Rep. Nadler, what are you waiting for?

Let's look at some the events of the last few days, to see what they have in common:

1) Dennis Kucinich introduced a single new article of impeachment against the president, for his and his administration's lying us into a disastrous and illegal war;

2) Karl Rove not only failed to appear before the HJC on Thursday after being subpoenaed, but he skipped the country without notifying Congress(!);

3) Nancy Pelosi, in her signature style (vague, ambiguous, and vague again), made a statement which seemed to leave the door open for impeachment hearings (back on the table?);

4) I, Adam Sullivan, filed well in excess of the number of required petition signatures to gain ballot access for the Democratic primary here in NYC, where I am challenging Jerrold Nadler for his seat representing New York's Eighth Congressional District in the House.

From my perspective, this is a strong list of reasons for Mr. Nadler--who chairs the Subcommittee of the Judiciary on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties--to change his position on seeking to initiate impeachment hearings.

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Mr. Kucinich, whose principles cannot be called into question, has put the single most important reason for impeachment in the spotlight, and wisely so. The war in Iraq has cost our nation lives (soldiers, contractors, journalists, others), economic strength (who doubts this anymore?) and our standing in the eyes of the world, when the events of September 11, 2001 might have been the catalyst for greater understanding between differing nations and religions.

And this war was knowingly marketed to this nation based on lies, false accusations, questionable intelligence and more lies. This is what the Framers feared might happen without effective checks against Executive power. They chose impeachment as the most powerful check, and gave it to Congress.

Congress cannot turn a blind eye to this Constitutional disaster. If impeachment hearings do not begin, we will have opened the door to a new American era, one in which we elect a king every four years. This is no exaggeration: Congress has abdicated every important power the Constitution grants it to the Executive Branch. If they truly believe that they can work with the next president--be he Obama or McCain--to restore and repair the Constitution and the Legislative Branch, then they are fools.

This is my great worry: that the men and women in Congress, while not bad or evil, are many of them either blind or foolish or simply lost. They have forgotten why they went there, and why they swore an Oath to protect and defend our great founding document.

Mr. Nadler, a powerful, popular and by all accounts progressive Democrat from New York's Eighth is by no means a bad man. But when I met with him personally, I was disappointed because it seemed that he had become lost in a maze of his own arguments, excuses and rationalizations. I was also disappointed that the meeting was mostly him talking; I'd thought he was going to listen to a group of the people he serves.

We, the Sullivan for Congress campaign, have decided to challenge Jerrold Nadler for his seat not because we think he's a bad man, but because it would give him a chance to become a better Congressman. The kind America needs more of, like Mr. Kucinich who places principle, service to the constituents of Ohio's 10th and to the Constitution above self-interest or partisan jockeying. Both Kucinich and Bob Wexler of Florida have had to face primary challenges because they support impeachment. Why shouldn't someone face a challenge who refuses to support it?

And if the People decide that they would rather have me than Jerrold Nadler to serve and represent them on Capitol Hill, then so be it. That's democracy: the will of the people is sovereign.

Congressman Nadler, if you are reading this, look around you. The administration continues to flout the authority of the HJC and your Subcommittee, and Karl Rove seems to think it's a joke. Mr. Kucinich has refocused his efforts to introduce impeachment by emphasizing a great, pertinent and as yet unanswered crime against the American people, Iraqi sovereignty and countless individuals and families devastated, directly or indirectly, by the costs of an illegal war.

And Ms. "Off the Table" Pelosi herself, for whatever reason, has put the ball in your court and in Conyers's. Impeachment is ON the table. The people are in your corner if you decide to initiate hearings.

And, oh yeah, you're being challenged in the Democratic primary on this issue. What are you still waiting for?

THE TIME IS NOW.

Power to the People,
Adam Sullivan