State Dems may push resolution to impeach president
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By David Gram Associated Press - Published: March 29, 2006
MONTPELIER — The Democratic state committee will decide in a special meeting April 8 whether to urge Vermont lawmakers to use a little-known provision in U.S. House rules to petition for President Bush's impeachment.
"What I can tell you is it's generated a lot of energy at the grass roots. It's genuinely bubbling up from the grass roots," Jon Copans, the state party's executive director, said Tuesday.
Copans said Democratic committees in at least seven of Vermont's 14 counties had passed resolutions calling on Vermont lawmakers to use a rule contained in "Jefferson's Manual," a book of parliamentary philosophy and procedural guidelines that was written by Thomas Jefferson and is used as a supplement to U.S. House rules.
He said not all the county resolutions were worded the same, but in general, they accuse the Bush administration of lying about the causes for war in Iraq, illegally engaging in electronic surveillance of Americans, and other offenses.
"Jefferson's Manual" lays out several procedures under which the U.S. House can start the impeachment process. Under the Constitution, the House drafts articles of impeachment, which are similar to a set of criminal charges, and the impeachment case is tried in the Senate.
One of the procedures in "Jefferson's Manual" says impeachment proceedings can begin "by charges transmitted from the legislature of a state." Supporters of impeachment have maintained that means Vermont lawmakers could transmit such a message to Congress.
The push for the Vermont Legislature, both houses of which are controlled by Democrats, to transmit a bill of impeachment to the U.S. House is not officially connected with recent town meeting votes in at least six Vermont communities calling for Vermont's lone congressman, Rep. Bernard Sanders, to push for impeachment proceedings to begin.
Vermont House Speaker Gaye Symington, a Democrat, said Tuesday she was cool to the idea of the Legislature weighing in.
"I continue to believe that the state Legislature needs to stay focused on where we can have the most direct impact on the quality of Vermonters' lives," she said. She said lawmakers need to concentrate on "affordable health care; a safe, reliable energy future and a strong rural economy."
She said she understood and shares people's frustration with the Bush administration and the direction of the country. "They really need to get in gear and really work hard to elect a different Congress in November, one that could investigate the actions of the president and change the direction of the country."
Senate President Pro Tem Peter Welch, the leading Democratic candidate for Congress this year, didn't immediately return a call to his office seeking comment.
A message seeking comment from the White House press office was not immediately returned.
James Barnett, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, said, "I think the whole ordeal is unfortunate. I don't think we should be impeaching presidents because we disagree with them." He said evidence for impeachment was drawn from "left-wing blogs and conspiracy theories."
Impeachment is "an extraordinarily serious action that they propose to take against the president of the United States in a time of war, based on actions he has taken to protect the United States from terrorism," Barnett said.
Jeffrey Taylor, the Clarendon resident who first put forward the idea of using the "Jefferson's Manual" provision, said he expects that even if Vermont lawmakers sent an impeachment message to the U.S. House, it would be "dead on arrival" in the Republican Congress.
"The facts of Bush's offenses are so manifest, it's a matter that in large ways could lay the groundwork for action in the 110th Congress," which will take office in January, he said.
Copans said the state committee meeting would be at 10:30 a.m. April 8 at a location to be announced. He said only members of the state committee would be allowed to deliberate and vote, though the party was investigating options for allowing others to speak.
"The last thing we want is to have a bunch of people show up and leave frustrated because they aren't able to participate," Copans said.
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