.
Mr. Speaker:
Under the standards set by the United States Constitution, President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of State Rice, should be subject to the process of impeachment, and I have filed H. Res.1106 in the House of Representatives.
To my fellow Americans, as I leave this Congress, it is in your hands to hold your representatives accountable, and to show those with the courage to stand for what is right, that they do not stand alone.
Thank you.
Stay tuned for a full APN interview with Rep. McKinney tomorrow.
About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News. He may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com
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i love this woman. "I am not
i love this woman. "I am not willing to put any political party before my principles.", indeed, and that includes her own party that hung her out to dry, and with this will continue to. look for Pelosi to take shots at her.
you are a no-planer correct?
you are a no-planer correct? cant say im surprised to see the likes of you trying to pour water on this. disinfo assclown that you types usually are. nobody is saying this is gonna change the world, we are just giving McKinney some credit. you people are becoming increasingly easy to spot you know. you should tell Nico,CB,Holmgren and the others to tune it down, we can spot you a mile away. and not just based on the theories you promote.
Are you in a cult?
Chris, my comments concerned the relative importance of this "news".
If you believe a U.S. Congress is going to "get to the bottom" of anything except drinks and chafing dishes, you have been, somewhere along the way, misled.
Many years and a close proximity have afforded me ample opportunities to observe the entire circus that is and always has been Cynthia and her father. Different people have different roles in the drama. Cynthia has always played her's quite well.
Your comments suggest a desire to seek approval from others who also use infantile language and ignorant misstatements in place of rational discourse. I invite you to examine evidence and judge it on its merits, not by its messenger. Critical thinking about the evidence, not self-serving snipes at individuals you know very little about is required.
Also, to help hone your keen powers of observation, you may enjoy: http://www.nodeception.com/articles/pixel.jsp
Planes?
your asking ME if im in a
your asking ME if im in a cult? thats pure irony coming from you ya disinfo asshole......
Cynthia for president!
DAMN!...........What a woman! More balls then all of them put together.
THANK YOU CYNTHIA !
Jon
Thanks that's awesome news....Made my weekend !
I think all of us here at 9/11 blogger need to send her a thank you email.
Looks like
FOX is'nt wasting time bashing her.I went to get her
contact information to send her a thank you e mail.
Sure enough......Fox has jumped all over it.
Jon
This needs to be on the news portion of 9/11Blogger.
Unfortunately...
I have no control over that.
"I think that we have to look at these alternative groups and these alternative people who are continuing to make films and bring their research to the public."
Sally Regenhard - 9/11 Family Member
I thank God that someone has the Patriotism ..
..to attempt to speak out.
However, the sad part about it is that she was not permitted to read her statement on the US House floor. I hope whoever stopped her is also not returning to Congress in January.
The first two lines of the Scout Oath of the Boy Scouts of America is as follows:
"On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country ..."
I believe that she has done her best to do her duty to God and her country. No one can ask any more from a person than for them to do their best. Let us hope that her future includes some sort of public service.
I want to encourage everyone in the 9/11 Truth Movement to give this article a Rating of 10.
I think that a record number of votes and support here can be reported to the new Congress that we know what she did and we expect them to follow-up in January.
I once heard someone ask what the difference was between a Statesman and a Politician. The reply that came was "A Statesman thinks in terms of the next generation and Politician thinks in terms of the next election".
Our government has lost a Stateswoman and has kept some Politicians. I wonder how many of each their will be in the next Congress.
Here's the AP piece...
McKinney introduces bill to impeach Bush
Source: news.yahoo.com
By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 8, 8:52 PM ET
WASHINGTON - In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.
The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment.
McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer, has long insisted that Bush was never legitimately elected. In introducing her legislation in the final hours of the current Congress, she said Bush had violated his oath of office to defend the Constitution and the nation's laws.
McKinney has made no secret of her frustration with Democratic leaders since voters ousted her from office in the Democratic primary this summer. In a speech Monday at George Washington University, she accused party leaders of kowtowing to Republicans on the war in Iraq and on military mistreatment of prisoners.
McKinney, who has not discussed her future plans, has increasingly embraced her image as a controversial figure.
She has hosted numerous panels on Sept. 11 conspiracy theories and suggested that Bush had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks but kept quiet about it to allow friends to profit from the aftermath. She introduced legislation to establish a permanent collection of rapper Tupac Shakur's recordings at the National Archives and calling for a federal investigation into his killing.
But it was her scuffle with a Capitol police officer that drew the most attention. McKinney struck the officer when he tried to stop her from entering a congressional office building. The officer did not recognize McKinney, who was not wearing her member lapel pin.
A grand jury in Washington declined to indict McKinney over the clash, but she eventually apologized before the House.
"I think that we have to look at these alternative groups and these alternative people who are continuing to make films and bring their research to the public."
Sally Regenhard - 9/11 Family Member
oh shit, i didnt know she
oh shit, i didnt know she called for a federal investigation into the killing of Tupac. thats great, i have more in common with her than i thought, haha. i must shake her hand and thank her someday. i love how the AP article focuses heavily on the "capitol hill incident". so typical.
Articles of Impeachment
Articles of Impeachment Filed Against Bush, In Congress
On Monday, gathering in a conference room in Washington D.C., Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and her advisors worked on a draft copy of the articles of impeachment against President Bush.
At the heart of the charges contained in McKinney's articles of impeachment, is the allegation that President Bush has not upheld the oath of presidential office and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors(hello Gault,theres that phrase).
This article continues by indicting Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in their actions to manipulate or "fix" intelligence and mislead the public about Iraq's weapons programs. Ultimately, this article calls not only for Bush's impeachment and removal from office but also asks the same actions to be taken against Cheney and Rice.
This article continues by indicting Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in their actions to manipulate or "fix" intelligence and mislead the public about Iraq's weapons programs. Ultimately, this article calls not only for Bush's impeachment and removal from office but also asks the same actions to be taken against Cheney and Rice.
At that time it was widely believed that if the Democrats took control of congress, Conyers would reintroduce the resolution as would have subpoena power if selected as leader of the House Judiciary Committee.
A few days after the Democrats won control Conyers echoed Pelosi's statement saying, "I am in total agreement with her on this issue ... impeachment is off the table." Last week a spokesperson from Conyers office said that the resolution would not be reintroduced and that the Representative had no intention to pursue the matter.
Will other members of congress support the action Congresswoman McKinney has brought forth?
At the table in what could be considered her impeachment "war room" the question is brought up a number of times.
Mike, an advisor to McKinney, mentions, "Conyers was supposed to have investigations. They were chomping at the bit 6 months ago to do subpoenas."
McKinney quietly replies, "Now they say they aren't even going to issue subpoenas."
Looking up from her papers she takes a deep breath, "I'm going in alone on this one because now it is all about them playing majority politics."
This is McKinney's last week as a member of congress and this act, to impeach the president, is the final resolution she will enter into the Congressional record.
For those who know anything about Cynthia McKinney it may come as no surprise that she would file this resolution as her parting gift to Congress.
McKinney is no stranger to being attacked by the media and has been isolated from her own party.
From her inquiries into election fraud in 2000 to her calls for a transparent and thorough investigation into 9-11, not to mention the widely covered run-in she had with the Capitol Hill Police, the congresswoman is aware that this resolution will likely be ignored and that she will be ruthlessly attacked upon its filing.
"What do you think they are going to do to me this time?" she asks her staff. Everyone uncomfortably shifts in their seats and after no answer comes McKinney explains, "We have to do this because this is simply the right thing to do. The American people do want to hold this man and his office accountable for the crimes they have committed and if no member of congress is willing to do it, than I will."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_matt_pas_061208_congresswoman_mc...