Now on to the good part.
We have a nominee.
Hillary Clinton made a surprisingly moving concession speech on Saturday that has people all over the blogosphere singing its praises. She urged her supporters to get behind Barack Obama and work to get him elected.
And now we have the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party.
Let’s stop for just a minute and honor those who came before Senator Obama, though. I particularly want to give some credit again to Shirley Chisholm and Carol Moseley Braun, two Democratic African-American women who put the lie to the false dichotomy of “black vs. woman” that’s been all over the press lately.
And let’s think about the possibilities for a second. We thought the primary season was nasty, but perhaps it’s for the best–one can’t help but wonder what John McCain can say about Obama that hasn’t already been said by Clinton or Clinton supporters. Though we should know from experience never to underestimate Karl Rove and that team.
Obama has already been remaking the Democratic party in his own image. He’s retaining Howard Dean (who we endorsed here at Kaffeine Buzz back in 2004) as party chairman, reinforcing Dean’s 50-state strategy that led both to Democratic gains in 2006 and to Obama’s primary victories in unlikely places, and he has exacted from the party a pledge not to accept lobbyist or PAC money, as his campaign has not.
So while the major parties gear up for the general election, the conversation has changed for the moment to Dennis Kucinich’s reading of Articles of Impeachment on the House floor. While it’s probably a given that nothing will be done about it, the fact that it’s been brought out into the open is a major step.
For your edification, here is the index. The full text is here.
INDEX
Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of H. J. Res114.Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation’s Natural Resources.Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to “Black Sites” Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.Article XX
Imprisoning Children.Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.
Next week: the Veepstakes!
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