My Published Op-Ed: Councilors, Vote to Impeach Bush

[femmedem]

Published this morning in The Day:

On Tuesday, Ron Suresha and Rick Buell presented to the New London City Council a resolution calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
From this morning's The Day:

Before the resolution comes up for a vote, councilors must ask themselves three questions: Have the president and vice president committed impeachable offenses? If so, is it appropriate for a city council to pass a resolution calling for their impeachment? And finally, would such a resolution be in the best interests of the residents of New London?

The answers to these questions are yes, yes and yes.

Before voting, councilors should consider that we are all witnesses to the historic and ongoing crimes of the Bush/Cheney administration. Are we to turn away? Is it somebody else's responsibility to intercede? Or do we have an obligation to say, as forcefully and in as many ways as possible, that we will not tolerate illegal wars, we will not tolerate indefinite detentions, we will not tolerate the erosion of civil liberties and the unchecked power of the executive branch?

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=45f5ce21-d085-4b01-9d5a-82cdc1067db4

[Time for change]

1. That's great -- Congratulationa!

I pray that they have the good sense to take your advice seriously.
:patriot:

[kstewart33]

2. Good job.

Your op-ed was thoughtful and very well written. What are the chances that the Council will pass the resolution?

[femmedem]

3. I'd say about 40%.

The majority of the council opposes Bush/Cheney and believe they've committed impeachable offenses. However, they're not sure it's an appropriate action for a municipality. Of our seven councilors, one has worried that New London may suffer some retribution from our Republican governor, and two have said they don't believe they were elected to take stands on national issues. However, these councilors have also said that they haven't fully made up their minds.

Three of the current councilors voted in 2003 to oppose the Iraq war. One, the only Republican, voted against. Now we have four Democrats, one Republican and two members of One New London, a third party which sprang up largely in opposition to the eminent domain takings.

Edited for sloppy grammar.

[Duppers]

6. not good odds, but there's hope, uh?

What a great op-ed! Well said, femmedem!

I can understand some of the councilors' hesitations, but they should not be intimidated by the Gov. In taking financial argument alone, I am sure the CT state budget has been effected by bush's cuts to the states' funding. All states are running a bigger deficit because of bush's reign. As the domino effect goes, the state budget in turn affects New London; therefore, bush's wasting our tax dollars on an illegal war is rightfully their business. You put it better:

Third, a resolution calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney would be in the city's best interests because this administration's illegal actions have harmed and continue to harm New London residents.

Some harm is financial. According to www.costofwar.org, New London's financial share of the cost of the Iraq war through March 2007 is $42.4 million. Worse, the federal government pays for this war by cutting social programs such as home heating assistance and children's health insurance. Gov. M. Jodi Rell has said, “These cuts interfere with the fundamental responsibility of government: to safeguard the lives of its citizens. ... The cuts to these programs place extraordinary burdens on the states.”


And as you pointed out, there is many a precedent:

• Second, U.S. law and tradition makes clear that not only is it appropriate for municipalities to weigh in on national issues, it's routine. Clause 3, section 12, Section 819 of the Rules of the House of Representatives specifically allows local governments to present petitions and requests to Congress. The Congressional Record shows that municipalities make use of this clause daily.



I wish we could see more action like this taken in the south. Sigh.


A big CONGRATS!

[NewJeffCT]

4. Excellent writing - recommended

and I'll kick it later today as well.

[NewJeffCT]

8. afternoon kick

good letter - thanks again

[femmedem]

5. Geesh, I sure can screw up a text box!

:dunce:

That first textbox is supposed to read like this:

On Tuesday, Ron Suresha and Rick Buell presented to the New London City Council a resolution calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Before the resolution comes up for a vote, councilors must ask themselves three questions: Have the president and vice president committed impeachable offenses? If so, is it appropriate for a city council to pass a resolution calling for their impeachment? And finally, would such a resolution be in the best interests of the residents of New London?

The answers to these questions are yes, yes and yes.

[Duppers]

7. Excellent op-ed.

Because your informed words can be applied to every city in this country, I'm sending your op-ed around.

Thanks again, femmedem.

K & R.