A Congressman with a spine

Ohio Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich showed the world that at least one American legislator has enough spine to seek justice amid mere political inconvenience when he introduced 35 articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush last week. This week, he followed up with a warning to the House Judiciary Committee to take him seriously, or else he’ll return to the floor with 60 articles.

That’s a lot of articles.

At the center of the push to impeach is an issue so obvious that it’s embarassing to have to repeat. Bush lied to lead the United States into a war with Iraq, using exaggerated and false claims to support his agenda. This is far from a stunning revelation to most humans, but it has been clear throughout the Bush presidency that there is a lack of political will to hold Bush accountable. A climax in this dissatisfactory plot came when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said impeachment was "off the table."

Kucinich, who has twice run unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president, said he was moved to bring the impeachment articles to the House after reading a Senate report June 5, which concluded that Bush and members of his administration exaggerated intelligence in order to attack Iraq.

The House of Representatives voted 251-166 on June 11 to send the articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee for review. Though that sounds like a good thing, the procedure is often used to kill legislation, as the committee may never get around to exploring the issue.

In a statement last week, Kucinich said, "I believe that there is sufficient evidence in the articles to support the charge that President Bush allowed, authorized and sanctioned the manipulation of intelligence by those acting under his direction and control, misleading Congress to approve a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. As a result, over 4,000 United States soldiers have died in combat in Iraq, with tens of thousands injured, many of them permanently impaired. Over a million innocent Iraqis have perished in a war which was based on lies, a war which will cost the American taxpayers as much as $3 trillion."

A similar list of impeachment articles against Vice President Dick Cheney was sent to the Judiciary Committee last November and has not seen any action, but Kucinich has warned colleagues that he’s serious. If the committee does not act within the next month, he’ll unleash the five-dozen articles.

Kucinich is one of the few remaining true patriots in Congress who is willing to question authority and call for accountability when it comes to the Iraq debacle. The more he speaks, the more the country should listen.