At former President Gerald Ford’s funeral, a National Public Radio commentator noted that it was under his administration that Congress was so active that it angered some of his Cabinet members, notably Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. When, 25 years later, their party regained power, these same men went about systematically consolidating that power in the executive branch. There are lessons to be learned from this story.

Nothing we experience today is separate from the history that preceded it. In this case, we even have the same cast of characters pulling the strings. Conversely, nothing that happens in the future can be separated from current events. These players have successfully consolidated more power in the executive branch than the Founding Fathers ever intended when they designed this government to be a system of checks and balances between the executive, judicial, and legislative bodies. They have reduced our Constitution to “only a piece of paper,” as President Bush has called it.

Today, the Bush-Cheney legacy includes: lying to Congress and the UN, waging a war of aggression, breaking international treaties, by-passing constitutional protections, operating secret commissions, defying the Supreme Court, promoting torture, thwarting oversight, reducing Congress to a rubber stamp, emasculating legislation with “signing statements,” plunging this country into a spiral of financial bankruptcy, ignoring scientific evidence of global warming, and engendering international contempt for this country. Not to mention killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and more than 3,000 of our own soldiers for corporate gains – after all, Iraq was never a threat to us.

That’s what future administrations will inherit, that’s what the precedents are, that’s what we will deserve – unless we do something about it.

When ordinary citizens violate laws of the land, evidence is first gathered to prove culpability. If evidence shows the person(s) are responsible for breaking the law, a trial is held; if they are found guilty, they are sentenced to a punishment. Sentences are meant to deter future transgressions not only by the accused, but by others who follow. Law rests on precedent. We are told that this is a country based on the rule of law, but today’s political environment begs the question that this holds true.

Where are the voices for accountability in the new Congress? There are no committee chairs putting investigations on the table. Even if investigations were held, what would the consequences be without a framework to deter these people from continuing the abuses? The foundations of a just society are being taken away from us, and no one is doing anything about it, not even our newly elected legislators.

Our Founding Fathers provided us with a tool to deter despotic leadership, to protect our Constitution from abuse, and to hold accountable those responsible for high crimes and misdemeanors. We have a legal vehicle to control runaway politicians, much like our court system: investigations, indictments, trial, sentence. It is called impeachment. And because it is designed to be a tool to restore our democracy, to protect us from tyranny, and to deter future abuses of power, it is the one thing that we still have to stop a bad situation from getting worse.

In a recent letter from Sen. Olympia Snowe, she outlined the procedure for impeachment, from the House Judiciary Committee, where a formal inquiry begins, to a resolution to impeach in the full House. “The Constitution requires that if any Article of Impeachment is approved by a simple majority of the House, the president will be ‘impeached.’ Only at this juncture would an impeachment ‘trial’ be held in the Senate.”

Significantly, she adds: “Please be assured I strongly believe that Congress has a solemn obligation to ensure that our nation’s system of checks and balances – the system that is the foundation of our Republic – is consistently respected, upheld, and applied. I have said that Congress has a responsibility to exercise its oversight responsibility as a co-equal branch of government. In my view, the Executive and Legislative branches can either engender confidence by ensuring that real checks exist – or breed a corrosive distrust. Checks and balances do not weaken our nation, they strengthen it.”

Opinion polls show widespread “corrosive distrust” of this administration. But this new Congress isn’t listening. Rep. Mike Michaud does listen, however, and has indicated he will support impeachment if it comes to the House floor. But will it? Why wait, Mr. Michaud, why not bring it to the floor yourself? It only takes one representative to initiate impeachment hearings. Our state’s motto is “Dirigo” – I lead. Let Maine lead to save our Constitution and restore the balance of power.

A coalition of more than 20 Maine groups are sponsoring the first speak-out on “Should the U.S. withdraw troops from Iraq?” and “Should Bush and Cheney be Impeached?” on Thursday, Jan. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast. There will also be a workshop on impeachment in Belfast at the library on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. A petition for impeachment hearings is being circulated to be presented to Rep. Michaud and the entire state legislature online: www.maineimpeach.org.

Nancy E. Galland lives in Stockton Springs.