Impeachment and criminal prosecution of those who allow torture won unanimous support at my caucus

[Bjorn Against]

I live in suburban hell. While I am represented by Democrats in both state houses, no one would confuse the place in which I live as a progressive stronghold. Our roads are filled with SUVs, funding for our schools is consistently voted down, and our shopping and dining choices are represented by Wal-Mart and McDonalds.

And so tonight when I carried my resolution for the DFL party platform to my precinct caucus I expected to receive some opposition. Here is the exact wording of my resolution:

"The Democratic Party of Minnesota believes that torture has no place in a civilized society, and that any public official who knowingly allows acts defined by the Geneva Conventions as torture to take place must be removed from office and prosecuted under criminal law."

You might think that a resolution which calls for not only for impeachment but also for criminal prosecution would be met with serious debate. But there was no debate needed, the resolution passed unanimously on a voice vote. In my fairly conservative precinct there was not one person who voiced a word of opposition. The resolution will now move on to my state senate district caucus and if it passes there it will move to the state convention. If the delegates at the state convention approve of it it will then become part of the platform of the Minnesota DFL.

I admit that is a much more difficult task than it may sound, there are likely to be hundreds of resolutions that make it to the next level and many will be rejected.

Whether my resolution is rejected further down the line is besides the point though, the point is that in my fairly conservative suburban precinct a resolution that called for impeachment and criminal prosecution of those who knowingly allow acts of torture to take place was passed without opposition.

If Democrats in my precinct will vote for such a resolution unanimously then it is clear to me that there is broad support for holding this administration as well as those who would choose to follow in their footsteps accountable under the law.

It is time to take impeachment off the table and ensure that no person is above the law. It is time to show Nancy Pelosi that she is in the minority when it comes to the issue of impeachment, and that if she wants to represent the Democratic Party then she needs to do her job and hold people accountable.

Torture does not belong in civilized societies, and neither does a pResident who orders people to be tortured. It is time to impeach, indict, and imprison.