About a year ago, I penned the letter below to my Representative, Jim McDermott, and to the Representative of the district adjacent to mine, Jay Inslee. It refutes many of the canards as to why impeachment is unwise or impractical.

Representative Jim McDermott
1809 7th Ave.
Suite 1212
Seattle, WA 98101

Dear Mr. McDermott:

I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider your position on conducting impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush.

I have listened closely to the arguments against pursuing this course of action, and I understand them. I also understand and appreciate that you have been one of President Bush's staunchest critics and that you have opposed his policies, both domestic and international, with vigor. I am grateful for what you have done and for what you continue to do for your constituents.

However, I believe that the majority of reasons given for not impeaching this President are based on faulty reasoning.

It is often argued that impeachment proceedings would rally support for the President. I am not sure what the basis for this argument is. If this argument is valid, it would be logical to assume that the current investigations taking place in the House and Senate would also have this effect. Yet as investigations continue and more evidence of corruption, malfeasance and legally questionable acts on the part of this administration surface, the President's approval ratings continue to spiral downward. In any case, it seems irrelevant; if George Bush has committed impeachable acts, it is inappropriate for House Members, who swore to uphold and defend the Constitution, not to act.

Another popular argument against impeachment hearings is that they would be a 'diversion' from the laudable goals of ending the Iraq War and enacting other legislation. But the reality is that many of this President's impeachable acts relate directly to this war. Thus, Articles of Impeachment strengthen the case for ending the war and help turn the tide further in opposition to this nation's continued occupation of Iraq. Meanwhile, with slim majorities in both houses, Democrats cannot pass any significant progressive legislation that could survive a veto or signing statement, and the record shows it. To quote Janis Joplin, "If you ain't got nothin', you got nothin' to lose."

Many beltway insiders insist that there is no popular support for impeachment, and that the public simply would not stand for it. This is not true, and flies in the face of the evidence. The few scientific polls done on impeachment, such as one conducted last October by Newsweek, show a slim majority favoring impeachment. Most recently, a poll conducted by the firm Insider Advantage/Majority Opinion (run by former Newt Gingrich aide Matt Towery) and printed in the conservative journal Human Events found 4 in 10 respondents supporting impeachment.

The scariest thought for some is that impeaching the President would elevate Dick Cheney to POTUS. And yet there is little doubt that Mr. Cheney already wields a tremendous amount of influence in this administration, so I don't see how this makes much difference. Further, I don't see how a man with a 9% approval rating could be effective in advancing his agenda as President. He would be the lamest lame duck ever.

It is claimed by many that impeachment would prove divisive for the country. To this I respond that the voters in the '06 elections voted for a divided government. The electorate voiced their opposition to this administration. It is the President who has acted in a divisive manner. It is his intransigence that makes taking this stand inevitable. It is better to act sooner rather than later.

This President's high crimes are self evident. They do not need investigation. From ordering the NSA to spy on Americans' communications without a warrant, which a federal judge has already declared a felony, to obstruction of justice in the Valerie Plame case, to conspiracy in the Niger "yellowcake" document forgery scandal to criminal negligence in responding to Katrina disaster, this administration has earned impeachment. It is OUR duty to begin impeachment proceedings with haste and determination.

I think the strongest argument for the impeachment of George W. Bush is this; We are supposed to a nation governed by the rule of law. Our international credibility hinges upon this assumption. Our domestic stability hinges upon this assumption. If we, as a nation, as a people , do not act to pursue the rule of law and hold this administration accountable, then we will never be able to recover from the damage to our judicial system. We will forever be dismissed as untrustworthy, and our words and deeds will be ignored and derided. We will forever shut the doors on the promise of America.

This is why I now must ask you and Representative Jay Inslee  to step forward and co-author and introduce Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush. The time is right and you two are the right people. You both have the advantage of incumbency and strong support. Your constituents would overwhelmingly support you.

History occasionally calls upon the few to act resolutely on the behalf of the many. History is calling on you now. I am confident that you will do the correct thing.

Thank You for your time,

As I reread that letter today, it rings more true than the day I wrote it. It occurred to me yesterday that for a legal system based on precedent to allow George W. Bush to walk away unscathed from his crimes sets a very, very bad precedent. To not impeach this administration is to completely and totally abandon the rule of law.

That is what I am afraid of.

UPDATE House votes on impeachment. Passed to Judiciary community with 24 Republicans voting yes.