Impeachment Protests held in Grand Rapids and around the Country

On Saturday, April 28 (A28), protests were held across the country calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. In Grand Rapids, around thirty protestors stood on bridges over the Grand River with signs and banners–including one thirty foot banner reading “IMPEACH!”–calling for the impeachment of President Bush. Organizers from the Grand Rapids event report collecting 115 signatures for a petition and receiving “a ton of honks and waves” according to a post on the website A28.ORG. Similar events were held across Michigan, including an event in Kalamazoo. The protests highlighted ten reasons to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney ranging from “Launching an illegal ‘War of Aggression’ against Iraq without just cause” to “Gross negligence in failing to assist New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina, ignoring urgent warnings of an Al Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001.”

The aforementioned reasons for impeachment are just two of the reasons cited by the organizers of the nationwide A28 impeachment protests. Other reasons identified by the organization include:

• Violating U.S. and international law by authorizing the use of torture.
• Violating the Constitution by detaining Americans without due process.
• Violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances.
• Violating U.S. law and the Constitution through widespread wiretapping without a warrant.
• Violating the Constitution by using “signing statements” to defy laws passed by Congress.
• Violating U.S. and state law by obstructing honest elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.
• Violating U.S. law by using paid propaganda and disinformation, leaking classified information, and exposing the identity of a covert CIA operative.

  Subverting the Constitution negating the Bill of Rights and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.

In addition to the aforementioned reasons, there have been several lengthy explorations of the issue in recent years. Two books, David Lindorff’s and Barbara Olshansky’s The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President Bush and the Center for Constitutional Rights Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush, explore the topic in detail and provide both compelling arguments for impeachment as well as extensive evidence supporting it. The Center for Constitutional Rights even compares the case against President Bush to impeachment proceedings against Presidents Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, and Andrew Johnson and argues that the case against Bush is considerably stronger. While the Center for Constitutional Rights developed four articles of impeachment targeting illegal wiretapping, deliberate lies told to the public to build support for the invasion of Iraq, the illegal treatment of detainees, and a fourth article tying the previous three together as a threats to democracy and the Republic, others have crafted additional articles of impeachment and additional books have developed detailed analyses supporting impeachment. Representative Dennis Kucinich recently introduced articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney containing a wealth of supporting documents available online.

While receiving relatively little attention in the corporate media, a grassroots impeachment movement has organized and has some successes in recent weeks. Despite the Democrats’ assertions that “impeachment is off the table,” several opinion polls have found support ranging from 30% to 51% for impeachment and recent actions reflect this support. In March, 36 cities and municipalities passed resolutions in support of impeachment and this month Vermont’s Senate passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Bush, while several other cities have passed resolutions in recent months. Resolutions have also been taken up and passed by 16 Democratic parties around the country, including the California Democratic Party who passed a resolution last week calling for a “vigorous investigation” of the President and “appropriate remedies and punishment, including impeachment.” Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney in the House last week, arguing that it made sense to start with him since many of the Bush administration’s policies originated with Cheney. Impeachment also received a rare mention in the corporate media on Sunday, with Democratic Representative John Murtha mentioning impeachment as “one of the ways Congress has to influence the president” on Iraq policy. Murtha’s comments followed a weekend of reports of pro-impeachment rallies across the country.

Related Posts:

1. Antiwar Protests Held Around the Country Today and Yesterday
2. Detroit City Council Passes Bush and Cheney Impeachment Resolution
3. Online Film Outlines Evidence for Cheney Impeachment
4. War Protesters Gather Around The Country; Several Arrested In Grand Rapids
5. Rallies in Support of Cindy Sheehan to be Held around the Country, Including in Grand Rapids

Tags: dick cheney, george w. bush, grand rapids, impeachment, michigan, protest