Dear Editor, Daily Nexus,

According to the news article “Students To Petition for Bush’s Impeachment for Wiretap Abuse” (Daily Nexus, Feb. 13), Students for Impeachment is a group on campus that is seeking to expose the Bush Administration’s wiretapping activities as unconstitutional. Their goal is to have Articles of Impeachment drafted for President Bush. They also claim that they aren’t Republican or Democrat – they just want to protect the Constitution.

They seem to make a big deal about their group not being Republican or Democrat. This doesn’t seem to hold water when the fact that the group’s organizers – Jake Thorn and Patrick Donahoe – are both active members of the Campus Democrats. I would venture a guess that the reason they don’t have to worry about fundraising is because they have access to the Campus Democrats’ war chest.

The country is also split on its condemnation of the wiretaps. In a recent Ipsos Poll, about half the country agreed with their necessity. Thus, any attempts at impeachment would be foolhardy at best.

Warrantless wiretaps aren’t a new thing either. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt all ordered domestic wiretaps without warrants in times of war. Even George Washington intercepted mail between Americans and the British. All of these presidents are commonly regarded as heroes for their ability to save the United States in wartime. None of these presidents were impeached for these actions.

It seems to me that the only entity violating the law in this scenario is Students for Impeachment – their flyers in the Arbor are illegally posted, especially since they are not registered with the Office of Student Life.

Print