A Change of Heart for Nancy? Pure Fancy!

Yesterday we reported on rumors that Nancy Pelosi would reconsider Impeachment proceedings if 10,000 people sent hand-written pleas to her office.

This morning we called Pelosi’s DC office and spoke to Matt who confirmed that the story is, sadly, an “Internet fabrication.” As far as Pelosi is concerned, he added, impeachment is now, has always been and will thus remain “off the table.” Period. End of discussion.

So, no matter Pelosi’s sworn duty to uphold and protect the Constitution… no matter her position as a Representative of the people – a majority of whom want to see Bush and Cheney held accountable for committing high crimes and misdemeanors – no matter that she is supposed to be a leader of the (supposedly) opposition Party – Nancy refuses to budge.

As women (lesbians to boot) we were thrilled when Pelosi was named 1^st ever woman Speaker of the House. We had great hopes that she would have the courage to stand up to Bush Co. Now we see that she is just one more ineffectual and weak Bush/Cheney partner in crime.

Although we understand the likely futility of the letter writing campaign, we stand by our decision to TRY to appeal to Pelosi. We will go ahead and send our letters, and we will heed the advice of creative folks who commented on our original article. They suggest that we:

• Give envelopes and stamps to family, friends and neighbors and ask them to write their own letter;
• Photocopy or scan the letters and email or fax them to 800-891-8189 and we will cross-post them on www.Letters2Nancy.org (domain name purchased today -- website will be up later this evening).
  

In the meantime, let’s put our energy into defeating Pelosi and all of the spineless DNC-style Dems in 2008.

A few months ago Cindy Sheehan said she would run for Pelosi’s Congressional seat in San Francisco and unlike Nancy’s Republican challenger, Sheehan has a slight chance of defeating her.

Even if Cindy loses, Pelosi NEEDS to know her job security depends on her loyalty to the America people and the Constitution -- NOT to Bush and Cheney!

5 Easy Steps to Impeachment

Here is an action you can take that actually might -- for once -- make a difference!

The issue of impeaching Bush and/or Cheney was famously taken "off the table" by Nancy Pelosi over a year ago. She made this announcement prior to the 2006 mid-term elections hoping the statement would appease "centrists" and help Democrats win a majority in Congress.

Coincidentally, a 2006 win for Democrats also meant Pelosi was destined to be named the first woman Speaker of the House. So, we are guessing she may have had a bit of self-interest when she made such an untenable promise NOT to carry out her sworn duty to uphold the Constitution.

Pelosi may also be reluctant to initiate impeachment for fear she will be accused of doing so because she is third in line to be President. And right-wing critics are ready to pounce on Pelosi for that very reason. If so, rather than stand in the way of impeachment, she should recuse herself from the decision-making process.

Today “there’s rumors on the Internets” -- here, here and here (and lost of other places) -- that Pelosi will reconsider her no-impeachment stance – IF – she receives 10,000 HAND WRITTEN letters supporting the impeachment of Dick Cheney.

So, if you really want to see Congress – especially the Democrats – start acting like the co-equal branch of Government that they were intended to be – PLEASE write to Pelosi today.

For those of you unaccustomed to the snail mail process, here are 5 easy steps:

1. Find a pen and a piece of paper;
2. Write your letter;
3. Find an envelope and write Pelosi's address on it;
4. Put the letter in the envelop and attach a stamp to it;
5. Put it in a mailbox.

For maximum effectiveness, forward this message to everyone you know!

And to make it even easier – if you do not know WHAT to write, copy this letter that another Impeachment supporter already sent:

“Impeaching a high federal official for high crimes and misdemeanors - and other conduct and misuse of power incongruent with the office held - is not only a power of the legislature, but a constitutional duty. It is not a distraction to the work of Congress; it is the work of Congress. Impeachment by the House is not just an indictment, but the only way to break through the stone wall erected around the White House and enable real investigation of malfeasance and effective oversight to be performed. If the "discovery phase" of hard evidence gathering prior to a Senate trial verifies the alleged wrongdoing, the accused will be convicted. Otherwise the accused will be acquitted. Either way, justice is done and the rule of law is upheld. The founding fathers felt so strongly about protecting our democratic republic from would-be kings usurping Executive powers, they included the provision for impeachment in the Constitution six times. It was not by accident. Please, for the sake of our democracy, impeach Dick Cheney.”

This is a timely issue and needs to be acted upon NOW. There is ample public support FOR impeachment and currently, a resolution for impeaching Cheney (HB333, introduced by Dennis Kucinich) is languishing and under consideration in the Judiciary Committee.

Make sure you WRITE your letter – do not TYPE it. Include your name, address and telephone number so its authenticity can be verified. Write it in BLUE INK so it will not be mistaken for a photocopy.

Send your letter to:

Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Avenue, 14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102

Cindy Sheehan is concerned that Pelosi may not accurately count the letters and therefore she is asking that you send them to her instead. We share Cindy’s skepticism but also, as pragmatists, are aware that Pelosi may disregard letters sent to Cindy since she is calling for those letters to be sent to her. Why not write TWO letters and send one of them directly to Pelosi and the other to Sheehan?

Letters to Pelosi via Sheehan should be sent to:

Cindy for Congress
RE: Impeach Dick Cheney
1260 Mission Blvd
San Francisco, Ca 94103

Taking the time to do this one little task may be the most important thing you have ever done. And we've given you everything you need except the 5 minutes of time it will take to write and mail the letter, a pen, a piece of paper, an envelope and a stamp.

Sheehan for Congress!

Several days ago, Cindy Sheehan – who became a peace advocate after losing her son, Casey, in Iraq – issued an ultimatum to Nancy Pelosi – either file articles of impeachment against George Bush and Dick Cheney by July 23, OR ELSE.

What's the ultimatum? If Pelosi does not put impeachment BACK on the table, Sheehan says she will run against her in the next election:

“Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership,” Sheehan told The Associated Press. “We hired them to bring an end to the war. I’m not too far from San Francisco, so it wouldn’t be too big of a move for me. I would give her a run for her money.”

According to the pundits, she’ll never succeed … progressive and regressive “journalists” and bloggers are betting against her.

We think they underestimate Sheehan and the growing dissatisfaction with the status quo. We hope she DOES run… but we wouldn’t blame her if she DIDN’T. After all, she has had it with being the favorite punching bag of the wing-nuts who frequently and joyously smear and demean her in print and on the airwaves.

The Democrats and Republicans -- controlled by big donor corporations – need to be rejected by the people. Unfortunately, those corporations also control the media and thus control what we see, hear, know and understand to be true. Fortunately, for now, we have the Internet and shows like Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now to get the truth.

Our Democracy is dying. We really need brave souls like Sheehan to run against the polluted incumbents. Pelosi and the rest are just empty-headed puppets.

We have to believe it can happen! And even more, Pelosi needs to believe it can happen!

If all of us were to focus our anger and frustration over the war, economic and social injustice, lack of adequate health care, loss of jobs, and more -- the mass movement we create will have enough energy and momentum to restore democracy and take it out of the greedy hands of corporate interests and big money.

Together we could send a loud and clear message to state and federal elected officials that they work for US and not for the corporations who fund and currently control them.

If she runs, we plan to help Cindy Sheehan -- and others like her… will you join us?

On Monday, July 9, 2007, Ralph Nader appeared on Democracy Now. He was speaking at a three-day conference on “Taming the Giant Corporation.” Here is a quote from the interview that sums it up better than we could ever hope to do:

“We have to multiply our own civic energies with our neighbors, our relatives, our coworkers, our friends. When that happens, when word of mouth takes over as the prime communications system in this country, nothing can stop it. We have to replace big talk with small talk. And we have to make it apparent to millions of people that striving for justice is one of life’s greatest gratifications. In fact, outside of the family, it is the greatest gratification. Without justice, there’s no such thing as liberty and freedom, there’s no such thing as fulfilling life’s possibilities." Ralph Nader on Democracy Now, July 9, 2007

Let us know if you are ready to join us as we "strive for justice!"