Last week, Congressman Dennis Kucinich stood for nearly five hours in the House chamber, reading aloud the case for impeaching President George W. Bush.

The irony is that Kucinich’s fellow Democrats, in their own act of dereliction of duty, chose to bury these 35 articles of impeachment.

It would be one thing if these Democrats thought the charges against Bush weren’t justified. Most of them believe that the president did indeed break the law, violated the Constitution and probably deserves to be impeached.

But they will not debate the issue because it doesn’t help their cause politically. They like the fact that Bush is president, that his blunders have killed his credibility and that of his party. He has become the best advertisement Democrats have for why the GOP should be kicked out of Washington this November.

But how do Democrats make the case that they stand for change and accountability when they fail so spectacularly to even discuss holding Bush accountable for anything?
Democrats have a great knack for engaging in political calculations that result in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. For too long they have tried to finagle, position and con their way to victory, trying to tell voters what they want to hear, even if it goes against their core principles. Voters as a group might be dumb enough to fall for Bush’s “compassionate conservative” line, but they easily can smell the fakery that has been the Democratic brand for too long.
The argument being made against seeking impeachment is that we have other pressing issues to take care of. Yes, we do. But what lasting effect will there be by setting a precedent of not acting on alleged lawbreaking by the president? Congress can’t spare a few hours to uphold the Constitution? I bet if we take a close look at their schedules, there’s plenty of time to spare on a hearing or two.