How many people in the government does it take...

This isn't a light bulb joke. I was wondering how many people in the government does it take to get our troops out of Iraq? Would you believe the number is 285?

Here's the break down:

• 217 members of the House of Representatives to pass Articles of Impeachment against Bush and Cheney.
• 67 Senators to vote for convictions.
• Nancy Pelosi to order the troops home.

And since Nancy Pelosi could be one of the 217, the number is really only 284.

Not on the Table?

Nancy Pelosi said that impeachment is not on the table.

We have a President who has consistently violated his oath of office, who has shredded the Bill of Rights, who has committed fraud on the American people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Yet impeachment is not on the table?

We have a President who has consistently ignored the advice of his military. And now that the American people have seen through his lies he is ignoring their will about his illegal and immoral war. As an imperial President he believes that he can also ignore what Congress says about the war. Yet impeachment is not on the table?

At the risk of stating the obvious, the war in Iraq requires a political solution: impeachment. Yet impeachment is not on the table? Who died and made Nancy Pelosi Martha Stewart?

(Shameless self-promotion time. Click on the design shown above to buy it on shirts, buttons, mugs, bumper stickers. It is also available on post cards and note cards in case you want to write to Senators or Representative.)

Call for a Counter-Coup

So, Nancy Pelosi says that impeachment is off the table. From a personal angle I can see why she would want to take that stand. If you impeach Bush you have two choices as to who becomes President. You get either Cheney or, if you impeach Cheney, too, you get Pelosi. Given everything that Bush has done to run up the national debt, destroy good will toward the U.S. throughout the world and entangle us in a quagmire of at least Viet Nam proportions, why would Pelosi want the job?

The good news for Nancy is that she doesn’t have to take the job. She can resign as Speaker and let someone else wear the crown of thorns. Who, you might ask, would we then get as President? The truth is that we could have any American born citizen 35 or older except Bush or Cheney.

Think about this and how it could work. Say the House passes the Articles of Impeachment against both Bush and Cheney on February 14 as a Valentine to the country and the world. The Senate would then hold the trial and vote to remove Bush and Cheney from office. This could happen before the ides of March. But in the time it takes the Senate to act, a Representative could resign and be replaced by an appointee. Pelosi could resign as Speaker and the Democrats could choose the new appointee as the Speaker. Once the Senate removes the less than sexy Bush and Dick act, the newly chosen Speaker becomes President. Pelosi can have her job back as Speaker and the Rep who resigned can even get the appointment to complete his/her original term. In other words, we have status quo ante in the House, but a New President who can then select a VP for confirmation by the Senate.

One obvious choice for the position of appointee/Speaker/President is Al Gore. After all, we already elected him to the job. You could look on this as a completely legal, by the books, i’s dotted t’s crossed, absolutely Constitutional, bloodless counter-coup.

Nancy Pelosi has already secured a place in history by becoming the first female Speaker of the House. History will judge her by what she does in that position. Ms. Speaker, we beseech you to lead us in restoring this country, either as President beginning in 2007 or as a leader of a counter-coup.