Impeach!! Why do you believe Bush will honor any of this Iraq legislation you are trying to pass??

Dear Congressman Miller,

1) Why should I have any faith in the Congressional strategy of passing incremental pieces of Iraq legislation as a means to gradually force Bush to end our occupation of Iraq? Hasn't Bush shown us repeatedly that he feels he is above the law and above Congress in his role as Commander in Chief and can just disregard any legislation that you pass? Isn't Congress just agreeing to play the enabling partner in a rigged game by following that strategy?

Both Cheney and Bush have repeatedly violated our laws and the Constitution. They are attempting to vastly expand the power of the Executive, and weaken and destabilize the coequal checks and balances and separation of powers. The Framers of the Constitution established impeachment as a necessary process to be used by Congress in cases of serious Executive overreach such as this. In the context of their contempt for the rule of law and our Constitution, I have come to believe that the only way we will ever end this war, and prevent an expansion of it into Iran, is through the process of impeachment of both Cheney and Bush.

At your recent Town Hall meeting here in Benicia, you stated you would not support calls for impeachment because it "wouldn't succeed, and would be an 18 month distraction from other important business that needs to be addressed, such as ending the Iraq war."

2) Your claim that there wouldn't be enough votes for impeachment is just speculation, isn't it? That is only true if you don't try. If a Congressional leader, such as yourself, with your immense political stature and influence, would cosign H.Res.333 (Articles of Impeachment of Dick Cheney), don't you think it would open the flood gates and suddenly many other legislators would jump on board?

3) And why should we believe your claim that impeachment would be dragged out for 18 months by appeals. Other impeachment campaigns haven't taken that long have they? Furthermore, seeing the handwriting on the wall, the accused might resign (as Nixon did).

Your claim that impeachment would just be a "distraction" from other more important business that needs to be addressed is very disturbing.

4) Why do you consider it a useless "distraction" for Congress to take action to defend the Constitution against this imperial administration's erosion of our Constitutional separation of powers and rule of law? What could be more important?! Even if Congress doesn't "succeed" in impeaching Bush-Cheney, don't you think it's imperative for them to send an all important message to future administrations who might otherwise contemplate a similar overreaching of their Constitutional powers?

I encourage you to view the recent PBS program on Bill Moyer's Journal (particularly the comments by Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein about the need for Statesmen to stand up in this dangerous hour)
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/profile.html

5) I would like you to explain what you think of their arguments for impeachment, and if you disagree with them, why?

I sincerely hope, Congressman Miller, that you will rethink your position on impeachment and resolve to take the courageous stand of the Statesman that I know you are.