Impeaching Cheney

There seems to be a movement afoot in some quarters to

impeach Dick Cheney. Nothing that rises above the level of grassroots, and I doubt it will go anywhere.

Now, I personally don’t think highly of Dick Cheney, or of GW for that matter. But some random thoughts (feel free to disagree)…

1. Personally, I don’t think it makes legal sense to remove Dick Cheney from office. There isn’t much that he’s been doing outside of what he is allowed to do by GW. (And that stands even if, as appears to be the case, Cheney is the brains of the duo.) Whether there is a legal case for impeaching GW or not is outside the scope of this post, but unless I’m missing something, there isn’t a legal case for impeaching Cheney.

2. I don’t think it makes political sense for opponents to try to remove Cheney from office. Cheney appears to be quite unpopular – I believe his poll numbers make GW look popular. If he were impeached, its hard to imagine him being replaced by someone even less popular. Sure, there are child molesters and bestiality practioners out there that qualify, but what are the odds that GW will make one Vice President? Right now, GW is a millstone around the neck of Republican candidates. The Vice President is a millstone around GW’s neck. If Cheney were replaced by whoever is a front-runner among the Republicans running for President, that candidate would have one heck of a boost in the general election. If he was replaced by anyone else, that persons would automatically become the front-runner for the Republican nomination.

3. I don’t think it would benefit the country even if Cheney is removed tomorrow. Frankly, I think the whole administration is rotten in a way that even the Reagan, GHW, and Clinton administrations were not when they were caricatured by their most fervent detractors. If Cheney goes, its hard to see why GW would replace him with someone any better for the country.

So what do I think? I’m a lot likelier to vote for a candidate for President that promises that members of the GW administration will be held responsible for any illegalities they committed. If it turns out I’m right, and these guys are rotten, a lot of ’em should spend time in jail. I think the value of that – returning some respect for the rule of law – is very high, and right now, its a major deal to me.