MSNBC host Michael Eric Dyson on Wednesday lashed out at Sarah Palin, accusing the conservative of committing "treason" against Barack Obama by calling for the President's impeachment. The guest host of the Ed Show first praised the President for "his tireless effort to help [illegal children who have crossed the border]." Dyson then fumed, "The President's push towards positive and crucial change was met with treasonous accusations." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
During the last administration, however, Dyson called for the impeachment of George W. Bush. In a highly edited clip of Palin on Fox News, the Republican insisted, "Impeachment is a message that has to be sent to our President that we're not going to put up with lawlessness... I really want Congress to do its job, the constitutional power that they have to halt an imperial presidency."
During the Bush administration, Michael Eric Dyson was a signer to this petition:
The Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime
YOUR GOVERNMENT, on the basis of outrageous lies, is waging a murderous and utterly illegitimate war in Iraq, with other countries in their sights.
...
YOUR GOVERNMENT enforces a culture of greed, bigotry, intolerance and ignorance.
...
People look at all this and think of Hitler - and they are right to do so. The Bush regime is setting out to radically remake society very quickly, in a fascist way, and for generations to come. We must act now; the future is in the balance.
...
We need more than fighting Bush's outrages one at a time, constantly losing ground to the whole onslaught. We must, and can, aim to create a political situation where the Bush regime's program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office.
According to Dyson's own logic, aren't these "treasonous accusations?" (Of course, it should be pointed out that "treason" is commited against a country, not a president.)
Dyson's former colleague, Keith Olbermann, also called for Bush's impeachment. On September 4, 2007, he raged, "Mr. Bush, our presence in Iraq must end, even if it means your resignation, even if it means your impeachment."
A partial transcript of the July 9 transcript is below:
5:03
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON: Anyone interested in a border visit is interested in pumping the brakes. The President is acutely aware of the dire situation facing the children and their families crossing into the United States, as evidenced by his tireless effort to help them. The President's push towards positive and crucial change was met with treasonous accusations.
SARAH PALIN: The tipping point in this drive towards impeachment for me has been the illegal immigration issue, the crisis created by Obama. [Cut to a different clip.] Impeachment is a message that has to be sent to our President that we're not going to put up with lawlessness. [Cut to a different clip.] And it also means lying to the American people and it means fraud. [Cut to a different clip.] I really want Congress to do its job, the constitutional power that they have to halt an imperial presidency.
DYSON: Sarah Palin's premature evacuation from the governor's seat eliminated any of other political credibility. But her loose grip on the legislative reality is not without consequence. Palin's arsenal of unsupported accusations and quixotic charges against the President aren't confined to the dark trenches of the conservative media. Palin is in the ears and pockets of serious contenders to hold office in this country. Palin's latest project came on to the scene as the face of Iowa pig castration. You heard that right. In her race for a Senate seat, Joni Ernst mirrored Palin's impeachment rhetoric at a January forum.
JONI ERNST: Yes, absolutely he is. He is overstepping his bounds and I do think, yes, he should face those repercussions, whether that's removal from office, whether that's impeachment. But as a U.S. Senator absolutely. As a U.S. Senator though, we have to push that issue and can't be silent on things like that.
