Left News and Views

I wonder who it was that first shouted out from the crowd that, hey look, the emperor doesn’t have any clothes. Unlike the fairy tale, the reality didn’t sink in immediately. Indeed, there are some still who refuse to see the nakedness of this modern-day emperor, Bush, a person who has nothing left to cover his incompetence but a veneer of stubbornness.

But now the cry is rising to a crescendo. A new web site, proclaiming it is time to say when to the host of abuses by the Bush-Cheney gang, is heralding a new meaning for the famous “W”: it now stands for When – we’ve had enough.

They now join a host of others who feel Bush and Cheney should be held accountable for the carnage they have created. They include A28, After Downing Street, Bring Then Home Now, Impeach 07, Military Families Speak Out, VoteVets.Org, The World Can’t Wait, Veterans Against the Iraq War, Impeach Bush Cheney; and Youth Democracy, to name a few.

Their message is simple and direct: We’ve had enough lies; we’ve had enough scandal; we’ve had enough arrogance; we’ve had enough corruption; we’ve had enough manipulation; we’ve had enough willful disregard; we’ve had enough incompetence; we’ve had enough intimidation; we’ve had enough censorship; we’ve had enough fear; and we’ve had enough war.

While I agree with this group that we need to continue to ramp up the pressure on Bush to put his machismo aside and bring our troops home, I would like to see them go further and join the impeachment movement. Certainly their litany of abuses above is enough to make the leap.

In spite of the naysayers, it appears that the effort by US Rep. Dennis Kucinich to bring articles of impeachment to the floor of the House is gaining traction. US Rep. Albert Russell Wynn has become the fourth member to co-sign the legislation.

According to the Atlanta Progressive News, US Rep. Wynn is a champion of civil rights issues, but unlike Kucinich, and US Reps. Janice Schakowsky and William Lacy Clay, he is not a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. This suggests the bill is gaining appreciation beyond the traditional impeachment constituency of the CPC.

I agree with the activists who are raising the call that those congressional representatives who don’t join with Kucinich are enabling the Bush Administration to continue ignoring the will of the people and continue ruling with arrogance and incompetence, which endangers us all.

Democrats are now the majority in Congress. But Bush continues to refuse to be accountable to Congress, particularly on the US Invasion of Iraq. Bush has now vetoed historic legislation to attach funding for the occupation with a deadline for withdrawal. Thus, it is now even more clear that traditional oversight mechanisms will not be effective.

It truly is time to say when!