“A New Way Forward” Is Just Orwellian Speak For Window Dressing

With President Bush set to give a major speech on Iraq sometime before Christmas, we could be much closer to real talk of impeachment than ever before. Nancy Pelosi said before the midterm elections that impeachment was “off the table” but even she may not be able to stop the process from starting if the public reacts badly to the “new direction” the President is set to propose for Iraq. With only 21% of the public still supporting a continuation of the occupation of Iraq, the stage is set for a revolt within the Republican ranks if what the President proposes appears to be nothing more than window dressing.

All news out of the White House suggests that “staying the course” is exactly what the President intends to do. The Iraq Study Group’s report has sparked a new campaign in the White House, not to implement substantive changes to the policy, but rather to re-sell the Iraq War to the American people. Bush seems to still believe his own rhetoric and he gives every indication that he’s still convinced of the rightness of his mission and remains confident, despite all evidence to the contrary, that given enough time, he can make it work. Anyone with half a brain can see that winning in Iraq is no longer an option and if the Bush administration’s attempts to re-package the occupation fail, his fellow Republicans will pay the price. No one can win an election with only the support of the brain addled 21 percenters.

The case for impeachment has been made repeatedly and the illegal NSA domestic eavesdropping program authorized by the President is probably the best option on which to base a case, but in practice, impeachment isn’t a legal remedy, it’s a political one. Up to this point, talk of impeachment has been confined to the Left with legal scholars, constitutional lawyers and a few brave members of Congress weighing in, but the real threat to President Bush, is his own Party. This President will be impeached only if it becomes politically expedient for Republicans to support it, and if Bush chooses to stay the course while calling it a “new direction” and the American people don’t buy it, we may start to hear the “I” word tumbling out of the mouths of Republicans. Breaking the law, lying to Congress and the American people, and thwarting the constitution may not be compelling enough reasons for Republicans to consider impeaching this President, but breaking the Republican Party, well, that’s a whole other story.