Democrats scuttle proposal to impeach Bush
Move avoids House debate
        
Boston Globe

WASHINGTON - Democrats in the House of Representatives yesterday scuttled a colleague's proposal to impeach President Bush on a wide range of charges, including lying to the American public about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, torturing war captives, and misleading Congress in an attempt to destroy Medicare.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich proposed the 35-count articles of impeachment, which will die in the Judiciary Committee.

By a 251-166 vote, the House sent the 35-count articles of impeachment to the Judiciary Committee, which is expected to let it die without further action. While the vote technically forces the measure to the committee for consideration, it also means the full House will avoid having to debate and vote on impeaching the 43d president.

Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat who ran for his party's presidential nomination this year, spent several hours reading into the Congressional Record his lengthy and far-reaching indictment of Bush's presidency.

He introduced the proposal as a resolution, which could be considered by the full House without going through the committee process.

While fellow Democrats have frequently used the House floor to attack Bush for his policies on Iraq, healthcare, domestic surveillance, and many of Kucinich's other grievances, none has joined him in mounting an impeachment effort.

Republicans in 2006 warned voters that Democrats would try to impeach Bush if Republicans lost their 12-year majority in Congress, as they went on to do in that year's mid-term balloting.

Democratic leaders have long objected to Kucinich's initiative, saying it would be divisive and in any case unsuccessful.