Bookworm Room: You've got to love the SF Board of Stupidvisors

San Francisco is a beautiful city with a declining population, a huge homeless problem, a decaying infrastructure, rapidly retreating middle class families (due, no doubt, to the appalling public schools), and myriad other ordinary urban problems. But fear not -- the Board of Supervisors knows what the real issue is and where to put its energies:

San Francisco's supervisors jumped into national politics Tuesday, passing a resolution asking the city's Democratic congressional delegation to seek the impeachment of President Bush for failing to perform his duties by leading the country into war in Iraq, eroding civil liberties and engaging in other activities the board sees as transgressions.

As the same Chronicle article points out, this resolution isn't necessarily good news for SF's image nationwide:

The supervisors, in voting 7-3 for the resolution, made it likely that San Francisco again will become grist for radio and TV talk shows. The city has appeared in the national media spotlight recently for voters' passage in November of a nonbinding measure banning military recruiters from public high schools and for Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval's recent comment on a Fox News show that the United States doesn't need a military.

That's not stopping our heroes Downtown, where even the opposition is held back only by the act's futility, not its merits:

Supervisor Chris Daly, one of the most progressive members of the board, sponsored the resolution, which also calls for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. Daly said the measure is justified in light of the administration's case for and handling of the war in Iraq, the federal government's inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina and recent revelations about a domestic wiretapping program. "I think the case is clear, and I think it's appropriate for us to weigh in," Daly said. Speaking in opposition to the resolution, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier said, "I don't think that we need to be calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, as much as we may not like them ... and as much as we don't like the policies that they put forward."

What comes out ultimate is that the Supes are frustrated by the fact that, in a our democracy, they're the minority party. What they really want to do is circumvent election outcomes:

In sending the resolution to Bay Area members of Congress, the supervisors addressed a frustrated group that is tired of being in the minority. "Real change in the direction of our country will come about when the Republicans no longer control the executive and legislative branches,'' said Rep. Tom Lantos of San Mateo, whose district includes the southwestern corner of San Francisco. "We need to take control of the House, elect more Democratic senators and take control of the White House in 2008.''

If they could have staged a military takeover, I'm sure they would have. Even Nancy Pelosi, the patron saint of the wackier side of the Demo party, had some practical advice for these malcontents:

The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who represents much of San Francisco, was asked about impeaching Bush during a January town meeting at Marina Middle School. Pelosi, poised to become the first female House speaker if the Democrats win control in November's election, repeated Tuesday what she told her constituents: "Win the election. Then you can change the policy of our country.''