Should Bush be impeached over tainted tomatoes?

Three months after the first outbreak of salmonella that has made hundreds ill and cost the U.S. food industry over $100 million, the Food and Drug Administration still has no clue as to what is causing the trouble, or where it began. At first the agency flatly blamed tainted tomatoes -- and its website is still pinning the outbreak on the vine vegetable. But investigators at the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta now say that it's possible the culprit could be elsewhere in the nation's food chain.

"We continue to keep an open mind about the possible source of this outbreak," said Patricia Griffin, the branch chief of the CDC's enteric diseases epidemiology section. "It's very frustrating to all of us to be so far along in an investigation and to not have an answer."

CNN's Lou Dobbs has been on a tear about it, suggesting that the FDA's incompetence should be grounds for George W. Bush's impeachment. On a recent show, the anchor of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" said:

"You know, I have heard a lot of reasons over the years as to why George W. Bush should be impeached. But for them to leave the Food and Drug Administration in this state, its leadership in this sorry condition and to have no capacity apparently or will to protect the American consumer -– that is alone to me sufficient reason to impeach a president who has made this agency possible and has ripped its guts out in its ability to protect the American consumer."

Now, in a front-page article on the growing scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports today that one California and Arizona produce association,  Western Growers Assn., is asking Congress to investigate the FDA for incompetence. In its letter to the House Agriculture Committee, the association's president and CEO Tom Nassif says:

"Congress must investigate this matter and determine ways to avoid this in the future and make the innocent tomato growers, packers and shippers whole. FDA’s comments to the media earlier today do not leave us confident that a progressive narrowing of the investigation through a thorough trace back process is occurring. It is very possible that we may never know if tomatoes are the source or, if they are, where they were grown or processed or how they were contaminated."

Noting that the industry has taken "dramatic steps" to prevent contamination in the food chain, Nassif argues that the FDA practice of issuing blanket warnings before it knows the cause is going to destroy the health of the nation's agricultural sector.

"The collateral damage inflicted on thousands of innocent producers in this country by FDA blanket 'advisories,' such as with spinach and tomatoes cannot go unchallenged."

Hurricane Katrina showcased the incompetence of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and brought needed reforms there. Perhaps tomatoes will do the same for the FDA. The question for the next president: If federal agencies are a mess, who gets the blame -- Bush or bureaucracy?

-- Johanna Neuman

Comments

[Jay]

Dobbs is incredibly irrelevant. Hey Lou, maybe he should be impeached for letting illegals with leprocy across the border? Oh, wait, you made that up! If you haven't seen a million reasons to impeach in the past 4 years, then you clearly aren't paying attention...

[RobertM]

This is a perfect example of what the presidential candidates should debate. They need to establish that they understand how the government is broken and explain how they will fix it. The FDA failure is just a part of it. Other federal agencies, especially the DOD, have major breakdowns in management and accountability that has lead to untold deaths, suffering and gross waste of resources.

The breakdown in the federal government is often the unrealized instigator of many major problems in our country and even the world. So, I want to know how McCain and Obama plan to fix it. Or, is the subject too taboo?

Impeach the President? Too little and too late.

[marc christophe]

impeachment is a term that is tossed around too casually. It is not the remedy for stupidity (otherwise Carter would have been impeached) or even for minor felonies, apparently (Clinton's perjury under oath comes to mind) . What this scandal does show, however, is the Bush administration's innate incompetence when it comes to appointing competent people to administrative positions (like FEMA) and the reason why political connections and cronyism...during both Republican and Democratic administrations...perpetuates incompetence. Nothing is going to change. Obama will defer many hiring decisions to party elites, and the same problem that infected bush/clinton/carter/nixon/johnson etc. will infect his administration too. In fact, if the radical left "PC" crowd gets involved, the situation will get worse. Imagine not checking tainted fruits or vegetables because the probe might be "offensive to Mexicans". That is thenonsense we are in for. Cheer up, liberals, this is the same government that you want to trust with administering our health care...right?

[Carter]

Lou Dobbs defends the middle class.
Lou Dobbs: Genius.

[TomTallis]

For years one of the Republican mantras has been the lie that "government doesn't work? In the past, there have been checks to Republican attempts to prove that "government doesn't work" by destroying the effectiveness of government agencies because at least one branch of Congress has been controlled by the Democrats. For six of the past seven and a half years that was no longer the case, allowing the Republican ideologues to vandalize working, effective government agencies to their hearts' content. It will take meny years to undo the damage the Republicans have done to our country just in this one area alone.

lou is a smarter man then this article makes him out to be. he is not stupid or in all the years i have watched him i didn't think he was. doesn;t he think the president has enough on his plate and can't be held responsible for everything that happens everywhere in the us. He is only a man and if lou can go down to his car and drive home without some terroist raking a shot at him or his family \, he should sonsider himself lucky. We have so many privilages that we take erything for grantedincluding some rotten tomatoes. Shit happens we may not like it but thats life in the world of today. lets stop pointing the finger and support who ever leads us, like him or not.

[Carly]

Lou Dobbs is ranting again? Why am I not surprised? He is one of the big trouble makers here in the US and should be fired. His views are very one sided and dumb for the most part.

[Jacob]

Lou Dobbs needs to be impeached!.. Calling for impeachment every other day?.. Jesus!..

Hey Lou.. Bush won, there's nothing you can do about it, dipschitt..

[AlmostTHere]

The simple fact is that Bush is one of, if not the worst president in this countries history. He has done nothing but start a war on false pretenses (remember that indisputable evidence of WMD?), let lead tainted products to come in from China, had several tainted food outbreaks, ruined our education system even further (ask any teacher what they think about "No Child Left Behind." the motto isn't even a complete sentence), and let hundreds of American's suffer and die of starvation and dehydration after Katrina because the man in charge of FEMA's only executive and management position prior to FEMA was as the head of an equestrian organization. I consider myself a middle of the road person, particularly conservative when dealing with economics, but Bush's idiotic actions, and inactions, have caused such humanitarian disasters that I can only hope history regards him as the complete failure he is.

[RD]

Lou Dobbs: understandably upset.
Impeachment: not the remedy for bad tomatoes... or incompetent agencies, necessarily.

Billy C couldn't be convicted for lying under oath to the government and the entire United States of America, because Senators 'know better' than the rest of us (right), and deemed it insubstantial.

Lou and others need to read up on the grounds for impeachment.
----------------------------------------

The Constitution deals with the subject of impeachment and conviction at six places.

"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

"The House of Representatives . . . shall have the sole Power of Impeachment."

"The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present."

"Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial,. Judgment and Punishment, according to law."

"The President shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

"The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury . . . ."

--- 1974

The House ... set in motion an unusual constitutional process, conferred solely upon it by the Constitution, by directing the Judiciary Committee to "investigate fully and completely whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its constitutional power to impeach."

The Inquiry Staff, at the request of the Judiciary Committee... prepared ... memorandum on constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment.

Constitutional Grounds For Presidential Impeachment, By the Impeachment Inquiry Staff, Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives, Public Affairs Press, Washington, D.C.

To assist the Committee in working toward that resolution, ... memorandum reports upon the history, purpose and meaning of the constitutional phrase, "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

The origins and use of impeachment in England, the circumstances under which impeachment became a part of the American constitutional system, and the American experience with impeachment are the best available sources for developing an understanding of the function of impeachment and the circumstances in which it may become appropriate in relation to the presidency.

--- English History, and Constitution Framers

Damage to the state

"That he . . . hath traiterously endeavored to subvert the Fundamental Laws and Government of the Realms . . . and instead thereof, to introduce Arbitrary and Tyrannical Government against Law. . . . "

...impeachment was used in individual cases to reach offenses, as perceived by Parliament' against the system of government. The charges, variously denominated "treason," "high treason, " "misdemeanors, " "malversations," and "high Crimes and Misdemeanors," thus included allegations of misconduct as various as the Kings (or their ministers) were ingenious in devising means of expanding royal power.

Two points emerge from the 400 years of English parliamentary experience with the phrase "high Crimea and Misdemeanors." First, the particular allegations of misconduct alleged damage to the state in such forms as misapplication of funds, abuse of official power, neglect of duty, encroachment on Parliament's prerogatives, corruption, and betrayal of trust. Second, the phrase "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" was confined to parliamentary impeachments; it had no roots in the ordinary criminal law, and the particular allegations of misconduct under that heading were not necessarily limited to common law or statutory derelictions or crimes.

...shows that the framers intended impeachment to be a constitutional safeguard of the public trust, the powers of government conferred upon the President and other civil officers, and the division of powers among the legislative, judicial and executive departments.

---- Conclusion

Impeachment is a constitutional remedy addressed to serious offenses against the system of government. The purpose of impeachment under the Constitution is indicated by the limited scope of the remedy (removal from office and possible disqualification from future office) and by the stated grounds for impeachment (treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors). It is not controlling whether treason and bribery are criminal. More important, they are constitutional wrongs that subvert the structure of government, or undermine the integrity of office and even the Constitution itself, and thus are "high" offenses in the sense that word was used in English impeachments.

Not all presidential misconduct is sufficient to constitute grounds for impeachment. There is a further requirement -- substantiality. In deciding whether this further requirement has been met, the facts must be considered as a whole in the context of the office, not in terms of separate or isolated events. Because impeachment of a President is a grave step for the nation, it is to be predicated only upon conduct seriously incompatible with either the constitutional form and principles of our government or the proper performance of constitutional duties of the presidential office.

[GWBush]

My fellow Americans, I will be brief...

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! What are you a bunch of crybaby losers? Every time you are going to stub your toe or lose your car keys you are going to try and pin this on the President?

Seriously, dont you think there are more important things going on in a day to day basis that are more important than your constant and incessant whining?

What kind of country do you live in where you think that the PRESIDENT has to spoon feed you fat lazy bums day by day with his own hand? This country was built on men and women having the strength, toughness to forge ahead into the wilderness without any help from anyone. They didnt cry to the president when their log cabins fell in. They didnt cry to the president when bears ate their kids. They didnt cry to the president when they couldnt hunt enough food. They simply continued to survive and struggle and became STRONG because of it.

This lazy good for nothing population that inhabits the boundaries called USA is a spoon fed, public assistance needing, lazy good for nothing shiftless bums that only want to do drugs and go to nightclubs...Oh and if you are a member of any minority dont forget you must get some sort of free money because of it. Lets all live in HUD homes and eat government cheese fondues while having loud block parties in crap neighborhoods and dancing and drinking all night! YAY AMERICA!

Come on people, improve your lives with your OWN ability, if you dont have it, LEARN IT. Yes, i said it...Get off your damned cellphones, stop going to McDOnalds you 6xxx wearing fat bum and read a book! Dont look to the president to solve your problems when life throws you a curve...

And most of all...STOP BEING SHEEP! Every one of you that reads a headline saying 'Bush to blame' and then repeating it like braindead zombies without ever reading the facts and doing research YOURSELF should be ashamed.

Ok, so I wasnt brief...Impeach me for it...pansies.

GW

[Jack]

Competence is always a rare thing in American management. And even if the people luck out it can be easy corrupted under a bad situation. What annoys 75% of the population about GW is that he inherited a good situation. Not perfect - he was warned there was a real problem with the trade deficit but overall "the fundamentals were sound" as GW loved to tell us.
Now after 8 years of serious tampering by an inept and arrogant administration "the fundamentals" are no longer sound. And the American people are going to learn a very painful lesson - PRESIDENTS DO MATTER. So get off your butts come November and vote!

[impeach]

the buck stops with Bush, it's his bureaucracy.

[K Henry]

The question isn't "Should Bush be impeached for this?" but rather, "If the FDA can't do its job, why do we still pay for it?"

The FDA, like FEMA, DHS and ONDCP are all huge money pits that provide little to nothing in return. The real solution to this isn't to throw more money at the FDA. Instead, scale back the size of government by closing useless agencies and put those freshly liberated dollars back into people's pockets so they can afford locally grown tomatoes without salmonella contamination.

Don't ask the government to look after you, that's your job.

[mary.thomsen@sbcglobal.net]

Bush should have been impeached a long time ago - I can think of many reasons - the illegal war, not helping the Katrina victims - more and more money for the war and nothing for health care or education - he wants to be a dictator and has tried ever since he got into office, but the American people, although they have put up with a lot from him, wouldn't go that far. He has even said it would be a lot easier if this were a dictatorship, as long as I'm the dictator - well, he's tried!!! I still think he should be impeached even though his time as president is nearly over. Once he is gone and we get Obama in, I'll start flying my flag again.

[MU Dylan]

Now Bush is to blame for bad tomatoes. Yes, he's been an awful president, likely the worst in a long, long time. But, believe it or not, there are actually bad things that happen in this world that are not his fault. Many Independents like myself find ourselves so very alienated from a democratic party whose base makes a routine habit of blaming Bush for everything under the sun, such as causing Hurricane Katrina, the Minnesota bridge collapse, earthquakes, tornados, etc., and now, apparently, tainted tomatoes. You on the far left really ought to check yourselves a bit. We, the Independents of this country, will decide the next election, not you. You do your cause no favors with these incessant outlandish claims.

[BrooklynBreton]

To GW:

If you've proven one thing with your rant is that conservatives are very often angry and intolerant. That snipe at people eating government cheese in loud block parties is a thinly veiled reflection of what you think about inner city minorities, and shows exactly why the USA desperately needs a mixed race president like Obama in the White House. Racism pervades every society but it is the refuge of either the ignorant or the oppressors. Which one are you?

OK, but there are many far better reasons to impeach Bush.

[Sal B]

For all those writing that W has no responsibility for the FDA, FEMA, etc.:

The principle of management is that responsibility belongs to those in charge.

Period.

[Barb]

Impeach Bush over tomatoes? I'm no Bush fan, but that's got to be the dumbest suggestion I've heard in some time. If we're going to impeach someone, let's start with Cheney, and go for an impeachable offense, like the misinformation that got us into Iraq. But tomatoes??? Good grief!

[cashpoor]

My Humble Opinions:

1. Bush should be immediately impeached, without hesitation from House or Senate.

2. Neither Obama nor McCain have any of the answers USA needs from the next president. As shown by their alliances to the Council on Foriegn relations, the arrangers of the 'coup de tat' that we have unnknowingly fallen victim to in our financially broke "free" country.

3. We are fat, lazy, uneducated, misinformed, and false moraled society, whom pushes our problems to everyone else. Always putting our efforts into self destructive behavior, and not using independant proactive thinking.

4. All of these issues need resolve immediately, if we know as a country what is best, because all the rest is stipulation, propaganda, and manipulation.

5. As to the comment on Lou Dobbs: He is one of the only reporters left that speaks any truth at all. The internet IS the information age we live in, so use it and protect net neutrality. Free media may be soon lost, giving corrupt leaders near infinate power. Look at the miss teen USA video if you believe we have been doing whats best for USA's future.

When you add up the FDA, DOE, the FEMA, Halliburtons no bid contracts to build concentration camps in every town and city in the name of disaster preparedness, the number of police going from 300,000 in 2001, to over 3 million today inside our borders, the bartering from the oil giants in Iraq over the oil we stole for them, the billions of dollars that remain unaccountable from the Iraq war, the patenting of biological plants, that grow naturally, as well as livestock by corporations determined to hold the worlds food supply in its pockets.

We know where we are, and we can safely say whats coming very soon.

Looks like we will have a totalitarian facist stronghold amoung us that will be near impossible to recover from, especially because they designed the real estate bubble to pop, then hit us hard with oil, food, and inflation. First you see the EU, then the African Union, then the Asian Union, oh, and the North American union. Maybe you don't recall Lou reporting in this either. Or the report on the Amero dollar. Our constitution is at stake, and if we don't wake up now, we will never have the rights or money to ever standup with civil liberties again.

The new world order plan has so much riding on this election, that they won't even let it happen, thats why we already have covert operations in Iran, and Israel is soon to attack. So, we have our national emergency, maybe throw in another false flag terror attack like 911, and Bush becomes dictator. and done, no more USA, constitution, rights to speek freely, voice opinions, protest, anything. Just about 350 million people that are fat, dumb, starving and misinformed, and armed.

Like GWB said' desparate people do desparate things". Our misinformed public will start killing each other over the most pathetic issues like racism and religious differences, and never be able to revolution effectively.

This coup de tat plan was well produced, they are completely well positioned, I am amazed at their diligence. After reading this story and your patheltic comments, I had to throw in a wake up call.

Watch the 2 hour video on Google Video called Esoteric Agenda, then learn where your hand is in the cookie jar too.

People forget all the time, we vote with our dollar and our labor. The election means nothing, as both candidates are involved in this coup de tat.

If we grow to see our differences with people from around the world, as well as our religious silly-ness starts to where off, we may realize that we HAD the chance to do something, and soon will never have that chance again.

Wake up people!!!!

Just my humble opinion.