Other states look to Vt. on impeachment
Toolbox
By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau - Published: April 24, 2007
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Senate's vote to impeach President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday came a bit too late in the year to help Sen. Eric Oemig.
Oemig, a Democratic senator from the state of Washington, sponsored a similar resolution in his state Senate on Feb. 15. But the state's top Democrats there spoke out against the bill and, despite a rambunctious hearing on the issue last month, it died in committee.
Vermont's symbolic first step toward cutting short Bush's second term provided some hope for impeachment activists in Washington, Oemig said, but the state legislature's 2007 session ended Sunday night.
"Congratulations to the people of Vermont for getting the job done," Oemig said Monday morning. "After the Senate passed the resolution, there was a small discussion on our floor the next morning, but it was too late to do anything."
While the Vermont Senate is the first legislative body in the country to pass a resolution calling for Bush's and Cheney's impeachment, several other states have been considering similar legislation for more than two years.
It's not clear exactly how many states saw impeachment resolutions introduced this year.
National impeachment advocates, including those posting at liberal blog Daily Kos and ImpeachBush.tv, have suggested that up to 10 states have considered impeachment resolutions in the 2007 session. According to the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures, however, only five actually had pending legislation this year.
In addition to Vermont and Washington, legislators in Hawaii, Missouri and New Mexico have introduced impeachment legislation this year, according to Jeanne Mejeur, the conference's program director.Many of the legislatures already have or are close to adjourning for the session, she said.
"This may not make much sense next year since (Bush) will already be almost out of office," said New Mexico Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, who supported an impeachment bill there. "But it will also be in the middle of an electoral campaign, so who knows?"
Aside from Vermont, New Mexico seems to be the only state to have come close to voting on an impeachment resolution.
Ortiz y Pino, the main supporter of the bill in the New Mexico Senate, said the resolution passed three key committees before supporters were "outmaneuvered" by Republicans.
Ortiz y Pino said supporters thought they could muster a narrow victory with a single-vote margin on the Senate floor, but Republicans "defeated it by procedure" by voting against the report from the Senate Judiciary Committee, effectively blocking a floor debate.
"They took advantage of my lack of legislative experience," said Ortiz y Pino, a freshman senator. Although Democrats had a majority in the Senate, they did not have enough members on the floor at the time of the procedural maneuver. "They wouldn't even let it come to a floor debate."
In Texas, Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, introduced an impeachment resolution earlier this year, but the bill has been stuck in a committee by the Republican-controlled House leadership, according to Jose Romero, a legislative aide.
Burnam has not given up hope that the bill will get a hearing this year, Romero said, although its prospects don't look too good.
"Rep. Burnam was the only member of the state legislature to oppose the Iraq War when it began." Romero said. "He believes that President Bush has not been truthful with the American people about this war."
Oemig noted that his experiences trying to pass impeachment legislation in Washington state are similar to those in other states around the country. More often than not, it is the Democrats who are blocking the efforts, he said.
"It's rather counterintuitive," he said. "It sounds like that is what is happening in Vermont too. You got to get your own party on board first if you want to get anything done."
Vermont impeachment supporters are expected to converge on the Statehouse at 10 a.m. Wednesday to urge House leaders, including Speaker Gaye Symington, D-Jericho, to vote on an impeachment resolution similar to the one passed last week by the Senate.
Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@rutlandherald.com.
37