Vice President - In Charge of Vice?

These days Mr Cheney is yet again the focus of the news, the focus of my rage and I hope, the focus of political strategists, now prosecuting their tactics for the 2008 presidential election. I awoke a few days ago with Air America's "Young Turks" lulling me from my last sleep of the weekend. I was not surprised to hear yet more conversation about the Vice President's latest snubbing of the Constitution, the Congress and the American people. After rising I spent the next several minutes in the shower, working up a lather of Zest and consternation as I fantasized about the VP getting his just "come uppins". "We have to impeach him", I thought; not part of the executive branch? ... not subject to scrutiny by the Congress? As my resolve to make yet another call to congressman Brown slid down the drain I started to dress myself with a new perspecive on this situation. I have no idea where Cheney stands in terms of contempt of congress or if he is or isn't in the executive branch... and I do not know if he is guilty of high crimes and / or misdemeanors. However it does appear to me that this Vice President is like no other we have known. More precisely, what it really means is that this President clearly behaves like no other we have known in recent or distant history.

It painfully occurs to me, that this administration has cleverly devised an operational strategy to take advantage of the Constitutional ambiguity of the Vice Presidency and is using the office to prosecute the neo-con agenda with almost total impunity. How ingenious! So much so, that I predict that one of the enduring effects of this Presidency will be that at yhe very least, much more attention will be paid to the Vice Presidential candidates. On the other had it may even come to pass, that as we learn more about Mr Cheney's behind the scene antics, that a Constitutional Amendment of some type is passed. An ultimate legal clarification that defines the limitations and accountability of what became in this century's infancy, the "most influential" office in government. The Vice President's role currently has no official constitutional function other than to serve as President of the Senate and via the 23rd amendment, succeed the president in the event of his/ her death or resignation. (or some other incapacity). This may be the only real recourse to deal with effects of "the man behind the curtain" To prevent the creation of a second "shadow president" who could basically rule with impunity.

It seems to me that whatever Mr Cheney may be guilty of, to take the time to actually figure it out ... to determine what can be done or not done?... Well that could take years, cost millions of dollars and serve as yet another diversion; keeping our focus away from the issues of the day: health care, oil dependence and of course Iraq.

Then again.... NO WAY!!!

I cannot abide the notion of letting him off the hook. He has broken the law, caused the needless deaths of thousands, diverted our treasure to corporate parasites and eroded the rights of citizens. When all is said and done, I still believe that impeachment is the imperative... No matter the cost.... Because, unlike most of the opinions I have heard, I believe the Gerald Ford made a gigantic mistake by pardoning Richard Nixon. He should have been impeached and brought before Congress or a court of law, to answer for his crimes. If that had been the course chosen rather than the easy way out, then we would have never arrived at this crisis of Constitution. There would not have been an Iran Contra and perhaps no "Bush 41" and certainly no "W". I believe instead that the bar would have been raised to the highest level of accountability, which is actually the basic level of accountability for all citizens. I suspect that the pardoning of Nixon let "the word go forth" that you can wiretap and cover up and lie every day and still ultimately you can get away with it. Which is exactly what we are seeing played out today. They, the Cheneys and Bushes of the world, seek power above all else. They do the things they do simply because they can. They lie openly now because no one calls them on it.

I say now is time to call the question. Time to call your representatives and senators. It's not that difficult to do. Just pick up the phone and speak. The staff member on the other end will be polite and they will indeed pass the message along. A phone call still has an impact, an impact that e-mail does not.

So that is how I feel today. Who knows what tomorrow's shower will bring.

Be Lucky!!

By the way..... Our first atheist President was none other than George Washington. Jefferson wrote extensively on the subject, so if you don't believe me.."you can look it up"