Bob Wexler for Vice President

Robert Wexler is not actually running for anything but the Florida U.S. House seat he has held for the better part of two decades. But the congressman who has taken the lead in the fight to open impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney has launched a Web site that says he is "giving voice to America's progressive Democrats."

He's riding an idea -- holding the Bush/Cheney administration to account in order to reassert the role of Congress as a co-equal branch of government -- into the consciousness of progressives. He's appealing to those frustrated not merely by lax leadership in Congress but by a presidential field that, with the exception of Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, does not seem to recognize that the White House has run roughshod over the Constitution.

Wexler's decision to step out front in the fight to check and balance Cheney has convinced a lot of activist Democrats that he gets it. If he keeps getting it, the veteran member of the House Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees could find his name added to the list of potential vice presidential nominees.

In a matter of days, 170,000 people have signed the pro-impeachment petition at the www.wexlerwantshearings.com site. And, despite the pull of the holidays and the impending presidential caucuses and primaries, the number are growing rapidly.

That gives Wexler a better base than several of the presidential contenders with which to play on the national stage.

But Wexler is not playing. He's distinguishing himself as a bold and strategic thinker at a time when most Democrats are struggling to strike the right balance between principles and tactics.

He has connected with frustrated progressives by bringing a new argument into play. Rejecting the notion that impeachment hearings might distract the Democratic Congress, he says that an accountability push is exactly what is needed to make things happen.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and most top Democrats continue to chirp about how Democrats really are getting things done. The problem, as the tanking approval ratings for Congress confirm, is that no one outside Washington takes those claims seriously.

Wexler argues that moving on the Cheney impeachment front is the best way for Democrats to force the White House to work with Congress on a host of critical issues.

"After the Democratic Party regained control of Congress, many -- myself included -- thought that it might be possible to meet President Bush halfway on the large issues facing our nation. Unfortunately, Bush has been nothing more than an ideological obstacle. He has vetoed stem cell research. He has vetoed efforts to bring our troops home from Iraq. He vetoed children's health care. So the idea that we are somehow inhibiting Congress from passing our agenda by holding impeachment hearings -- unfortunately -- is a false argument," explains the congressman.

Comments (10)

1. Thanks for your (expected) End-of-Year `Hail Mary'! One must have hope going into a LEAP Year....heheheheh!

   Posted by Happy at 12/31/2007 @ 11:49am

2. Four Questions---

   1. Didn't Wexler have an ORIGINAL goal of "50,000" signees before he would introduce his resolution...and then bump it UP to 1,000,000?

   2. Didn't Wexler have a censure move against Bush for pardoning Libby as well? How did THAT go?

   3. When is John Nichols going to wake up and smell the lack of freshly-roasted Impeachment Cafe au Lait?

   and most importantly...

   4. Where the HECK is HSUBFOOLS, it's only 10 more days until Al Gore announces that he's running for President for 2008!?!?!?!

   heheh

   Posted by Mask at 12/31/2007 @ 12:04pm

3. what a sorry state of affairs,

   when a nation cannot depose of a corrupt administration,

   and its citizens just say,

   "ha, ha, ha, it'll never happen."

   enjoy.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 12/31/2007 @ 12:31pm

4. dispose

   Posted by frosty zoom at 12/31/2007 @ 12:42pm

5. I don't Wexler could even carry Florida, so who would put him on their ticket?

   Remember, politics is a game of addition, not subtraction, or breaking even!

   Posted by Metteyya at 12/31/2007 @ 1:06pm

6. Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 12/31/2007 @ 12:31pm

   Some of 'em say that.

   And some of 'em say what really needs to be said.

   Figuring out who to listen to is really not all that difficult.

   Happy New, Frosty.

   Posted by drhammer at 12/31/2007 @ 4:11pm

7. Happy New Year all.

   Peace.

   Posted by drhammer at 12/31/2007 @ 4:11pm

8. Posted by DRHAMMER 12/31/2007 @ 4:11pm

   Happy New Year, Doc. Hopefully it'll be better one.

   Posted by Mask at 12/31/2007 @ 4:26pm

9. Happy New Year all.

   Peace.

   Posted by DRHAMMER 12/31/2007 @ 4:11pm | ignore this person

   Posted by DRHAMMER 12/31/2007 @ 4:11pm

   Happy New Year, Doc. Hopefully it'll be better one.

   Posted by MASK 12/31/2007 @ 4:26pm

   ha-ppay new years!!!!!

   "see" you in 2008!

   Posted by frosty zoom at 12/31/2007 @ 7:23pm

10. Good 'ol wacky wexler.....he's always good for a laugh or two.....

    Posted by davebarlett at 01/01/2008 @ 12:57am