In a comment to a diary about impeachment by northwoods1, Hunter today said this:
Ironically, the more impeachment is talked about as an eventual outcome, the less likely it is to actually happen -- because unconvinced people will be emotionally steeled against it for a long period of time, convinced that it's all a partisan Democratic attack, and even very damning new facts that turn up won't be nearly as likely to sink in.
It's fascinating to me how very typical of American culture even the people who are trying to improve it still are. Impeachment is not an either/or proposition. We don't have to choose one dualist extreme or the other. And short-term gratification, however desirable, isn't going to happen on this issue. "These things must be done delicately." The more we talk about instant impeachment, the more we "spook the game."
(more on the flip side)
northwoods1 said:
So much for crashing the gate! Give a blogger a little credibility and attention and he quickly becomes part of the problem, just like the rest of the worthless Democratic establishment that believes the party should never, ever, put principle above politics.
Dualism requires one to believe that absolutely anything done by someone that resembles, in the slightest, something that might be done by the Forces of Evil™ is a sign that the person has joined the Forces of Evil™ him/herself and must be denounced as one of the Enemy. This is what northwoods1 appears to be doing in his/her opening paragraph.
I think Kos had two aims in mind with his frontpage diary on this: (1) to slow down the constant demands for instant impeachment, and (2) to generate lots of other diaries looking at every aspect of the issue. Well, at least #2 is working, which is good, because provoking debate is part of Kos' job.
I have every intention of working to impeach this entire administration. I owe it to my grandchildren. But I want every brick in the wall we build around the crooks, and every bar in their cell windows, to be absolutely sound. It will take at least a year of constant investigation to generate those bricks and to educate the public about them. Spring of 2008 will be a fine time to bring articles of impeachment in the House, while Summer of 2008 will be excellent to hold a trial in the Senate for Bush and his puppetmaster. Such timing will also force candidates to take stands on the issues right before the fall elections.
In the meantime, there's lots of work to be done on many different battlefronts (literal and figurative). We don't have to require everybody here, or at other progressive blogs, to be working on the same projects all the time. Some will work on campaign reform, some on universal healthcare, some on lobbying reform, some on other issues. I'm sure we'll have no shortage of people who want to work on the impeachments.
I look forward to the mountains of evidence that will be generated by the many investigating committees in Congress and the nuanced analyses that we will offer and debate here, and which will no doubt be read by our friends (and enemies--remember the Goldfish Bowl Factor) in Congress.
But please, let's not waste our time and energy fighting each other over which part of the horrific mess that is this administration needs to be cleaned up first. Just grab a broom or a mop and get to work!