Impeachment debate!
This Thursday AWOT editor Alex Gourevitch will be debating Barbara Olshansky, Deputy Director for Litigation and Movement Support at the Center for Constitutional Rights, on the topic of impeachment – both whether it is a good tool of democracy in general, and whether it is a useful way of opposing the current administration.
The Great Debate:
Impeachment: Safety-Valve of Democracy?
7:00 pm, Thursday, July 20, Columbia University Bookstore
Impeachment was once seen as a procedure of last resort, effective only as a result of 'high crimes and misdemeanors'. Yet recently, calls for impeachment have become increasingly common, and it has become a rallying point for opposition to George Bush, just as it was to Bill Clinton.
Is this a sign of a healthy democracy; that we are forcing our politicians to be more accountable than ever before? After all, there is reasonable evidence that both Presidents deliberately attempted to mislead the electorate. Is this just another indication that politicians are becoming increasingly dishonest?
Or should we view this new development more critically? Why has impeachment started to take the place of more conventional democratic forms of opposition? Might impeachment be undermining the role of the electorate as ultimate arbiters on their rulers?
Come and debate these critical questions with two informed and challenging speakers.
Speakers:
Barbara Olshansky is Deputy Director for Litigation and Movement Support at the Center for Constitutional Rights. She has authored books on secret detention, military tribunals and, most recently, "The Case For Impeachment" (with Dave Lindorff).
Alex Gourevitch is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Columbia University and an editor of www.againstwot.com. He previously worked as a political journalist in Washington D.C, writing for The American Prospect, Washington Monthly, and other publications.
Columbia University Bookstore
Ground Level of Lerner Hall
2922 Broadway & 115th Street New York, NY
(212) 854-4131 www.columbiabookstore.com
The Great Debate:
Impeachment: Safety-Valve of Democracy?
7:00 pm, Thursday, July 20, Columbia University Bookstore
Impeachment was once seen as a procedure of last resort, effective only as a result of 'high crimes and misdemeanors'. Yet recently, calls for impeachment have become increasingly common, and it has become a rallying point for opposition to George Bush, just as it was to Bill Clinton.
Is this a sign of a healthy democracy; that we are forcing our politicians to be more accountable than ever before? After all, there is reasonable evidence that both Presidents deliberately attempted to mislead the electorate. Is this just another indication that politicians are becoming increasingly dishonest?
Or should we view this new development more critically? Why has impeachment started to take the place of more conventional democratic forms of opposition? Might impeachment be undermining the role of the electorate as ultimate arbiters on their rulers?
Come and debate these critical questions with two informed and challenging speakers.
Speakers:
Barbara Olshansky is Deputy Director for Litigation and Movement Support at the Center for Constitutional Rights. She has authored books on secret detention, military tribunals and, most recently, "The Case For Impeachment" (with Dave Lindorff).
Alex Gourevitch is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Columbia University and an editor of www.againstwot.com. He previously worked as a political journalist in Washington D.C, writing for The American Prospect, Washington Monthly, and other publications.
Columbia University Bookstore
Ground Level of Lerner Hall
2922 Broadway & 115th Street New York, NY
(212) 854-4131 www.columbiabookstore.com
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