Cynthia McKinney's Last Stand

Cynthia McKinney's Last Stand
MCKINNEY'S FULL REMARKS ON BUSH IMPEACHMENT BILL

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0113.html

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor and National Correspondent (December 08, 2006)

US Rep. Cynthia McKinney today became the first US Congresswoman to introduce Articles of Impeachment against President Bush, as well as Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

Atlanta Progressive News has obtained the following remarks prepared by the Congresswoman, and has learned she was not allowed to read them on the US House Floor. The remarks are expected to become part of the Congressional Record but will not be available on thomas.loc.gov until next week.

The Congresswoman has scheduled an interview with APN for tomorrow to discuss her legislation. Stay tuned here for more.

The remarks are reprinted here in full:

Mr. Speaker:

I come before this body today as a proud American and as a servant of the American people, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

Throughout my tenure, I've always tried to speak the truth. It's that commitment that brings me here today.

We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has refused to hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe the stakes for our country are high.

No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, at the most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and then continue to govern, without a process for holding him accountable, what does that say about our commitment to the truth? To the Constitution? To our democracy?

The trust of the American people has been broken. And a process must be undertaken to repair this trust. This process must begin with honesty and accountability.

Leading up to our invasion of Iraq, the American people supported this Administration's actions because they believed in our President. They believed he was acting in good faith. They believed that American laws and American values would be respected. That in the weightiness of everything being considered, two values were rock solid: trust and truth.

From mushroom clouds to African yellow cake to aluminum tubes, the American people and this Congress were not presented the facts, but rather were presented a string of untruths, to justify the invasion of Iraq.

President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney and then-National Security Advisor Rice, portrayed to the Congress and to the American people that Iraq represented an imminent threat, culminating with President Bush's claim that Iraq was six months away from developing a nuclear weapon. Having used false fear to buy consent, the President then took our country to war.

This has grave consequences for the health of our democracy, for our standing with our allies, and most of all, for the lives of our men and women in the military and their families--who have been asked to make sacrifices--including the ultimate sacrifice--to keep us safe.

Just as we expect our leaders to be truthful, we expect them to abide by the law and respect our courts and judges. Here again, the President failed the American people.

When President Bush signed an executive order authorizing unlawful spying on American citizens, he circumvented the courts, the law, and he violated the separation of powers provided by the Constitution. Once the program was revealed, he then tried to hide the scope of his offense from the American people by making contradictory, untrue statements.

President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust of the American people.

With a heavy heart and in the deepest spirit of patriotism, I exercise my duty and responsibility to speak truthfully about what is before us. To shy away from this responsibility would be easier. But I have not been one to travel the easy road. I believe in this country, and in the power of our democracy. I feel the steely conviction of one who will not let the country I love descend into shame; for the fabric of our democracy is at stake.

Some will call this a partisan vendetta, others will say this is an unimportant distraction to the plans of the incoming Congress. But this is not about political gamesmanship.

I am not willing to put any political party before my principles.

This, instead, is about beginning the long road back to regaining the high standards of truth and democracy upon which our great country was founded.

Mr. Speaker:

Under the standards set by the United States Constitution, President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of State Rice, should be subject to the process of impeachment, and I have filed H. Res.1106 in the House of Representatives.

To my fellow Americans, as I leave this Congress, it is in your hands to hold your representatives accountable, and to show those with the courage to stand for what is right, that they do not stand alone.

Thank you.

Stay tuned for a full APN interview with Rep. McKinney tomorrow.

About the author:

Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News. He may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Syndication policy:

This article may be reprinted in full at no cost where Atlanta Progressive News is credited.

John Judge told me that something was going to happen with Cynthia. This must be it.

McKinney introduces bill to impeach Bush

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061209/..._impeachment_4

By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 8, 8:52 PM ET

WASHINGTON - In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.

The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment.

McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer, has long insisted that Bush was never legitimately elected. In introducing her legislation in the final hours of the current Congress, she said Bush had violated his oath of office to defend the Constitution and the nation's laws.

McKinney has made no secret of her frustration with Democratic leaders since voters ousted her from office in the Democratic primary this summer. In a speech Monday at George Washington University, she accused party leaders of kowtowing to Republicans on the war in Iraq and on military mistreatment of prisoners.

McKinney, who has not discussed her future plans, has increasingly embraced her image as a controversial figure.

She has hosted numerous panels on Sept. 11 conspiracy theories and suggested that Bush had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks but kept quiet about it to allow friends to profit from the aftermath. She introduced legislation to establish a permanent collection of rapper Tupac Shakur's recordings at the National Archives and calling for a federal investigation into his killing.

But it was her scuffle with a Capitol police officer that drew the most attention. McKinney struck the officer when he tried to stop her from entering a congressional office building. The officer did not recognize McKinney, who was not wearing her member lapel pin.

A grand jury in Washington declined to indict McKinney over the clash, but she eventually apologized before the House.

Not allowed to read her remarks on the House floor!!!!!

WTF??? That is BS!!!

What is up with the freakin Dems not "entertaining" the idea anyway---WTF????
TOTAL B.S.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I expected nothing less from Congresswoman McKinney. Kudos to her for her conviction in the face of adversity.

I'm sure many of the higher echelon Repubs are secretly applauding now that the rabble-rousing uppity black woman is leaving.

And I can almost guarantee some are referring to her as the "N" word...

Behind closed doors.

I saw some people over at 911blogger talking about this and one of them posted this video. I am sure it is posted already at ybbs and that most people here have seen it before..... I hadn't. McKinney is one of the few up on that hill that is actually doing her job. http://youtube.com/watch?v=eootfzAhAoU

And... here's what I posted on blogger in regards to that video...

Some of the things that have always stood out to me in regards to the Honorable, Heroic, Patriotic Representative Cynthia McKinney's grilling of Rummy & Co. are:

Since she asked her question, several more wargames taking place that day have been revealed. I believe Myers only answered for the original 4 she referenced. Would the existence of all of the wargames taking place on 9/11 be something General Myers would/should have known about? If he was aware, then why didn't he correct the Congresswoman, and say something like, "Actually Representative, there were "this many" wargames taking place that day..." I don't know if that's significant, but I found it to be curious.

Did Rep. McKinney ever get the answer to her questions in writing?

Why didn't General Myers answer her question in regards to who was in charge of the exercises taking place that day?