*IMPEACH NOW? Many Americans will remember Rep. John Conyers (D.-Mich.) as the tongue-tied ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee who did everything he could to stop President Clinton from being impeached for perjuring himself in a federal grand jury. Now Conyers is a bitter-end opponent of the Iraq war, and is making noises about impeaching Bush-presumably for winning a congressionally authorized war. At an April 5 anti-war rally in Detroit that he organized, Conyers told the crowd: "Presidents have been impeached before." Then, even more incredibly: "We need to indicate to our leaders, alleged and actual, that the majority of people in this country is still opposed to this war. "
*IN THE REAL WORLD: A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted April 9 found that 80% of Americans support the war in Iraq and 77% approve of the way President Bush is handling his job. Sixty-nine percent agreed "a large number of United States soldiers should remain in Iraq to help maintain peace." A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released April 8 found that 71% approve of the way Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is handling his job. And an Ipsos/Cook Political Report poll released the same day found that 47% of Americans prefer GOP control of Congress to 41% who would prefer Democratic control.
*NOW HE TELLS US: Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.), presidential wannabe, voted for war with Iraq last October. Ever since he has been fending off criticism from the left-and has said some very curious things in the process. On March 13, he told a crowd in San Francisco that "in decades to come, we should not have to send young people into battle to defend and die for America's gluttony for fossil fuel." But on April 9, hours after Baghdad fell, he said: "I support the use of force. I support disarming Saddam Hussein. But I've been very critical of the way this administration went at it." Wonder what celebrants on the streets of Baghdad would say to that?
*GRAHAM GRUMBLES: Sen. Bob Graham (D.-Fla.), another presidential candidate, did not voice support for the war the day Baghdad fell. He took quite the opposite line. "War in Iraq has reduced our ability to carry out the war against terrorism," he said. Graham failed to note that since September 11 there has not been another major act of terrorism in the United States.
*BLAIR REBOUNDS: Less than two weeks after polls showed his popularity had dropped to record lows because of his support for the Iraq war, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has bounced back. According to a London Daily Telegraph poll, the Prime Minister is trusted by 66% of British voters to make the right decisions about military action, and 62% think he has handled the crisis well. Nearly all polls prior to this one showed that less than 50% of the British people supported the war. The Telegraph survey indicated that 63% now believe the U.S. and U.K. were right to take action against Saddam.
*FLOWER POWER: Formerly pro-life Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D.Ohio), yet another presidential aspirant, continues to position himself as the hippie candidate. This week he called for the creation of a new Cabinet-level agency to be called the Department of Peace. He has offered a bill to create the new department and also a Peace Academy to rival the U.S. service academies at West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs. "This legislation offers a path towards peace and prosperity," he said. Of the 47 Democrats who have signed up to co-sponsor the bill, ten are from California.
*SAY WHAT? In the name of "jobs" and "economic growth," Rep. Dick Gephardt (D.-Mo.) has called for scrapping President Bush's proposal to cut the marginal tax rates. His alternative: increased government intervention in the health care system. "With millions of Americans out of work, now is simply not the time for a tax cut that does nothing to return us to economic growth," he said April 4. "We need a bold new plan. The first thing I think we should do is scrap the vast majority of the unsustainable Bush tax cut and create economic growth while providing quality health insurance to all Americans through a new health care tax credit for employers."
*HOME FRONT: As combat winds down in Iraq, Treasury Secretary John Snow and other members of the Bush economic team are expected to step up lobbying of members of Congress for the President's tax cut proposal. Thirty conservative House Republicans sent a letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert (R.-Ill.) last week arguing that the Senate tax package that cut the President's tax cut in half was not good enough. A major domestic-policy battle looms here in Washington.
*DUNN DECLINES: Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R.-Wash.), long encouraged by White House political operative Karl Rove to take on left-wing Democratic Sen. Patty Murray next year, told reporters she had decided she could be "more effective in the House of Representatives." The most probable GOP nominee now is Rep. George Nethercutt.
*ONWARD, CHRISTIAN STUDENTS: "All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith," said Education Secretary Rod Paige in an interview with the Baptist Press last Monday. "The reason that Christian schools and Christian universities are growing is a result of a strong value system," he continued. "In a religious environment the value system is set. That's not the case in a public school where there are so many different kids with different kinds of values."
No sooner had Paige said this than the zealots of the anti-Christian left jumped down his throat. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State urged Paige to repudiate his statement or else resign. Paige refused, instead holding a press conference to clarify that he was specifically referring to universities in his interview, not lower schools. At any rate, he added, "I don't think I have anything to apologize for."
