Pelosi Rules Out Impeachment

In an effort to steal a rallying point from Republicans,* Nancy Pelosi has indicated that she will not support the impeachment movement. As quoted in the Washington Post article, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said, "impeachment is off the table; she is not interested in pursuing it."

While this does seem to take some of the wind out of our sails, it also reinforces our opinions about the current Democratic leadership. They have given up their role as champions of fairness and equality for the role of the whiny opposition. Their strategy is itself only based on the strategy of the Republicans. You have to give the Republicans credit for what they've done. They organized and executed a long-term campaign to shift the entire national dialogue to the right. Now the Dems are sitting around with wide eyes just shouting to be heard.

One of my classes in college used a textbook (can't remember which) that showed the timeline of political parties on our great country. Over the history of politics in the US, political parties have come and go when they no longer speak for a large enough consituency. As I've watched the Democrats of today hem and haw, that timeline has come up more and more in my mind. Are we seeing the final days of the Democratic party? Have they shifted so far to the right in the last 15 years that they can no longer represent the environment, fairness and integrity? Or is it just a low-spot?

*How ironic it is that efforts to impeach Bush, guilty of so many "high crimes and misdemeanors," should become a rallying cry for Republicans. It wasn't that long ago that the members of the Republican Revolution successfully impeached Clinton for such weighty offenses as lying about his triste in the Oval Office.