By H2O Man, Democratic Underground
I attended the Teach-In on Impeachment at The Forum in Binghamton, NY last night. It was sponsored by the Broome County Peace Action group, and Broome County NY Veterans for Peace Chapter 90. It was an inspirational evening for those who are strongly opposed to the policies of the Bush-Cheney administration, and who believe that our Constitutional democracy requires that Congress move to impeach the president and vice president.
Two of the guest speakers are authors of important books on impeachment. John Nichols writes for The Nation, The Progressive, and Capital Times. His book “The Genius of Impeachment” is outstanding. Bill Moyers recently did an hour long interview with John on his show,
Nichols gave an interesting history on the Founding Fathers’ intentions for the process of impeachment. He then listed some of the offenses of the current administration that should result in impeachment.
John also answered those who say they favor impeachment, but question if it’s too late to start the process now. Every 10 minutes, an innocent Iraqi dies as a result of the Bush-Cheney war of aggression; every 10 hours, an American soldier dies in Iraq; and every 10 days, $2 billion is taken from American tax-payers to line the pockets of Dick Cheney’s friends.
Elizabeth de la Vega is a retired federal prosecutor. For over two decades, she was involved in the top unit for prosecuting organized crime in this country. She is the author of “United States v. George W. Bush et. Al.”
Elizabeth spoke about the largest case of fraud in our nation’s history ““ the lies that brought the US to war in Iraq ““ and the need to prosecute those responsible. Her book lists the president, along with Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Powell as being responsible for the fraud.
She compared the failure of congress to make any meaningful response to the 1964 example of urban indifference when Kitty Genovese was murdered: neighbors sat passively by, thinking that either someone else should do something, or that if no one else did anything, that it must not be that bad.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey and Vietnam War combat veteran (and former Broome County Executive) Tim Grippen could not attend. Hinchey had a family medical emergency, and Grippen was hospitalized earlier in the day. Substitutes for both did a good job of representing their positions.
Two people from Ithaca also did a wonderful presentation on how they got the Tompkins County Legislature to become the first in the nation to pass a resolution that requests Bush and Cheney be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Binghamton University Professor Jean Quataert. Her new book “Advocating Dignity: Historical Perspectives on Human Rights Struggles and Global Politics, 1945-2005,” will be published soon. I strongly urge DUers to buy a copy when it is available.
The program featured a fascinating Questions & Answers period. A highlight for many people was when an 8th grader named Chloe H2O Girl spoke about the administration’s betrayal of injured veterans, and of her hopes for the nation’s future. Professor Quataert noted that she represents our future, and Elizabeth de la Vega said, “I look forward to seeing you in Congress.”
I have a lot more to say about how we can work to bring the message from last night to more people across the country. In the next few days, I’ll be posting more detailed information for those who are interested in keeping the impeachment issue as central to the progressive grass roots.
Peace,
H2O Man
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