DEPARTMENTS
ANTI-WAR
DEATH PENALTY
ELECTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
GLBT ISSUES
HEMP
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
REVIEWS
|
Departments National Issues A Congressman for impeachment While no congressional incumbent has yet introduced articles of impeachment or a resolution of inquiry into grounds for impeachment of Bush and Cheney, numerous 2006 candidates are committed to doing so. I know because they're contacting ImpeachPAC, a political action committee I work for which was recently created to support pro-impeachment candidates. Today ImpeachPAC announced its first endorsement, that of Tony Trupiano, Democratic candidate for Congress in Michigan's 11th District. Tony has already been endorsed by Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and by the Michigan Teamsters Union Joint Council 43. He'll be challenging Republican incumbent Thaddeus McCotter, a pro-Bush, pro-war, pro-wealth Republican who seems to spend much of his time on such substantive matters as "defending the Pledge of Allegiance." Tony Trupiano has had a national radio audience for over a decade as host of the Tony Trupiano Show, through which he has developed a powerful voice on behalf of working people. It's no surprise that unions have begun endorsing him a year before the election. Tony held a "Take Back the House" rally last Monday. It was the first event of his campaign, and "the best part," he said when I spoke to him on Saturday, "was the Q & A." One of the questions that someone asked Tony was what three pieces of legislation would be the first he would introduce. The first that Tony named was a bill to restore value to the federal minimum wage. He never got to the third, because the second issue he named received such a huge response that the conversation took a new turn. That second issue was impeachment. "The crowd went crazy," Tony said, "I mean the crowd absolutely went nuts. Some people who are consulting for the campaign said they cringed when I said impeachment, but when they saw how the crowd reacted they breathed easier. You know, we shouldn't be afraid of impeachment. Impeachment is there for a reason. If the President has not lied to us, if he is innocent of all of these charges, give us a chance to investigate. Impeachment is a non-partisan idea. It is the way to hold the government accountable." Of the current Congress, Trupiano said, "They have blindly let this man lead, and he has led us into disaster. It is time we had the truth!" I told Tony that his words were music to my ears. But, I said, I'd spoken to some Democratic candidates who said they could not support impeachment because they need to appeal to moderates. Before I could suggest my own rather lame response to that position, Tony spoke up with a better one. "Let me address that," he said. "What is more moderate than exploring the truth? Is there really partisanship in truth? Common-sense, middle-of-the-road people are not ambivalent. That candidates would say that is an insult to their constituents. We're not after the President, we're after the truth." "What Bill Clinton did was dead wrong," Tony continued. "Should he have been impeached? We can debate that up and down, but it's already happened. But, you know, it did not result in thousands killed and billions of dollars wasted, and for what? That does not make what Bill Clinton did right, but this administration has been given pass after pass. Shame on Democratic candidates for assuming their constituents wouldn't want the truth. Shame on them for saying they won't demand the truth because it will make people uncomfortable. What kind of leadership is that? If I don't get elected because I demand the truth and demand to save lives and tax dollars, then don't elect me. I'm ready to take that hit." Asked if he thinks he will win, Tony says, "Absolutely, I believe I will win. I may not win by a landslide, but I will win this district. I will bring a common sense voice back to Congress. And I don't plan to represent just this district, but to represent all the people of this country." The endorsement by PDA is "huge," Trupiano said. "Tim Carpenter, the executive director of PDA, is one of the most passionate Democrats I know, a smart guy who cares about so many issues. PDA is unashamed to do what they want. Why should we be afraid to be who we are?" The Teamsters, too, Trupiano said, "are unafraid. Their endorsement is an affirmation of the work I've done in the first 44 years of my life." Tony is leaving his radio show in order to campaign fulltime. "When the incumbent is financed by Tom Delay and the Republican Party and doesn't need individual donors," he said, "I need to do what I'm doing, building an infrastructure and raising the money needed to win. I will be making him wear every mistake he's made and showing that he offers no leadership. I will be showing people what real leadership is." Trupiano expects to win the backing of independents and Republicans as well as Democrats. Moderates are angry, he says, and some of the angriest voters are Republican. "When you help pick the winner and he disappoints, it's very upsetting. How would you like to be a Republican who voted for this guy [Bush] and have to wear that now? That's not easy stuff. That's like when a parent or a spouse disappoints you. You feel like you're stuck. "But real conservatives are abandoning this guy. The best estimates say that 37% is the number for George Bush's base. At a 34 percent approval rating, there's cannibalism, they're leaderless, there's no rudder. You've heard that he is not on good terms with the Vice President, that he's only talking to a handful of people. This administration is imploding. Mark my word, the people in the White House will not all be there in 2008. Where does the Valerie Plame scandal lead? How long will it be before impeachment is something the media is forced to talk about? What about the Vice President's secret energy meetings? All of a sudden everybody's waking up and realizing there's truth to what the Democrats have been saying for a while. "We don't need to be afraid to use the word impeachment. It is the process that was set up. It's not a bad word. It stands for accountability. It is the system of justice in our political system. Hey, maybe the guy's innocent – just give us a chance to find out. There's nothing radical in that. That's not a left leaning thing. "I have a public record that I can't walk away from. For 11 years I've been on the radio demanding truth. I can't become a candidate and walk away from the foundation of what I've done. All I'm saying is don't deny us due process. Stop insulting the American mentality. We just want the truth. Don't you think we deserve the truth? I'm tired of losing. I'm tired of losing as a Democrat. I'm tired of losing as the middle class. I'm tired of losing lives in a part of the world we have no business being in. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win this damn thing." LINKS ImpeachPAC: http://www.impeachpac.org Tony Trupiano for Congress: http://www.tony4congress2006.com Tony's blog on impeachment: http://www.tony4congress2006.com/blogs The Tony Trupiano Show: http://www.thetonyshow.com/ --- David Swanson is the Washington Director of ImpeachPAC.org. |
|
Recent National Issues Articles Rumsfeld admits to "ghosting" detainee A man without a country Impeach the Liar-in-Chief Bush wiretaps threaten national security Which Christmas is the 'War Against Christmas' against? Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project plans economic summit in New York City Fear of the devil It's time to impeach Bush for these blatant violations of the law December 3 in the USA: a partial report Bush spews more irresponsible rhetoric as senate Extends Patriot Act for Six Months The Constitution in Crisis report Privatize Me...Corporatize Me.... Blackwaterize Me... USA Patriot Act defeated: Libertarians celebrate victory The solution we aren't considering Panic attack Eugene McCarthy, prophet with honor The iron fist of Jesus Progressive primary challenge to Hilary aunched An invitation to a tea party Precarious lives Criminal trial related to California energy crisis may start soon Hey board members, leave our kids alone! A Congressman for impeachment Friday night Congress: what was that? Teach our children well Greenhouse School secures major art donation Parental guidance suggested Our mothers (and Thomas Paine) warned us about people like the disciples of Strauss Despite his demeanor, Rove's still a Target Armistice Day 2005 The Bush-Cheney ethics refresher course Vice President lied as White House sought to defuse leak inquiry 53% of Americans support impeachment; ImpeachPAC announced! I can't wait Nothing to Lose The real Rosa Parks How has it come to this? Bush's wheels falling off Miers, White House surrender to ultraconservatives Prosecutor secures indictment in CIA outing case, lawyers say Hard conversations about the big easy Coalition of 75 groups demand end to Pentagon's youth database Vice President's role in outing of CIA agent under examination, sources close to prosecutor say Hard questions about the big easy Times reporter entangled in leak case had unusual relationship with military, Iraqi group Try and catch the wind More from the stormfront gulf central A deep look at corruption culture Dems Go After Bennett, Salem Radio Network, FCC Bill Bennett’s comments emerge from an ideology that is classic white supremacy, Rev. Jesse Jackson says Why the nomination of Harriet has to be looked at below the radar In support of weakness on national security Bill Frist, The Former 2008 Presidential Candidate Winds of change blow through DC, Bush flees More New Orleans stories From the stormfront: experiencing Rita in New Orleans The GOP’s fiscal policies turned a natural disaster into a man-made catastrophe The Devil in the Details: Carter-Baker, California, and the Integrity of American Elections Hurricane Katrina-Our Experiences A Fraction of Democracy Bring back New Orleans: the politics of disaster Rev. Jackson Recommends a 21st Century Marshall Plan That Reinvests in the Gulf Coast Division of funeral corp. charged with desecrating corpses hired to collect deceased victims of hurricane Katrina FEMA Chief Brown paid millions in false claims to help Bush win Fla. votes Indefinite Detention Seems like more people died than prospered under Pres Bush’s leadership Politics, timing and the so-called terrorist Nuradin Abdi: the mall bomber who wasn't Paul Allen's other yacht Katrina: A tragedy made worse The President’s priorities: state of marriage took precedence over state of Louisiana Notes from inside New Orleans Rev. Jackson Makes Second Rescue Mission into New Orleans Bush Strafes New Orleans, Where's Huey Long? 911 in New Orleans Global Warming and Widespread Blackouts Are Just as Deadly as Terrorism The mothers are coming! Update from Leonard Peltier Leonard has been transferred to USP Lewisburg Against Discouragement Open Letter to Cindy Sheehan, Crawford, Texas Regarding the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Lawyers, guns and money: Just put down that lawsuit, pardner, and no one gets hurt Forgotten Victims of America’s Plutocracy Spine, spine everywhere a spine Speaking truth to Roberts Business as usual with Judge Roberts; straight corporate, with Pepto-Bismol chaser The Record of Judge John Roberts The Enemy of Our Enemy May Still Be the Enemy of Democracy Mr. Rove and the Access of Evil: Tell Us Your "Source," Judy The Economy Turned the Corner and Is Headed in the Wrong Direction July 4th Declaration of Impeachment They Died for Their Country Energy adviser who solicited Enron to help write national energy policy to be named Chair of FERC Big Food Strikes Back; Ag industry aims to strip local control of food supplies The fantastical world of Studley McMuffin Counter-Recruitment: Preventing the Military from Getting More Youth for their Wars: An Interview with Counter-Recruitment Activist Clint Coppernoll A matter of education... Violations of Civil Liberties are an American Tradition Rumsfeld: Beyond the Point of No Return Peltier hearing to address Lakota Nation soverignty Extraordinarily rancid justices Former Army Sec, Enron VP, Thomas White Wants Gov't Funding For New Energy Project Imposing minority views When is Someone Going to Toss Rumsfeld into a Cage? Republicans: The Anti-Christian, Christian Party Watergate Proves That Even Presidents Will Break Laws To Achieve Goals Oral Histories of the 1970 Kent State Shootings Blurb: End the filibuster -- in 2015 The Beginning Of The End Of The Age Of Reason Nuking Democracy Conscientious Objection on Trial: The Court Martial of Keith Benderman Barnum on Steroids Mother’s Day Without Mom An Open Letter to Howard Dean Appeals Court Nominee Janice Rogers Brown Merits the Filibuster Activists Spur Historic Call to Exit Iraq John Bolton & the Battle for Reality Videos expose false arrests at 2004 Republican Convention protests in New York Wal-Mart's Free Market Fallacy Howard Dean Becomes Leader of the Other Pro-War Party; Dean on Iraq: “We're There and We Can't Get Out” You have to pick your team What They Should Fight For Vigilante Republicans Congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney Urges Reform of Voting Process at Historic Conference Abortion and Schiavo -- The stories we tell How and Why We're Working to Block the Bankruptcy Bill Statement on the Passing of Terri Schiavo Veterans for peace call for Congressional action to impeach George W. Bush and Richard Cheney Zealot and Proud of It Non Volunteers, Non-Recruiters, And A Non War Meet Your New FCC Chairman: Kevin Martin E.P.A. Nominee Supports Testing of Chemicals on Human Subjects A luncheon break with Michael Jackson Gannongate and Asian Pacific America I'd rather not say good-bye, Dan Free Trade and Frivolous Lawsuits Experiencing Hunter, Experiencing Death: A Eulogy The inevitability trap Bush’s Judicial Nominations are Hardly Mainstream Senators Clinton and Boxer, Representative Tubbs Jones and others unveil major election reform bill The difference between bi-partisanship and non-partisanship Bush & the Rise of 'Managed-Democracy' Yesterday's Gallup Poll Showing Bush Approval At 57% Had 9% More Republicans Than Democrats J20 Through my eyes Bush's Budget: The War on Working People Continues Bush’s Budget is at Odds With His Rhetoric Direct Action For Peace? State of the Union speech falls short, says Rev. Jesse Jackson The Black Perspective Save American Democracy: Curb Corporate Power Who's Paying for all this Freedom? Yes, there is a crisis in Social Security Agitation Time The 10 Worst Corporations of 2004 They Doth Protest Too Little Thousands take to the streets to oppose the inauguration of George W. Bush A Warm Oasis in a Snow Storm; The Progressive Democrat Summit in Washington The Politics of SpongeBob Mis-Defining Terrorism Marines stretching movement Bush’s Mythical Mandate and Social Security Piratization Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, Jr. Bush’s Choice for Energy Secretary Was One of Texas’ Top Five Worst Polluters Bush, God, Fox, and the International Criminal Court The real reason Bush wants to privatize Social Security CBS' cowardice and conflicts behind purge Bring them home -- Sooner rather than later Read National Issues Articles by Year: |
FREE PRESS EMAIL UPDATE
Donate to the Free Press Election Protection Fund to help us investigate and monitor election fraud in this year's election.
FOLLOW US ON
twitter
facebook
SEARCH THE FREEPRESS
1021 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43205 | 614.253.2571 | truth@freepress.org
All content © 1970-2012 The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer