Sunday, June 12, 2005
In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin adopted the following resolution at their state convention:
- CALLING ON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO INITIATE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST PRESIDENT BUSH, VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY AND DEFENSE SECRETARY RUMSFELD FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS
- WHEREAS, the Downing Street Memo shows that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld began planning and executing the war on Iraq before seeking Congressional and UN approval;
- WHEREAS, UN weapons inspectors showed prior to the invasion that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and
- WHEREAS, there is further mounting evidence that the Administration lied or misled about “mushroom clouds,” “connections to 9/11,” and “war as a last resort” as they sought UN, Congressional, and public approvals;
- THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPW asks Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.
The resolution alleges that the Bush administration “lied or misled” Congress and the American people concerning the justification for the war. The “Downing Street memo” and reports from U.N. weapons inspectors are mentioned as evidence of deception.
Newly elected state party Chairman Joe Wineke said, “Democrats, not only in Wisconsin but throughout the U.S., have been outraged by what we believe has been a clear cover-up of why the U.S. went into Iraq,” and that the resolution expresses “the sense of frustration that Democrats in Wisconsin have over fighting a war for the wrong reasons.”
Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, does not think the resolution will be successful and said that even if the House of Representatives began impeachment proceedings against the president and vice president, “I don’t think you can impeach the secretary of defense”.