Voters in three dozen Vermont towns voted March 6 to call upon Congress to open an impeachment probe of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Two towns, Clarendon and Dover, voted the measure down. Nearly a half dozen towns agreed to not take up, or table, the resolution. There are 251 towns in Vermont, but not all hold town meetings. Additionally, 20 towns passed measures calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and to care for them when they were back on US soil. Dover also rejected the troop measure.
The votes come after a four-day tour of Vermont with anti-war icon Cindy Sheehan [1] and three Vermont Iraq war veterans, along with organizers of the resolutions. Sheehan testified before a state Senate committee March 2, along with war supporters.
The impeachment resolutions have passed so far in Bristol, Burke, Calais, Craftsbury, Dummerston, East Montpelier, Greensboro, Guilford, Grafton, Hartland, Jamaica, Jericho, Johnson, Marlboro, Middlebury, Montgomery, Morristown, Newbury, Newfane, Peru, Plainfield, Putney, Richmond, Rochester, Roxbury, St. Johnsbury, Springfield, Stannard, Sunderland, Townshend, Tunbridge, Vershire, Warren, Westminster, Wilmington, and Woodbury.
Measure calling for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq have passed in Bristol, Calais, Cornwall, Greensboro, Guilford, Hardwick, Jamaica, Jericho, Johnson, Marshfield, Middlebury, Newfane, Peru, Plymouth, Rockingham, Roxbury, St. Johnsbury, Townshend, Waldon, and Woodbury.
"This is clearly not a cry of protest, but the start of action—an impeachment insurrection that will lead to the reclamation of our Constitution," said Newfane selectman Dan DeWalt, the major organizer of the impeachment resolutions. "Vermonters are angry and energized. We are taking the power that is sovereign in us and will use it to restore the Constitution. We will show the world that America has not sunk to the depths of violent madness that is the Bush administration."
Here is the text of each of the two resolutions:
IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION
Whereas George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have:
1. deliberately misled the nation about the threat from Iraq in order to justify a war,
2. condoned the torture of prisoners in violation of the Geneva Convention and US law,
3. approved illegal electronic surveillance of American citizens without a warrant, and,
Whereas these actions have undermined our Constitutional system of government, damaged the reputation of America, and threatened our national security,
Therefore, the voters of the town of _____________________ call upon the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate these charges, and if the investigation supports the charges, vote to impeach George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney as provided in the Constitution of the United States of America. This resolution shall be signed by the Town Clerk and forwarded to both the Speaker and the Clerk of the US House of Representatives, and Representative John Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee.
SOLDIERS HOME NOW RESOLUTION
"Shall the voters of the town of ____________________ advise the President, Congress and Vermont's state and federal office holders that _____________________ and its citizens strongly support the men and women serving in all branches of the United States Armed Forces in Iraq and believe that the best way to support them is to bring each and every one of them home now and take good care of them when they get home."
(Vermont Guardian [2], March 6)
See our last posts on the anti-war effort [3] and the grassroots groundswell in Vermont [4].
