GONZALES IMPEACHMENT OFF THE TABLE TOO? MAYBE DEMOCRATIC VOTERS NEED TO SEND PELOSI A STRONGER MESSAGE

As I mentioned a few times, I really like H.R. 333, the bill to begin impeachment proceedings against Cheney. It needs 17 co-sponsors to get off the ground. It has 14. I started calling progressive congressmen. They-- or their staffers-- all read from the same sheet of talking points about why it's a bad idea to impeach Cheney (and Bush). Ari Berman in The Nation got right to the heart of the matter: Nancy Pelosi, the force behind the talking points which, I suspect, came from Rahm Emanuel. Ari points out that if Nancy weren't Speaker she would probably favor impeachment. As Speaker she says she has other priorities: "ending the war in Iraq, expanding health care, creating jobs and preserving the environment. 'I know what our success can be on those issues. I don't know what our success can be on impeaching the president,'" she told Ari. She also told him that the votes aren't there to pass an impeachment resolution.

What about Inslee's bill to impeach Abu Gonzo? She's for children's health care and an energy bill.

She is greatly disturbed by the lawlessness of this Administration and its contempt for checks and balances. "I take an oath to defend and protect the Constitution, so it is a top priority for me and my colleagues to uphold that." She notes the vigorous oversight hearings held by committee chairman like John Conyers and Henry Waxman.

But Pelosi sees impeaching Gonzales and his superiors as a distraction from the ambitious agenda she has crafted for the House. "If I can just hold my caucus together," she says, "I can take them to this progressive place."

UPDATE: MAYBE I WAS TOO HASTY ON NANCY: SHE JUST DOESN'T WANT TO IMPEACH GONZALES THIS WEEK

Turns out Speaker Pelosi isn't commenting on impeaching Gonzales in a general sense-- but she's just asking that it not be done this week when she has so much on her plate agenda-wise. I can wait an extra week if it's ok with Inslee.