Let’s see how newly appointed White
House press secretary Tony Snow spins this. On April 20, state Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough, a
Democrat from Maywood, filed House Joint Resolution 125, which asks
the Legislature to begin impeachment procedures against President
George W. Bush for violating his oath of office. This week, Paul Koretz, a member of the
California State Assembly, introduced legislation there calling for
the impeachment of Bush, as well as Vice President Dick Cheney. The Yarbrough resolution accuses the Bush
administration of ordering the National Security Administration to
eavesdrop on American citizens, leaking the name of CIA agent
Valerie Plame, breaking the Geneva Conventions’ torture
provisions, and misleading the nation into war with Iraq. In Chicago, administrative-law judge Ann
Breen-Greco has sent to a letter to the City Council asking aldermen
to adopt their own Bush-impeachment resolution. But Yarbrough’s measure isn’t
just a symbolic gesture — it’s got some teeth. Both Yarbrough and the California assemblyman
are relying on Section 603 of Thomas Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice and Rules of the
House of Representatives, which
stipulates that state legislatures may initiate federal impeachment
proceedings by way of joint resolution. “We have our kids over there under the
guise of a war on terrorism,” Yarbrough says.
“[President Bush] is acting like an imperialist, not the leader of one of the three
branches of government.” She adds: “I came up during the
’60s and the Vietnam War. Eleven names of people I know are
on that wall [the Vietnam Veterans Memorial] — and that war was an
unjust war, too.” A blogger from Yarbrough’s district
sent her information on the Manual, she says: “I said to myself, ‘Wow, is
this real?’ ” After doing some research, Yarbrough says,
she discussed the idea with House Speaker Michael Madigan, who told
her in so many words, “You’re a legislator, and you
should do what you feel you need to do.’ ” If enough Illinois legislators jump on board,
HJR0125 may go to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary
Committee — where it would likely remain, at least until
after the November general election. Impeachment legislation proffered by U.S.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the House
Judiciary Committee, and co-sponsored by 33 liberal-leaning
lawmakers, including Illinois’ Jan Schakowsky, hasn’t
gotten much traction. In the Senate, a far less severe censure resolution proposed by Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has
attracted but two co-signatories: Barbara Boxer of California and Tom
Harkin of Iowa, both Democrats. Democratic Whip Richard Durbin of
Illinois has stated that although he doesn’t consider discussion
of censuring the president valuable, he won’t rule out
impeachment as an option, either. On Tuesday, HJR0125 was referred to the House
Rules Committee, and 16 members signed on as co-sponsors. Before it
can be called for a vote, however, Madigan must assign the bill to
a committee, but it’s not clear whether that can happen
before the legislative session adjourns before the end of May. Right now, Madigan is focusing most of his
energy on hammering out a budget with Gov. Rod Blagojevich and
Senate President Emil Jones. Besides, says Steve Brown,
Madigan’s press secretary, the speaker isn’t sure
whether Yarbrough even wants a vote. A representative from
Yarbrough’s office says she hadn’t heard that from
Yarbrough, and she isn’t sure what Brown meant. If her resolution fails this time around,
Yarbrough may bring it back during the fall veto session, after the
November elections, but she feels that now is the right time to
bring the issue to the forefront. For its part, the Senate doesn’t
reconvene until May 2. A spokeswoman for Jones says that his office
doesn’t comment on legislation until it reaches the Senate.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2006.
