CARRBORO -- In the tradition of the Lincoln/Douglas Debates, a local group will hold a debate on impeaching the president and vice president next week -- with a twist.

A Republican will make the pro-impeachment argument. A Democrat will argue against impeachment.

Hodding Carter III, who served as assistant secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter, will moderate the debate on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Carrboro Century Center.

Admission is free, but seats are limited. Pre-register at coalitionfortheconstitution.com/registration/.

To help the public better understand the pros and cons of impeachment, the organizers have lined up two well-known political pundits to debate and answer those questions.

Bruce Fein is a constitutional lawyer at Bruce Fein & Associates and chairman of the American Freedom Agenda. He served as an associate deputy attorney general under Ronald Reagan and has been a strong advocate for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Michael Tomasky, a progressive journalist, has written an article about impeachment titled, "The Dumbest Move the Dems Could Make," which has been cited by the Democratic leadership, and U.S. Rep. David Price, as the reasoning behind their not supporting impeachment. Tomasky has served as the executive editor of The American Prospect and is the author of "Left for Dead: The Life, Death, and Possible Resurrection of Progressive Politics in America."


WATCH ONLINE
The debate also will be webcast at coalitionfortheconstitution.com. To read the debators' viewpoints click here. Then see the two guest columns entitled 'Impeachment a fool's errand" and "Impeach, convict, and remove"