After receiving threats of Physical Violence, Boulder City Council drops the impeachment issue.
Ryan Morgan, DailyCamera — Boulder won’t debate a measure calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Backers of the measure couldn’t muster support from five members of the Boulder City Council to draft an impeachment resolution, even though many members said they were sympathetic to its goals. The council reached that decision late Tuesday night after hearing from dozens of activists who pleaded with them to draft such a resolution.
Two Boulder police officers were stationed in the room after elected officials received threatening e-mails from impeachment opponents, City Clerk Alisa Lewis said. Deputy Mayor Crystal Gray said she received one e-mail that said the portrait of the City Council “would make a fine target for a firing squad.”
City Councilman Macon Cowles last week told his colleagues that he’d ask for a vote on whether to move forward with an impeachment resolution, even though he opposed taking up the measure.
Impeachment supporters have been speaking at City Council meetings and handing out “Impeach” pins for the past several weeks. Many of those who gathered Tuesday night wore large, white signs pinned to their shirts that were printed with “IMPEACH” in red letters.
Cowles said he’s sympathetic to activists’ outrage about the administration’s actions. But, he said, members of the City Council were elected to deal with local issues and matters on which they can actually have an impact.
“To me, this action, if we were to take it, would be purely symbolic,” Cowles said.
Three council members — Gray, Susan Osborne and Lisa Morzel — said they’d like to see an impeachment measure drafted and debated. Morzel said she wants to be able to tell her grandchildren one day she fought what she called an unjust administration.
“I will have to answer to them one of these days when they ask me, what did I do?” she said.
Boulder resident Ellen Stark said officials who opposed debating impeachment on the grounds that the city government doesn’t have any say in the matter miss the point.
“I don’t think it really is symbolic, because every voice that’s raised in the spirit of resistance really counts,” she said.
Stark said it’s especially important for cities to take up the issue since members of Congress won’t. Dozens of cities across the country have passed similar resolutions.
“What recourse do the people have but to turn to their local municipalities?” she said.
Impeachment supporter Nancy Sullo said this year — the last of Bush’s administration — still isn’t too late to hold impeachment hearings.
“Addressing the crimes of the president and vice president is necessary even at this late date to re-establish the rule of law in this country,” she said. “It will send a message to current and future administrations that they are not above the law.”
Mayor Shaun McGrath said elected officials have to consider their “political capital” when weighing in on controversial foreign policy. Boulder’s leaders have to work with members of Congress, for example, and they need to consider whether it makes sense to alienate other elected officials before proceeding, he said.
“It makes a difference when we do these things, because there are people who will be very strongly opposed to it who also get to vote on things like our appropriations,” he said.
Bush’s war crimes:
1). Preemptive attack on another country that posed no immediate threat against us (defined by Nuhremberg Trials as the most egregious of all war crimes) a War of Aggression.
2). The use of torture as common practice in Gitmo, Abu Gahrib, Baghram AFB and ‘dark sites’ operated by the CIA around the world.
3). Use of illegal weapons: White Phosphorous, irradiated Uranium, etc.
4). Holding children as POW’s.
That is just a sampling of the reasons history will correctly identify Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al as war criminals.
As far as bordering on “being a traitor to” our country, a traitor would be one who would ‘out’ an active U.S. Intelligence Officer during a time of war: Libby, Fleischer, Armitage on orders from their “superiors” Cheney and Bush.
Your simplistic definition of “liberals” reveals you to far less than a thinker of any depth. Disconnect yourself from the Limbaugh/O’Reilly/Hannity propaganda B.S. and start doing a bit more research into the topics you show yourself to know nothing at all about please.
You people really have a major problem if you truely believe President Bush should have been impeached.
You listen to your friends and watch videos on youtube to the point that you as well become brainwashed. President Bush has done nothing but protect you and your family as he swore in his oath.
To call the American President a war criminal is out of line and borders on being a traitor to your country.
You liberals claim to be patriotic but you have no morals and no values…something a real American would have.
The terrorists have won!
Our elected officials are now being cowed by people making terroristic threats.
Under the new Homeland Security provisions those people making the threats should be arrested.
Here’s an idea: Put ’em in Gitmo.
If threatening emails were sent to city council members, then crimes have been committed. Under the U.S. Patriot Act, those guilty of sending the threatening emails are also guilty of being Domestic Terrorists. The FBI can trace back the offending emails to the original computers from where they were sent. Even if public computers were used, there could still be some means of identifying the Domestic Terrorists.
It should not be that difficult to do. Every email leaves a trail of cyber bread crumbs that will lead back to the Domestic Terrorist crumb bums.
Is this a City Council’s Job?
Most City Council members take an oath of office promising to “protect and defend the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. They don’t take an oath to fix potholes. If the Constitution is in danger then their primary duty is to defend it. If it is safe, and they have time on their hands, then they can fix potholes.
Cities and towns routinely send petitions to Congress for all kinds of requests. This is allowed under Clause 3, Rule XII, Section 819, of the Rules of the House of Representatives. This clause is routinely used to accept petitions from cities, and memorials from states, all across America.
“This is not a local issue!”
1 If a federal action has a significant negative impact on this city, then it is appropriate for this city to defend itself.
2 Citizens from this city may be sent, or have been sent, to Iraq to fight in an illegal war.
3 Tax funds from this city that could have been spent locally have been spent in Iraq for war. Tax money from this city has been wasted in no-bid contracts with companies like Halliburton. Yet this city can barely afford the emergency services, libraries, and schools that we need.
4 The state National Guard should be available to protect this city from floods, hurricanes, earthquakes or other disasters. But instead they have been sent to Iraq by this administration.
“Impeachment will take time away from other legislation!”
1 The impeachment of Clinton only took four months, two in the House and two in the Senate.
2 Not every Congressperson has to be involved with impeachment the whole time. Most of the investigations and even the trial can take place in small committees.
3 There is no issue more important than protecting the Constitution. Our system of government does not work when the Constitution is undermined. “Defending the Constitution” is required by the oath of office.
4 If Bush is in office then he might use signing statements to nullify the effect of new laws like he did with McCain’s anti-torture amendment.
5 Congress cannot make informed decisions if Bush continues to mislead them. A diplomat at the IAEA recently said that most of the information provided by Bush about Iran’s nuclear program “has turned out to be incorrect”.
6 While Congress works on minimum wage laws, the White House is spying on millions of Americans, torturing thousands of people, sending more US troops to die in Iraq, and building a case for a war with Iran. Impeachment will hopefully take time away from Bush committing more crimes.