The tremendous response to my call for impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney confirms that the Bush Administration and Vice President Cheney must be held accountable. I have been overwhelmed by the netroots support for my call for impeachment hearings and for my website - WexlerWantsHearings.com. As of Monday afternoon - after only four days - over 80,000 people have signed up to show their support for impeachment hearings.

It is the constitutional duty of Congress to investigate the serious charges that have been leveled against Vice President Cheney, and I am using my position as a member of the House Judiciary Committee to see that hearings are held. Unfortunately, Congress and the national media ignore this serious issue. The outpouring of support documented at WexlerWantsHearings.com has been driven and supported entirely through the power of blogs, the Internet, and word of mouth. Websites like Crooks and Liars have taken on this important cause and have stepped up to fill the void left by the main stream media who still somehow believe that impeachment is a fringe idea and not worth coverage. In this case, the American people are way ahead of Congress and the media.

I was shocked when no newspaper would publish the op-ed I wrote with Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). It is not every day that three members of the House Judiciary Committee set out a substantive case for impeachment hearings against the sitting Vice President. Yet, the national media yawned. No matter. The people have responded. Americans from all fifty states have signed up to support my call for hearings.

Originally, my goal was to gain 50,000 online signatures on behalf of impeachment hearings. Today, our goal is 250,000 supporters.

The charges against Vice President Cheney are too serious dismiss without hearings. If we band together, we can make focus the nation's attention on this critical issue. Let's continue to make our voices heard.

Congressman Robert Wexler