Revolution#133, June 22, 2008
A QUESTION FOR BARACK OBAMA
A question for Barack Obama—and for those swept up in the whole Obama thing:
Since Obama has now developed such a large and dedicated following, why does Obama not call on all those people—this “movement” as his proponents have often taken to calling it—to massively get behind the demand that Bush and Cheney be impeached and removed from office for what are undeniable crimes against humanity and war crimes, and certainly constitute “high crimes and misdemeanors” that demand impeachment and removal from office?
Why is that not crucial in setting the country on a truly different course? For after all, if the crimes carried out by the Bush White House—both the “standard” (but nonetheless horrific) ways they carried out imperialist interests, common to all administrations, and the new measures that they took (for instance, the direct organizing of a massive machinery of torture and the construction of “legal” justifications for this, as reported by ABC News in April of this year)—are allowed to stand…and if the perpetrators of these crimes are not brought even to the justice that an impeachment would mean…and if these crimes, by virtue of going unpunished, are thereby allowed to assume the force of precedent…what will that mean?
Especially since such a resolution has now been introduced in the House, why is Obama not forcefully calling attention to this and insisting, in his capacity as the presumptive nominee, that this be done?
Is the answer that doing this would “further divide the country” rather than “bringing us together”? And if that is the answer, then what does that say about the nature and content of this “bringing us together” and “overcoming differences”—a “bringing together” and “overcoming differences” that would leave unpunished what are not only clearly impeachable offenses but towering crimes against humanity?
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