john kerry: "there's a solid case to bring articles of impeachment"

hotline:

"MA. Sen. John Kerry said last night that if Dems retake the House, there's a "solid case" to bring "articles of impeachment" against President Bush for allegedly misleading the country about pre-war intelligence, according to several Dems who attended.

Kerry was speaking at a holiday party for alumni of his WH '04 bid.

About 100 campaign vets gathered at Finn McCool's bar in D.C. to hear him. In a short speech, Kerry praised Dems who were working on Senate and House campaigns, and then said, according to one listener: "If we take back the House, there's a solid case to bring articles of impeachment against this president." Another listener heard a slight variation: "If we win back the House, I think we have a pretty solid case to bring articles of impeachment against this President." Kerry then quickly added, according to several in the audience, "Don't tell anyone I said that."

Kerry Comm. Dir. David Wade, in an email, said his boss was joking.

Wade: "Is it really a story that, with a smile on his face and to ensuing laughter, at a Christmas party for his hardest working troops who are still working to win in 2006, a Democrat joked about why these diehard Democrats needed to keep dreaming of a Democratic Congress? Impeachment jokes in Washington are as old as Don Rumsfeld and as funny as Dick Cheney is gruff. Only the truly humorless would say bah humbug to the rarest of partisan red meat." Wade said Kerry often asks this question: "How are the same Republicans who tried to impeach a President over whether he misled a nation about an affair going to pretend it does not matter if the Administration intentionally misled the country into war?" More Wade: "Good luck finding a Democrat in America who disagrees..."

But several in Kerry's audience said the comment made them uncomfortable, in part because they believed the press would discover what Kerry said and twist its context. In keeping with Kerry's wishes, several attendees, while acknowledging what he said, declined to comment when asked about the remarks.

Dem strategists know that many in their base might favor impeachment. But they do not want the party to appear hyper-partisan, especially when Cong. approval ratings struggle to reach 30 percent. Most Dem strategists believe that Americans would not stomach a second drawn-out, polarizing impeachment trial in the span of ten years. Others do not believe Bush deserves to be impeached. Dem leaders have cautioned colleagues not to use the word "impeachment" when speaking to base crowds.

An Impeach PAC, led by Democrats.com's Bob Fertik, has raised about $40,000 since November and promises to spend it in competitive races. And at least three national polling firms, Research 2000, Zogby and Rasmussen, have included the impeachment question on surveys."

the Dems are so scared of the I word. its kinda funny.

meanwhile, Limbaugh is yelling and screaming about Kerry mentioning impeachment. The Repugs have been trying to get out ahead of the curve on this for months.