The Joy of Lobbying or Talking Impeachment With Jerry Nadler

(great essay – real citizen activism at its finest. – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

The Joy of Lobbying or Talking Impeachment with Jerry Nadler

At the end of August Representative Jerry Nadler (Nadler) from New York City’s Congressional District 8 met with about twenty of his constituents to discuss impeachment.  This meeting was arranged in response to letters the Congressman received from his constituents indicating their concern about what is going on with our government and requesting that he support impeachment.  It says volumes that Nadler set aside the time to meet with us and gave us a full hour.  It was clear in how he addressed us and how he ran the meeting that he took our concerns and the issue of impeachment seriously.  What follows is what he and we had to say…

Occurring in New York during the Congressional recess, the meeting was attended by a group of citizen activists some of whom represented Democratic clubs in the city (Village Independent Democrats (VID) and Chelsea Reform Democrats (CRDC)) and organizations like Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and Democracy For New York City (DFNYC).  A good number were from the Chelsea Stand Up Against the War which stands up every Tuesday 6-7pm at the corner of 24th Street and Eighth Avenue (well worth checking out).  From Nadler’s office I was impressed to see not just his District Director for Manhattan, Rob Gottheim, but also his District Director for DC, John Doty as well as a fourth person who I believe was a legislative aide from the DC office.

Nadler opened the meeting by recognizing and respecting our request that several members of the group be allowed to present positions on impeachment.  Many of us had heard the Congressman speak at various club meetings over the recess and were familiar with his stand on impeachment and wanted the opportunity to learn more about it and to tell him where we stood. 

Nadler’s position on impeachment is not easily summed up as simply pro or against. On the one hand, he believes the President and Vice President have committed impeachable offenses and he would like to see them impeached.  On the other, he says that he does not believe that impeachment should happen now and the following explains why and what we can do about it.

Nadler made it clear that he does not see H. Res. 333 as a path to impeachment. He pointed instead to a new resolution that would be drafted by the Judiciary Committee, emphasizing that impeachment would only happen with the support of the Democratic leadership.  He explained that the Rules Committee controls which bills make it onto the agenda.  He also clarified a misconception he had read in the blogs (yes he does read us) that he has the power to move impeachment forward, reiterating that it will not happen without Pelosi and Conyers.  He commended us for holding him accountable and impressed upon us the need to keep the pressure on the Dem leadership.

One of Nadler’s concerns about moving ahead with impeachment now is that he does not think they have ironclad proof that Bush /Cheney lied us into the war.  He was emphatic about this, and when questioned said that they need to be able to prove that Bush/Cheney deliberately and knowingly lied.  He told us that they are conducting investigations geared towards finding ironclad proof and would continue to carry on investigations seeking more evidence for impeachable offenses, but unless something cataclysmic happened he did not expect to have more evidence until the end of the year.  At the same time, Nadler said that he thinks they have definitive proof on warrantless wiretapping, and that he would vote for it, but did not believe enough of his colleagues would.  He qualified these statements with “right now” saying that he is not closing his mind about it.

Given that he expects investigations to take the rest of the year, if impeachment hearings happen they will start around January/February in the middle of primary season. Nadler questions if it would serve the country’s interest to rivet attention on impeachment when it should be choosing a Presidential candidates.  We of course told him how important it was to introduce the issues surrounding impeachment – the abuse of executive privilege and signing statements, the erosion of civil liberties, the disruption of the balance of power between branches of government, the condoning and permitting of torture – into the Presidential election discussion.  For many of us the issue of precedent is paramount in the impeachment agenda.  Nadler agreed, stating that we needed to vindicate the rule of law and to remove these powers from “the quiver of the next President, Democrat or Republican.”  He also indicated that they are working on legislation to reign in the powers of the Executive.

Nadler’s other concern about impeachment is success in the Senate.  He posed this question almost as if he was thinking out loud:  “What is the point, cost/benefit, of carrying on impeachment proceedings that will not succeed?”  He doesn’t see a good answer to this, but at the same time concedes the importance of addressing the offenses committed by this administration.  It is our firm belief, as we told him, that conducting the hearings and bringing the offenses into the public eye and forcing discussion in the media would be sufficient to garner the support of the country and the Senate.  We also questioned why he would assume out of hand that they would not succeed, impressing upon him that as people became educated about what has been going on with our government, there would be a groundswell of support.  Earlier in the month at a VID meeting, Nadler had discussed the possibility of bringing criminal charges against Bush/Cheney after a Democratic President is in office, but he backed away from it this afternoon acknowledging that a Democratic President would not be likely to back prosecuting the lot, wanting to be considered a uniter not a divider.  At least he was honest about it.

The final concern Nadler expressed was about what impeachment could do to the Democratic Party and how it would play in the media.  We impressed upon him that impeachment could only help the party and talked about how not fighting back had hurt the Dems, particularly Kerry in 2008. We also told him that it would allow the Democrats to take back control of the traditional media as it could not ignore impeachment. As I write this now, watching what is going on with Petraeus’ testimony and the upcoming vote, I am remembering how Nadler emphatically told us at the VID meeting earlier this summer that if Bush vetoed legislation for a fully funded withdrawal this fall, the same bill should be sent right back to him.  I wonder as we watch the Dems praise Petraeus and the Bush Dogs get ready to capitulate, if he might see our point about how important it is to take a strong stand against this administration and how it would benefit the party and the country.  We told him that afternoon that people had lost confidence in the Democratic Party and it’s ability and willingness to stand up for itself, us, and the Constitution.  We are crying out for leadership and strength.

At the close of the meeting, Nadler had another engagement and needed to leave, but we carried on the discussion as he walked out the door.  While leaving he reiterated how we were doing the right thing in pressuring him, but that we needed to reach the leadership.  One of our group asked him if he could help us get to Conyers and Pelosi.  I think we also need to ask him what he can do to pressure the Democratic leadership to carry this forward. 

Personally, I left the meeting feeling as if we had made a small amount of progress with our letters, calls, emails, arguments, etc.  I did feel that he is listening to us and realizes we are a force to be respected.  Part of this is due to who Jerry Nadler is – 1) a progressive Democrat from New York City who recognizes the validity of impeachment and 2) a Congressman who cares about what his constituents think – and part of it was the empowerment that comes with lobbying and being a part of the Democratic process.  Preparing for the meeting required considerable research and planning and it was worth every moment.  I know we reached him and I expect that he will live up to his word to support impeachment if investigations net the standard of proof they need to commence impeachment proceedings.  Nadler was responsive enough to read John Nichols’ book, The Genius of Impeachment, and I will not be surprised to find him responsive to the points raised during our meeting.  I think the two most operative words we heard from him were the qualifiers not “now” and “yet.”

So where does this leave us?  In New York City for the past three Saturdays, the Village Independent Democrats have organized an impeachment table in Union Square where they help people write letters to members of Congress urging them to support impeachment.  Each Saturday they have managed to double the number of letters collected from the week before.  Tomorrow I know of two meetings with members of Congress regarding impeachment.  Chances are there are more that I have not heard about.  Impeachment is not a dead issue – unless we allow it to become one.  It may be our only hope to keep us out of Iran and get us out of Iraq.  Fifteen more months is a long time for this administration to remain in control of our government and our military.  Please, if you support impeachment, write a letter to your Congress/wo/man today.  Even better, set up a meeting with your Rep or the District Director.  And follow though on what Jerry Nadler suggested – contact Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers – tell them it is our country and it is time to TAKE IT BACK.

As a final note, I want to share that Nadler is reading the blogs.  At the VID meeting he quoted from Open Left and when I showed him a graph of the impeachment diaries published on dkos from January 2006 through July 2007 (prepared by plf515) he took note and told me that he too reads dkos.  The graph is memorable with a steep curve – plf515, if you are reading and can post it in the comments, I will be very grateful as I have not yet mastered the art of posting images.  Knowing how many people here are pro-impeachment and how many also want to make change, I hope contributing to instigating impeachment hearings will be part of what Docudharma makes happen.  When I called this essay “The Joy of Lobbying” I meant it.  It is a fiercely empowering experience that I recommend to everyone.