Impeachment Talk

I notice that, in the wake of the elections, a lot of conservative pundits are spinning doomsday scenarios about the Democrats trying to impeach President Bush. There are a couple of ironies here that merit attention. First, Republicans are usually all about accountability. They want criminals prosecuted and wrongdoers punished. They would rend their garments if the Brooklyn D.A. ever decided not to prosecute a drug dealer, child molester or other criminal. They hate it when "liberal judges" let a criminal off with what the perceive to be a light sentence. It seems odd that we would go to South America to bring a drug lord to justice, but not even investigate the President of our very own country. Where is all the "law and order" talk now?

Second, this is the party that tried to impeach President Clinton over a sexual tryst. It strikes me that a policy that has led to the invasion of a sovereign nation (the fact that we do not like it does not make it less sovereign), the deaths of thousands and the loss of billions at least deserves some investigation.

Lastly, it would seem that there is just an old fashioned deterrance argument to be made. It is difficult to believe that we will ever see our way clear of this kind of corruption (or incompetence) unless we hold those responsible accountable and thus send the message that the American people are willing to police their democracy, even if it is mesy, expensive and time consuming.