When asked, staffers reported that the number of calls, faxes, and letters calling for impeachment rivaled, and often exceeded, the number calling for the withdrawal of troops -- and that the calls for impeachment persisted over a longer period of time than any other "issue." The calls for action just kept coming, despite the "leaderships" all out effort to suppress the will to impeach. We were told it was impossible -- "off the table." We were told to leave them alone and go do something "useful."
I beg indulgence for the length of this. I don't mean to single you out, but
the widespread notion that the citizenry failed to stand up is simply not true. It is rooted in the false meme that "Americans didn't/don't want impeachment/prosecution.
We never have, and never will, see "everyone" become an activist. It is always a relatively small percent of Americans who actually get angry enough to Do Something -- write letters to editors, challenge their friends and neighbors, call their representatives, or whatever.
The truth is that the numbers who have engaged in and supported the effort to bring the torturers to justice may in fact be unprecedented. People across the political spectrum have engaged in this fight -- as it should be when we are fighting for the inviolable principles embodied in our Constitution and law.
Contrary to the claims that "the American people don't want impeachment/prosecution,"
back in 2006, more than half wanted impeachment to be a priority for the new Congress (
http://january6th.org/oct2006-newsweek-poll-impeach.html">Newsweek Poll, 10/21/2006). In the very first month of the 110th Congress,
58% of Americans wanted George W. Bush's presidency over (
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2753090">Newsweek Poll, 1/27/2007).
Contrary to claims that the American people would rise up against them if the Democratic "leadership" was "too divisive" -- that we wanted them to work with the fascists to "get things done" -- the truth is that we gave Democrats the majority to oppose and STOP the fascist followers of bushncheneyism (
http://january6th.org/reasons-for-success.pdf">Newsweek, 11/6/2006).
Certainly, a disturbingly large number of people in our own ranks echoed the memes and lame excuses for Pelosi's "off the table" edict. Just as a disturbingly large number are rationalizing Obama's dereliction. Being "outside" the beltway doesn't make one an "outsider."
The "insiders" have been engaged in an all out effort to suppress public anger and the will to impeachment/prosecute.
And they have unequivocally failed. The outrage has steadily grown. And over time more and more of the defenders of dereliction have joined the ranks of the outraged demanding action.
The ability of our so-called "leaders" to resist the public pressure is a not a reflection of our failure, but rather, a testament to the destructive power of beltway
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5447507&mesg_id=5448828">group think. It is not insurmountable. But if we are to effectively counter the powerful social/personal/group forces that blind DC insiders, outsiders need to confront them "up close and personal."
We can wake them up to realityOne-way communications from large numbers through faxes, phone calls, or demonstrations are often enough to motivate elected officials to act. But when that fails, more direct lobbying is necessary -- face-to-face, back and forth exchange, where we can directly contradict their irrational rationalizations. Even though the official or staffer manages to "get away," with wrong-headed beliefs intact, the seeds of doubt are planted.
They are human. The disgust reflected in the face of the person confronting them at a public event or town hall meeting; the incredulity in the voice of a caller, reaches "decision makers" and staffers in a way that no letter or fax can. Direct, person-to-person interaction chips away at their confidence in their own rightness. The techniques that need to be employed to lobby for prosecution are the same as
http://talkingimpeachment.com">those employed to lobby for impeachment
1We are not starting from Zero. The lobbying effort for impeachment won "recruits" and chipped away at the more insidious memes. The increasingly shrill, "frustrated," and sometimes hysterical responses that the persistent demands have provoked from Pelosi, Conyers, and others speaks volumes. ("First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" -- Gandhi).
And so we keep pushing them -- if only for our own self-esteem as Americans.
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1. There's a reason unions, trade groups, and corporations hire lobbyists to build relationships over time. If spontaneous, direct confrontation by angry citizens at meetings and events could be bolstered with a few full-time citizen lobbyists who have the resources to engage, build relationships, follow-up, and publicize the lame excuses offered for inaction, we'd have a powerful force. Ten full time citizen lobbyists could be compensated for their valuable efforts if an eighth of the voters in a Congressional district gave ten bucks to sponsor the effort. Do it in every Congressional district and you have a force worth about 500 million in "professional" lobbyist power.
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