Political Won't

The litany of charges against the current administration has grown long and lamentable. Recent revelations of Scott McClellan may only confirm what most already suspected. Such a record, on its face, would seem well past the threshold intended by the framers to take action - to remove the executive by impeachment. Impeachment - the action akin to a grand jury indictment that is followed by a trial. Impeachment - not the conviction itself but the establishment of reasonable basis to prosecute and determine guilt.

It comes up often, but the idea dies because, in the words of our punditocracy, our Congress lacks the political will. Translation - they fear backlash that would result in lost elections.

Our system is upside down. The framers created an orderly means to remove an errant president, but many treat it as extreme. If the media is right, the Congress makes its decision based on it's electoral prospects. This is not the business of the nation. The business is good government, and the necessary political will to uphold principles and structure we have inherited. It is also not the business of the nation to devote great energy to raising campaign funds at a cost of our nations' energy issues, health care, war, and all the other vital issues we face.

Let's start making our decisions not just on what improves reelection odds; rather, we need our Congress to do the business they are entrusted to conduct. The framers never intended that public officials have political careers in the first place. Now we have a self-preserving oligarchy intent on self-preservation instead of preservation of our heritage.

Whether to impeach or not should rest on an assessment of the actions of the president and their effect on our nation - not on the needs of the party. To put the party first - even before the black letter of the Constitution - is a violation of the most fundamental kind, and worthy of contempt.