FAQs

FAQs for MAKE YOUR CALL

But if we pull out our troops now, Iraq will fall into chaos and we'll still be the bad guys!

Look at Iraq: it's already in chaos! Look at America: we're already the bad guys! There is likely no real solution to "fix" Iraq, for it is on the verge of, if not IN, a civil war and the entire region is even further destabilized because of the Bush administration's actions. The religious infighting and tension has existed in Iraq and the region for a long time, and the US presence has only intensified the tensions and infighting. The only thing for us to do now is to rescue our troops, combat and non, as well as the contractors from Iraq by bringing them ALL home, stopping our part in the war, and using the money we'd use to bomb Iraq and reconstruct it to purely reconstruct it. Then we must have champions work with other nations without a stake in Iraq who were NOT part of the "Coalition of the Willing" to develop a peace plan to help stabolize and help Iraq. Keeping our troops and other Americans there will not help the region - on the contrary, it has only made things beyond awfull by destabolizing the region and lending credibility to extremists and terrorists. We need them here to truly defend and protect us from the blowback we may receive from our actions in Iraq, but we should also combine these actions and a public apology consistently to begin to undo the damage that has been done.

There are tons of other impeachment, anti-war, and Bill of Rights groups out there; what makes you so different?

You’re right! There are tons. They have done an amazing job of making sure that the mood of the country is angry, disgruntled, and ready for action. But the thing that’s often missing from these groups’ strategies is that they don’t seem to stress that their like-minded fellows call, write, and meet with Congress, en masse, to ensure that the war is ended, the Bill of Rights is restored, and Bush and Cheney are held accountable for their crimes via impeachment. Protesting, petitions, and generalized emails are great, but they don’t convey the sheer outrage that most of the country feels at this situation. If other like-minded groups are, at least in part, using the same strategy as us, or even other ones, we would LOVE to work with them, for we are greater in our numbers, and each individual and each group has it’s own talent to add. We must combine if we are to win.

I know Bush is bad, but impeachment is a big deal: has he really done such bad stuff, that other presidents in the past haven’t done?

Yes. He’s certainly done some of the same things other presidents have done in the past without being impeached, such as limiting the right to free speech like Wilson did in WWI, but in a more blatant, permanent, and grandiose way. He has completely ignored the checks and balances of our constitutional government by mocking the will of Congress and the power of the courts by issuing more than 1,100 challenges to statutes he does not believe he must follow via signing statements, compared with the 232 challenges Bush Sr. made and the 140 challenges Clinton made (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signing_statement_%28United_States%29, Nov 24^th, 10:03 pm). These signing statements give him the right to virtually ignore the law when he sees fit – virtually making him a dictator.

Since they took office, the Bush administration has taken away more of our rights than ever have been taken before via these statements, presidential orders, and secret programs, all under the veil of fighting terrorism. Does fighting terrorism mean that they can do whatever they want, and that we should trust them to use their virtually unlimited powers properly? The framers of our constitution knew that leaders were not to be trusted, regardless of whether this country is a democracy, and so wrote the constitution and our Bill of Rights accordingly so that our government would remain as pure as we meant it to be.

Why should we impeach since he only has just one more year, meaning he’s a “lame duck” president?

We should impeach for many reasons. He does have just one more year, but that does NOT make him a lame duck president. He’ll still have all the powers afforded to him by our constitution, plus the dictatorial powers given to him by Congress, and those he’s taken for himself by defying the will of Congress via signing statements and others. He can virtually do whatever he wants now, but he will probably be much more careful if he knows that impeachment proceedings are beginning against him.

Why should we impeach since everyone already hates him and knows the country doesn’t agree with his actions and policies?

Everyone already hates him. This is true, but what have we actually done to show that we disapprove of his policies of mass murder, round-ups, and dictatorial powers? Not enough. The world is still watching us as we fail to hold Bush and Cheney accountable for their crimes, as we, the People, allow this chaos to continue. Of course we’re busy and confused and, yes, even apathetic to some extent, but if we truly believe something, we must behave as such: we must ACT to stop him.

If we call Congress en masse and KEEP calling, asking them to truly represent us via impeachment, we will be acting to the best of our abilities to ensure that a precedent is set that we will NOT allow this kind of behavior in our name. We will be taking responsibility, as citizens, for how our country is portrayed to the world – we will truly be acting as a democracy, in which the CITIZENS decide the policy and our politicians carry it out. Only then will the world respect us again, for we will be walking the walk as well as talking the talk of democracy, and we will be acting out of our conscience.

WE know we hate what they’ve done to this country and the world, but do others around the world know? Will future leaders know? Will future generations know? Perhaps, but it will be better to set a sure standard that can be legally referenced and referred back to in our history books, whether in America or Muslim countries, that the American people rose up to take responsibility for their own government, proving to themselves, their leaders, and the world that they truly are a democracy, and a civilized people with no patience for people who break the law and kill for their own benefit.

Why should we impeach? What will it actually accomplish?

We should impeach for many reasons. It will set a precedent; it will scare those who wish to do us harm in the future; it will help ensure that dictators are no longer allowed in office in this country. It will give Congress, the courts, and Americans a legal writ to bring charges against others who behave as the Bush administration has done.

We should impeach because we want the world to know that we are not the monsters this administration has portrayed us to be. We want them to know that not only do we not agree, but that we, the “lazy Americans,” are willing to act, and act again, and keep acting, to hold these criminals accountable and make sure that this never happens again.

But mainly, we should impeach because it’s the right thing to do. We wouldn’t let mass murderers remain at large once we found out who they were, would we? W e wouldn’t let terrorists who attempted to destroy the constitution from inside our government get away with it, would we? Similarly, we should not let Bush and Cheney get away with their many crimes, said and unsaid, out of respect for the truth, the rule of law, and for those who have suffered as a consequence of their inexcusable behavior.

Why do you think calling Congress will help? Haven’t other groups and individuals already tried that to no avail, because Congress doesn’t care what we think?

Most groups, and people for that matter, DON’T call Congress en masse. We’re not exactly sure how many other groups have tried this, but we’re fairly sure none have tried getting people across the country to call their congresspersons en masse, and if they have, they haven’t insisted that participants follow up, again and again and again, until that congressperson agrees. The key is making the original call, writing the letters, and, especially, following up. Politicians may not truly care what we think, but if they feel pressured for their jobs by the People voting them out of office or demanding their resignation, then they WILL care what we think, if only for their own benefit. Herein lies the importance of this campaign.

Why don’t we just grit our teeth and get through this administration, and wait for a Democrat to take office, who will set everything right again?

We cannot simply “grit our teeth and bare it” for a few reasons, but especially because we must respect and bring justice to those 1,000s of soldiers and million Iraqis who have perished as a result of the Bush administration’s lies and falsehoods.

Do you really think a politician, someone with so much power, will want to give it up? Politicians who wish to give up their power are extremely rare, and this will likely ONLY happen when the people of America make it impossible NOT to vote for more limited power without the entire country hating you.

We need to make clear to the democrat, or whoever, who takes over the president’s office, that they may NOT do anything close to what the Bush administration has done to the name of America that our children and others around the world will see. Democrats, like Republicans, have certainly done good things, but the war continues, our Bill of Rights is still severely lessened, and Bush and Cheney still seem to be getting away with what they’re doing without legal action. A democratic president may do a better job, but a politician is a politician, and THEY will set the terms of debate about what is acceptable if we, the People, fail to do so.

Why are we even trying to impeach when we know it’s politically unfeasible?

Who says what’s “politically unfeasible”? WE DO. If we agree that we cannot impeach, then perhaps it won’t happen. But if we demand an end to the war, the restoration of our Bill of Rights, and impeachment of the Bush administration, than we are also saying what is feasible. Politics depends on us – the People – because at the heart of any country, the people have the last say, for we have the true power. It is whether we choose to exercise it that is the question – NOT whether Congress will do it, but whether we will make them do it or let them remain cowards.

Why aren’t we trying to hold all the congresspersons accountable who voted for the war in the first place? Aren’t you just using Bush and Cheney as scapegoats?

We should hold all those who voted for the war in the first place, and especially those who KEPT voting to fund the war, accountable, but in a different way. They must be held accountable when we vote, via the media, and by contacting them to ask them to correct their actions so that they truly represent the American people. We must also remember that we trusted our president to bring the criminals of 9/11 to justice, and so trusted him when he said that Iraq was responsible, as many congresspersons did. The world may forgive us for going to war on the belief that it was for our own self-defense and that of others, but now that we know the truth, they will NOT forgive us if we skirt our responsibility to hold these criminals accountable now, in large part by rejecting the entire policy and paradigm via impeachment. Bush and Cheney are certainly not being used as scapegoats, since their crimes are among the worst in history, but they should be made an example of by ACTUALLY being punished for their crimes.

What’s the point of calling Congress? I’ve tried, and I never got a response.

How many times did you call? Did you write a letter? Were you at least semi-polite? Also, especially, how many people did this with you? These are all very important questions when deciding whether calling Congress is a good strategy or not. Other groups use the strategy of calling, writing, and meeting with Congress, and have obtained amazing results. This is because they are polite, persistent, and organized all over the United States and elsewhere. It is these groups that lead us to believe that this will work for other issues, especially when the said group has so few members and our outrage is so great.

There’s so little time left until Bush is gone – will there be enough time to impeach?

There’s enough time if we say there’s enough time. It all depends on how important impeachment is to us, the People. Clinton was impeached in just a few months by the House (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/01/08/politics/main262484.shtml), but there were not several books out already outlining the articles of impeachment, evidence, and reasoning for why he should be impeached like there are for Bush and Cheney. And in this case, much more is at stake. Impeachment must be made important by the people by demanding it from Congress, instead of Congress trying to make it important to the people like they did with Clinton. We have about a year before Bush will leave office – that’s plenty of time if we say it is.

What if they resign, like Nixon, before they’re actually impeached?

Attempted impeachment still sets a precedent and scares future leaders into knowing that the American people WILL hold them accountable. Nixon’s attempted impeachment is still imbibed in our minds, as well as the minds of politicians, even though he was not actually impeached. As arguably the most powerful person in the world being punished for not carrying out their oath of office by breaking the law, impeachment sends a signal to all that NO ONE may take away the rights and dignity of others and get away with it. Impeachment is not only about stopping Bush and Cheney from doing more damage; it’s about showing the world that we are attempting to take responsibility for our government, and starting to undo the damage they caused via diplomacy, the rule of law, and truth.

The American people will never do it…They’re too disillusioned, right?

This is exactly what we’re trying to fight, for this attitude is what’s held so many people back from action and allowed these horrors to continue for so long. Who “is” the American people? The American people are you and me. They are your friends, neighbors, classmates, family, colleagues, peers. What the Students for a Democratic Society said in their Port Huron Statement in 1962 still holds true in this case: “The fact that each individual sees apathy in his fellows perpetuates the common reluctance to organize for change.” If YOU do not act and encourage others to do so, then you are as guilty as the other Americans who you may view as apathetic or defeatist. YOU must be an example to others who are not yet ready to take this action by leading them to do so, by providing hope and understanding, by revving them up to be the change they wish to see in the world. It starts with you, like any other movement for positive change.

Why are we impeaching Bush when Congress helped him the whole time?

For one thing, Congress has changed – not just the leadership, but their knowledge, attitudes, and especially the opinions of their constituents, whom they are supposed to represent. We should hold Congress accountable by contacting them and making it “good politics” for them to do as we wish, as well as calling them out, either positively or negatively as appropriate, in the media, and by voting for them or against them in future elections. This is how we’ll hold Congress accountable, but the engine and the steam have been the Bush administration, which only changed our country for the worse.

Blogged with Flock