On Saturday, April 7, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01) met with a joint gathering convened by Americans for Democratic Action (Hawaii) and Progressive Democrats of Hawaii. About 35 people attended, including the parents of Ehren Watada. The meeting began with an informal discussion before Rep. Abercrombie’s arrival. When he arrived, with Amy Asselbaye, his Chief of Staff, and his pet dog, on behalf of the assembly I welcomed him and gave him his first question. The question drew on a speech by Al Gore in January 2006 and an article in the Washington Post this month which said, in effect, that as a result of actions by President Bush’s administration, the Constitution was in grave danger, and asked whether he was willing to endorse Gore’s call for
- A Special Prosecutor to investigate what many believe are serious violations of law by the President, and
- Both Houses of Congress should hold comprehensive– and not just superficial– hearings into these serious allegations of criminal behavior on the part of the President, and should follow the evidence wherever it leads.
And if not, why not? Finally, he was asked what he was doing to protect the Constitution against this danger.
There followed a long and vigorous discussion, with many participants. My impression was that
- Abercrombie said that he would vote for a motion to impeach, if it came to the floor. However, he didn’t think that it would happen.
- He also thought there weren’t enough votes in the Senate to find Bush guilty.
- He thought that there were more important things to do, and worried about the House getting tied up in knots debating impeachment.
- At one point, he defended the Democratic congress, pointing out how much had been accomplished in only 3 months, and that aggressive investigations were under way against the President’s misdeeds.
Not all the questions were about impeachment, but that was the main focus. After the Q & A had gone on for an hour, I was getting signals from Amy that we had 5 minutes more, but the questions were still coming fast and furious passionate, so when I tried to wrap things up, Rep. Abercrombie brushed aside the concern over time, and continued to respond to questions for another 20 minutes or so, and then stayed afterwards for about 15 minutes talking to individuals, including the Watadas, before leaving.
This meeting will not be the last word, but hopefully the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with Rep. Abercrombie. We are grateful for his attention, and for being so generous with his time!
If you were there, please add your own comments on the meeting!
Bob Schacht
George Simson, ADA/H Board member, offered this comment on the meeting:
REFLECTIONS ON THE JOINT ADA/H-PD/H MEETING WITH ABERCROMBIE
The most important thing is that the two groups were substantially in agreement and showed it to Neil. His responses were generally good, although some would have favored a more fervent support for impeachment. However, in a discussion I had with him the next day he gave a useful political perspective: he was for impeachment but they need the votes from the newly elected members of Congress, many of whom were victors in Republican districts, and are a bit skitterish. Our jointly held positions as constituents will help him in Congress. Thirty years ago Sparky talked to ADA/H about impeaching Nixon in about the same way. It seemed like a long shot then, but the Sultan of Sleaze ended up resigning.
Further, I thought Neil was right to emphasize that the new Congress has to create and negotiate a new government, meaning lots of new legislation, after the ravages of Newt, Shrub and their relentless 12 years trying to sell America to the highest bidder.
On a more mundane level, Neil and I also talked about getting a way to better respond to constituents’ mail. The automatic email non-sequiturs from his office and the supposed impossibility of sending snail mail to Washington are not signs of a high level operation. Amy and Neil both said that the volume of email is overwhelming. I reminded them that 30 years ago I could always get a thoughtful reply to letters I sent Sparky or Patsy. When I suggested that Neil hire as interns some bright young English graduate students who could write and edit responsive drafts, he said that’s what he and Amy were talking over. They could hire literate and well-briefed interns to draft letters, show them to Neil for editing, and then get them out in a timely way. We’ll see. What’s the old law of bureaucracy–work swells to fill a vacuum? So eliminate the vacuum.
I hope Neil realizes that the new leadership needs to lead. Pelosi and Reid are getting some things going.
We need to get a selection of the big issues out in future meetings: things like withdrawing from a stupid war; warring only if Congress declares war; stopping the senseless killing of our own young people sent on to gratify the bloodlust of old cold desk jockeys; establishing a national single-payer health program; devising a foreign policy based on knowledge rather than blind ignorance; redirecting an economic policy that could bankrupt us like the old USSR; or using air, sun and water to create energy that does not raise the price of vegetables.
George Simson, ADA/H Board Member
Comment by BobSchacht — April 16, 2007 @ 6:13 pm