Dear Chairman Conyers,
We have patiently asked you to begin impeachment hearings since you became Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in January 2007, but you have ignored us.
We believed Speaker Pelosi ordered you not to hold hearings, but you insist that's not true - that the decision is entirely yours.
So what's holding you back?
Certainly it's not a question of legal merit. You know better than us that George Bush and Dick Cheney have committed innumerable crimes by invading Iraq on the basis of lies, authorizing torture, outing Valerie Plame, wiretapping millions of U.S. citizens without a warrant, and corrupting the Justice Department, to name just a few. You wrote a book about these crimes entitled "The Constitution in Crisis" before you became Chairman.
Nor is it a question of respecting the Presidency. While you have been the model of respect for a year as Chairman, George Bush and Dick Cheney have demonstrated their utter contempt for Congress (and subverted the Constitution and the Rule of Law) by ignoring Congressional subpoenas and issuing signing statements to nullify Congressional laws.
You never disagree with us on substance, you only disagree with us on politics. You make several political arguments, but they are all fatally flawed:
1. The "corporate power structure" would not allow George Bush to be impeached without unleashing "blowback."
We want you to hold impeachment hearings for Dick Cheney, not George Bush. Bush is the most unpopular President in the history of polling, and Cheney is much more unpopular than Bush. If the "corporate power structure" wants to fight for Dick Cheney, we say bring it on!
2. Democrats who support impeachment hearings will be viciously attacked by Republicans and the rightwing media (FOX, Rush Limbaugh, etc.).
Who cares? They cannot defeat you - or any other Democrat - in the next election, because rightwing Republicans are just 30% of the voters. They viciously attacked Democrats in 2006, but we gained 30 seats. Democratic voters are even more energized than we were in 2006 and the latest Democracy Corps poll shows Democrats could win up to 40 more seats.
3. The Republican "base" will be unified and energized by impeachment hearings and will rally to elect John McCain in November.
The Republican "base" is deeply divided on impeachment - 39% of Republicans believe Cheney has abused his powers and 21% support his impeachment and removal. They are also deeply divided about John McCain because he is not a "true conservative" on immigration, taxes, campaign finance, global warming, and other issues. If Congress begins impeachment hearings, McCain will face a Hobson's choice: either pander to anti-McCain rightwingers by defending Cheney - and thereby alienate anti-Bush moderates - or pander to anti-Cheney moderates by supporting impeachment hearings, and thereby alienate pro-Cheney rightwingers. McCain would have to make an impossible political choice and he would lose the election either way.
4. You cannot persuade 218 Democrats to vote for Articles of Impeachment for Dick Cheney.History shows impeachment hearings will be closely watched by the American people. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, your job is to preside over hearings that are comprehensive and fair. If you put all the evidence of Cheney's crimes before the American people, the American people will convince every Democrat in Congress to vote for Articles of Impeachment for Dick Cheney, along with every Republican who honors his/her oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.


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