Summary: Still president means still Commander-in-Chief of the Unites States Armed Forces. We're still in Iraq and will continue to be, and by all indications will be attacking Iran before this administration is gone.
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Q.1) Why bother if they're on their way out of office anyway?

"After all, the military answers to one commander-in-chief in the White House, not 535 commanders-in-chief on Capitol Hill." 
Vice President's Remarks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee 2007 Policy Conference

A.1) As long as George W. Bush is president, he is also the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces. In other words, tens of thousands of young men and women's lives are in the hands of an administration that has proven their lack of regard for the rule of law, domestic and international.  It is immoral and irresponsible for the American people to dismiss the very real presence of this administration well before they have left office.  Even as the administration works to increase the number of troops in Iraq--and target Iran--many U.S. citizens are turning a blind eye.

If it were your son or daughter in the military, would you want his or her life in the hands of a person who has proven his disregard for the law, and shown repeated catastrophic misjudgments in warfare? As more American troops are injured and killed in manufactured wars--wars looked down on by the international community--we must ask ourselves, is anyone supporting our troops? 

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Q.2) But impeachment takes a long time. Doesn't congress have better things to do?

A.2) Yes, impeachment is a lengthy process that demands painstaking investigations.  But the Legislative branch of the United States Government was formed for the purpose of checking the Executive Branch. At this time, instead of holding this administration accountable to the rule of law, Congress is spending time debating how many more troops to send to Iraq, how much more money to spend on this failed war, and even considering an attack on Iran.

Impeachment can be an efficient method of closing the door on a number of ill conceived plans--and preventing the opening of additional ones--by sending a clear message that the American people are done with this administration.  The sooner congress receives this message, the sooner they will be compelled to act, and the sooner they can begin repairing the damage this administration has inflicted on our military, our constitution, and on other countries.

Finally, many concerned, qualified individuals have taken it upon themselves to prepare the necessary documents and bodies of evidence to support impeachment. In other words, officials will have found much of the work done for them already by legislators, scholars, lawyers, and other concerned individuals across the nation.

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Q.3) Do you really think writing a bunch of letters to Congress will do anything?

A.3) First, in the case of Nixon, it was only letters to Congress and other officials that caused action: 3 million telegrams and letters.   Congressman Rev. Robert F. Drinan introduced the first Nixon impeachment resolution (for secretly bombing Cambodia) but it did not go anywhere. Why? Because the American people were not up in arms about it. Rather, the process only moved forward when citizens en mass communicated their concern with regard to the "Saturday Night Massacre" ( when Nixon fired a special investigator, and two other officials resigned in protest).  Three million letters and telegrams was approximately 1.4% of the total U.S. population in 1973. (Seventy to 80% of those contacts were in favor of impeachment.) If 1.4% of today's U.S. population acted, that would equate to about 4.2 million letters. 

The fundamental concern of most politicians is one simple principle: they want to look good.  They are acutely aware that their jobs are dependent on correctly foreseeing the impact of their every decision on their future political career.  As a citizen of the United States you have a relatively straightforward message to communicate: your opinion. Unfortunately, many elected officials are forced to rely on the media for poll results, and poor coverage of protests and rallies, to discern which courses of action will make them look the best to the greatest number of people. Take the guesswork out of the process by communicating your opinion directly and clearly.

It is our job as individuals to communicate in no uncertain terms that we are paying attention, that we are concerned, and that we will support (in other words, vote for) politicians who stand up for the will of the people, rather than the dictates of a law-breaking president.

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Q.4) But if Bush is impeached, Cheney is President!

A.4) The actions of this administration are just the tip of an iceberg of a much larger (well documented), organized effort to expand the rule of the United States military and economic domination of the globe. Clearly George W. Bush is not a single misguided official in a law-abiding cabinet.

In her book "The United States V George W. Bush et al.," former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega makes a clear and compelling case for an indictment of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former National Security Advisor and current Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and former Secretary of State Colon Powel, on the basis of fraud: defrauding the United States into the war on Iraq.  Fraud is a federal crime.  It is clearly reasonable to call for an impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as Condoleeza Rice. It is highly possible that this case could lead to an indictment of many officials.

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Q.5)  What would impeachment mean anyway?

A.5) Impeachment does not equate to "fired."  Rather, while you can find more detailed, painstaking descriptions on other websites (visit our "Learn More" page for links), the Nixon impeachment began with the appointment of an investigator, followed by investigations by the Judicial Committee.  When the Judicial Committee voted in favor of impeachment, the issue would have moved on to Congress for a vote, and then the Senate if Nixon hadn't resigned.  Once approved by in the House, it goes to the Senate, and if approved by the Senate, the officials are effectively impeached.

Interestingly, officials can be impeached even after leaving office, which can prevent them from taking future elected office.  If impeachment proceedings begin immediately, even if the final votes are not held prior to January of 2009, the Bush Administration can be impeached even after that time.

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Q.6) Why letters? Can I fax? Why not emails or phone calls?

A.6) Remember the old adage, "the medium is the message." Think of how you feel when you receive a hand written, personal letter, as opposed to a typed letter, form letter, or email.  Clearly a hand written letter has a greater impact on the receiver because the sender has taken the time to craft a letter by hand, and to address, stamp and mail it.

Letters are to some extent held up in the White House mail room due to security concerns. However, next to a personal visit to your representative's office, a hand written letter is the most personal and therefore powerful way to communicate a message. A long letter is not necessary. A short, thoughtful, to the point, handwritten letter will have more impact than a detailed, full-page form letter that has only been personalized by your signature.

Faxing your letter is a perfectly reasonable approach. While it is more expedient than mail, it is a slightly less personal form of communication (and its debatable whether faxing or mailing is a more reliable method, not to mention the headache of busy fax machines).

Phone calls are also called for and important, but your congressperson cannot lug piles of phone calls on to the House floor to show how many people have contacted him or her in favor of impeachment. Letters provide tangible, lasting evidence that constituents care.

Emails also carry certain weight, and can be very effective en mass. However, in that writing and sending an email takes significantly less effort than writing and sending a letter, each email represents a fewer number of constituents than letters. Again, consider your personal gauge of the weightiness of a communication when you receive an email versus when you receive a letter by mail.

Through whatever means, the most important thing is that you engage in your democracy.

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