Judging by that story, Conyers is not yet committed to acting, but he
wants to be able to, and he wants to see an increase in public pressure
to make it easier for him to move ahead. Let's give it to him!
There's a longer AP article posted on websites
including and
this.
This longer article begins:
"U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said Tuesday he supports a national
effort calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney, but stopped short of pledging to take action to back it.
'I've been supportive of that movement,' said Conyers, who chairs the
House Judiciary Committee that would lead impeachment hearings. 'I
encourage that nationwide.' But Conyers, who left a Detroit church
before a town-hall meeting attended by a standing-room-only crowd of
about 250 people, remained noncommittal about lending his official
backing for impeachment proceedings. Conyers had also convened a
separate town-hall meeting in Detroit on Tuesday evening to discuss
high gas prices. 'The goal is whether to impeach or follow up on the
defects and disabilities of an administration' that has shut out
Congress, he said."
So far, the longer article gives about the same impression as the
shorter one as to Conyers' position. And, reading on, it continues to
do so, but the reporter throws in material from other sources:
"A message was seeking comment were left [sic] Tuesday night with the
Republican National Committee. Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan
Republican Party, suggested Conyers was simply indulging old
obsessions, adding, 'It has no legs, it's gaining no support in
Michigan, let alone nationally.'"
This charge is called into question later in the same article by the
report that Detroit City Council recently passed a resolution to
petition the US House for impeachment. And pronouncements on public
support for impeachment, or lack thereof, are almost always complete
guesses or fabrications. The few polls that have been done show strong
support for impeachment:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/polling
but none of these polls are recent, none are focused on Michigan, and
none are likely to be repeated anytime soon, since polling companies
are refusing to touch the subject even for cold hard cash. The article
continues:
"Anuzis cited the recent approval by Congress to fund the Iraq war, and
he said there is serious analysis going on to determine how best to
deal with the situation there. 'This is moving along the way it should
in the normal course of action and I think that the Democrats in
Congress that are a little more reasonable are working with the
president,' he said."
More reasonable than Conyers? Or more reasonable than the public? Or more reasonable than the Detroit City Council?
"Speakers and audience members expressed frustration and disappointment
Tuesday that Conyers did not return by the event's conclusion. The
town-hall meeting featured panelists who took questions from the
audience. Behind the panel, a large sign bearing handwritten signatures
hung endorsing impeachment proceedings. On May 16, the Detroit City
Council unanimously passed an impeachment resolution that claimed the
two [presumably this means Bush and Cheney] had conspired to defraud
the public to justify the Iraq war. The resolution was sponsored by
Councilwoman Monica Conyers, the Democratic congressman's wife.
Nationwide, more than 70 cities and 14 state Democratic parties have
urged impeachment or investigations that could lead to impeachment."
Not 70, but at least 85:
http://www.impeachpac.org/resolutions-list
Next the AP article simply quotes from a McClatchy article that came
out Tuesday about the national movement for impeachment:
"'There's a lot growing in support [sic],' Tim Carpenter, director of
the liberal group Progressive Democrats of America, told McClatchy
Newspapers for a Tuesday story. 'Whether Congress will respond, that's
another question.' On the Judiciary Committee, Conyers has been
criticized by Republicans for his vocal opposition to the White House's
handling of the Iraq War."
Yeah? What does the public think? Any idea?
"During the last session, when Republicans controlled Congress, he
introduced a bill calling on lawmakers to determine whether there are
grounds for impeachment over the government's warrantless wiretapping
program."
In fact, Congressman Conyers introduced H Res 635 before the
warrantless wiretapping program was first reported on. The bill would
have created "a select committee to investigate the Administration's
intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of
pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, and
retaliating against critics,
and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment."
Conyers released a report at the time on some of the apparent crimes of Bush and Cheney,
which his staff later updated to include the warrantless spying.
Tuesday night's AP article adds a final sentence that appears not to be
a quotation or even to derive from Tuesday night. It reads:
"But amid pressure from party leaders, Conyers has said that he does
not intend to move forward with any impeachment effort."
Of all the things Conyers has said for and against impeachment, why
pick this one to paraphrase? The people packed into the meeting in
Detroit might have preferred a beauty like this one:
"I have a choice. I can either stand by and lead my constituents to
believe I do not care that the president apparently no longer believes
he is bound by any law or code of decency. Or I can act."
Here's a description of Tuesday evening's event from the media advisory sent out beforehand:
Metro Detroiters to Hold Impeachment Town Hall Discussion
Congressman John Conyers, Jr., is expected to appear
Tuesday, May 29th @ 5 pm (Refreshments & Organizing 5pm; Panel Starts Promptly at 5:45pm; Parking Available at Church)
Central United Methodist Church
23 E. Adams Ave., Detroit, MI 48226
with Special Guests: Jazz Great Spencer Barefield & Friends
Panel & Discussion to Include:
*Jack Lessenberry: Detroit Metro Times editorialist.
*Bill Goodman: Former Legal Director of Center for Constitutional Rights, local Detroit NLG attorney.
*JoAnn Watson: Detroit City Council Member.
*Maureen Taylor: State Chair of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization.
*Malik Rahim: Co-founder Common Ground, New Orleans; Green Party
Candidate for NO City Council in 2002; former Black Panther Party
member.
*Ann Wright: U.S. Army Colonel and diplomat who resigned in protest the day before the war began.
*Ray McGovern: Former CIA analyst who prepared the President's Daily
Brief and chaired National Intelligence Estimates; Steering Group of
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity member.
*Debra Sweet: National Coordinator, World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!
Initial List of Sponsors: National Lawyers Guild, Detroit &
Michigan Chapter; MIImpeach.org; Veterans for Peace; Latinos Unidos of
Michigan; Michigan Welfare Rights Organization; Democrats.com;
AfterDowningStreet.org; Progressive Democrats of America; World Can’t
Wait — Detroit Chapter; A28; Green Party of Michigan.
For more information: NLG at 313.963.0843 or MichiganNLG(at)michigannlg(dot)org;
www.michigannlg.org; David Palmer:
www.MIImpeach.org; miimpeach(at)yahoo(dot)com
Reporting on recent passage of impeachment resolution by Detroit City Council:
The Detroit Free Press:
http://tinyurl.com/2tp8gc
The Detroit News:
http://tinyurl.com/32gu72
AfterDowningStreet.org, including full text of the resolution:
http://tinyurl.com/3yvmdm
As more reports come in from Tuesday's event they'll be posted at
http://afterdowningstreet.org/mi
To contact and encourage John Conyers and his colleagues, go here:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/judiciarycommittee
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