Is This the Beginning of the End of the Bush Presidency?

Washington, DC (TLS). A dark cloud has descended upon the nation's capital over the past 24 hours. What began as whispers in the corners of hallways around the beltway is now becoming an angry, demanding crescendo of outrage directed at the President of the United States, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. One Republican lawmaker publicly warned the President late Wednesday that impeachment looms in his future if immediate action is not taken to correct a most dreadful travesty of justice, the imprisonment of two Border Patrol Agents about whom the government admits it lied in order to secure their conviction.

The thing that is adding fuel to the fire concerning the possibility of impeachment is the fact that one of the Agents was beaten to within an inch of his life over the weekend in a prison facility in which he was placed along with the general prison population--something that the government promised and assured the public it would NOT do. The attack has resulted in outrage among Republican lawmakers on the Hill. U.S. House Representative Dana Rohrabacher, R-CA, was so enraged that he directly issued a warning to the President. Rohrabacher stated at a news conference late Wednesday, "I tell you Mr. President, if these men - especially after this assault - are murdered in prison, or if they lose their lives, there's going to be some sort of impeachment talk in Capitol Hill."

Rep. Rohrabacher is not the only one within the President's own party that are talking impeachment. Republicans are finally getting the message through their thick skulls that Americans are completely fed up with the government's conduct on the issue of illegal aliens. They are sick of people being allowed to work here, get medical care here, and receive an education here who do not go by the rules like everyone else who wishes to be good citizens...citizens who obey the laws of their adopted country. Americans are fed up with employers who look the other way when hiring those they know to be illegal aliens so that they can save a few bucks. And Americans are completely enraged that nothing is being done to secure our border.

And let me digress for just a moment to issue a warning to Democrats about this. Don't think that you escape culpability in this massive national disgrace. For years you have promoted the idea of open borders, lax enforcement of immigration law, and the like, because you see Hispanics as an easy mark for support. You want their votes, so you are just as guilty as Republican big business in looking the other way. Thus, if you turn this into a political issue with which to whip Republicans, take it from me--it AIN'T gonna fly. We are coming after YOU too. And you will pay a heavy price in the next election. And don't start with the hypocritical denunciations of Republicans, when you yourselves have closets so full of dirty laundry that the stench emanates upward to high heaven. I will be more than happy to roll out your record on immigration for all the world to see if you so much as hint that you plan to use this as political fodder.

Republicans on the Hill are finally getting the message, and they are in no mood to continue to play games with the nation's laws and security in order to appease a President whose shady dealings with the Mexican government trump the nation's clearly-stated laws on illegal immigration.

What began as a pesky little court case involving two supposed 'bad cops,' as the Department of Homeland Security described them, has gradually turned into a scandal of gargantuan proportions. This scandal implicates the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case, Johnny Sutton, the Judge in the case, Kathleen Cardone, Homeland Security Inspector-General Richard L. Skinner, who lied to Congress about the case, the U.S. Department of Justice, and even the White House itself. The fact that the White House has engaged in consistent stonewalling when questions are asked about the Border Patrol Hoax, plus the President's foot-dragging in the process of pardons for the two innocent Agents, only increases suspicions and outrage.

We can rest assured that Republicans in Congress notice the dubious actions of the White House. And they are snooping, as well they should. Already feeling betrayed by a President whose poor ratings in the polls brought about the loss of Congress, Republicans have very little patience with the President when it comes to a highly emotional issue that most Americans feel has been placed on the back burner--illegal aliens invading our country, aided and abetted by a Republican President and Liberal Democrats who make strange bedfellows but who are co-conspirators in allowing U.S. law to be broken for ulterior motives. The public clearly wants something done to stop it, and Republicans sense the deep sense of outrage out there in the heartland. They have no intention of allowing Mr. Bush to bring them another defeat in 2008. If he does not get the message and issue pardons for the two Agents, then Republicans will gladly seize upon the impeachment process to show the electorate that they clearly DO NOT support a President who is selling the nation's soul to Mexico.

Thus, as much as I loathe quoting a question from Dan Rather, it seems very appropriate here.

What did President Bush know, and when did he know it?