I'm sitting in Filene Auditorium at Dartmouth, waiting for the festivities to begin. The Impeach Bush & Cheney banner has been hung, and the room is rumbling with the sound of excited people.
Dan DeWalt, Adrienne Kinne, and John Nichols have arrived. The Kucinch folks are everywhere. Tim Carpenter of Progressive Democrats of America is handing out stickers and flyers.
I'll try to keep up with the speakers and will likely do multiple updates over the evening, so I won't lose everything if the connection drops.
All the meat will appear in the extended text.
TV Crews have set up in the back of the room, the space is nearly full and people are still filing in. The fun starts in just a couple of minutes.
I’ll see if I can get a couple of pictures to post later.
ALL OF THE FOLLOWING IS PARAPHRASED. I can’t type that fast.
Dan’s opening remarks:
Northeast Impeachment Coalition, PDA, Women Making a Difference, Code Pink, After Downing Street are sponsors for tonight.
Dartmouth College maintains non-partisan stance and does not co-sponsor events.
We will present what’s happening in New England now, then onto featured speakers. Livestreaming is being provided courtesy of the Kucinich folks.
The New England Impeachment Coalition was founded in July ’07, as result of groups throughout NE joining together. It has grown quickly. NJ, NY, and even places not in the Northeast have joined. Bringing back constitutional rule is going to be the role of the citizen, since Congress has decided not to do its duty. If we have candidates in office who will not stand up and defend the constitution, we’ll have to run our own people against them. Introduced CT and ME candidates. Stated that there will be a candidate against Peter Welch.
Speaker: John Kaminsky, Maine Lawyers for Democracy.
Founded in 2005 to protect civil rights and civil liberties. Detailed [PDF format] position paper on web. Covers impeachment in its historical context.
(and) Maine Campaign to impeach
We collected signatures around Maine to demonstrate that Mainers are serious about impeachment – and got 15,000 signatures. We used them as a springboard to get legitimacy with congresspeople and decision-makers. On Sept 25 & 26, 2007 people went to Maine Congressional offices. As a result, Mike M. is deliberating, and has voted against tabling the Kucinich bill (HRes 333).
The days of Nixon were the last time we were in this situation. By comparison in Oct. 1973, 28% of Americans said Nixon should be impeached and removed. This was after a full summer of Watergate hearings. The number rose to 55% the day before he resigned. After all the investigations and hearings, that was the high water mark.
Let’s look at today. First, 64% say President Bush has abused his power. 55% say the Pres has committed impeachable offenses. Out of those 55%, many go further and say he should be removed from office right now.
We have in this country the people having the wisdom that our congress and media do not have right now. We have people who have the wisdom to recognize what’s going on, even before hearings and media coverage. It’s time to join the people in supporting impeachment.
John Nirenberg is introduced to a standing ovation.
Speaker: Betty Hall, NH House of Reps:
I was in the house back in the 70’s. We had a legislator who introduced one of the 1st impeachment resolutions in a state legislature. He introduced it, gave a fiery speech, got exactly 11 votes. I was not one of those votes. I have regretted that every day of my life since. Last Spring, I decided “I’m not going to wait to next fall,” I decided to introduce an impeachment resolution last Spring. I spoke to the rules committee, made my case, and they voted not to let me introduce the resolution. I asked for a suspension of the rules and did it anyway. I got 40 votes. But it’s not enough.
We need to learn and understand about impeachment. I didn’t have an inkling of it during the Nixon vote. We need to have more of this kind of meeting, to learn, throughout the state, and maybe a teach-in for the NH legislature.
[applause]
In any case, it will come to the legislature in January. I hope you all come to the public hearings and make sure the legislature understands impeachment before they have to vote on it.
Q: Do you need co-sponsors?
Betty: It’s too late for it. But please talk to your legislators.
Speaker: Tim Carpenter, introduced as the President of Progressive Democrats of America:
There’s no president at PDA, it’s a citizen lobby group.
We were founded the last day the Democrats met in the election of 2004 – when they nominated John Kerry at the convention. We believed, at the end of the convention, that 80% of those who believed we should end the war and redeploy our troops never got the vote we wanted.
We believed that grassroots democrats could organize around the country to repeal the patriot act, end the war, and ensure fair & transparent elections. It’s our belief that grassroots activists can make the change.
When the Democrats were the minority, John Conyers held hearings in the basement of the House, he began hearings in Washington on Oversight and Accountability that we believed would lead to impeachment. We believe in working with legislators on the inside and grassroots democrats like Dan DeWalt and others. Many of us were excited when the democrats won. We did not get a majority of progressive democrats, instead we got democrats who still need to hear from the grassroots.
We’re here tonight to ask you to continue to support the members of Congress who work for impeachment.
Be visible about your support of impeachment. Wear buttons, use bumper stickers, slip your dinner guests “impeach mints.”
We need to challenge incumbents!
Dan D:
Last spring we did a tour with John Nichols, Cindy Sheehan, and 3 veterans. One of those vets, Adrienne Kinne, is now seeing another side of war at the VA.
Speaker: Adrienne Kinne:
I am here because I am a veteran. I was active duty in 1994 – 1998. I was an interpreter. After 2001, things drastically and dramatically changed for the worse. When I started, never would we have considered spying on an American citizen. Never. I remember once an American’s name showed up. It wasn’t even someone speaking on the call, and we removed every single trace.
After 9/11, everything changed. We were intercepting phone communications from a whole swath. In the beginning it made sense, as we were learning the new equipment. Suddenly we started noticing that these were American citizens, just ordinary citizens: the Red Cross, journalists, aid organizations. You started to question why we were doing this. We were told we were given permission to listen to Americans “just in case.” In case some aid worker accidentally came across someone from al Quaeda, or something. The constitution and our constitutional rights should not be waived “just in case.”
These were not just communications in the Middle East, but also their conversations home. We were told to just kind of “forget what the people in the United states had to say,” report on the part that originates in the Middle East. They said they had waived law in the US to make this legal.
I came to realize the significance of our oath to protect the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, when going into the service and what it means.
Iraq Vets Against the War has grown tremendously over the last 10 months – more than tripled our members.
The fact that Congress does not want to listen to the people does not absolve us of our duty to protect the constitution.
In Iraq, raids on houses, abducting Iraqis at any time for no reason, killing people who are driving up to checkpoints – this happens not because of individual soldiers, but because these are policies our government has forced upon our soldiers.
Speaker: Dan D:
This war will not end under this President.
When I was younger, I worked in the city where Dennis Kucinich had been elected Mayor. Once, there was a major snow storm that shut much of the city down, but the mayor was not the kind of guy to sit around and wait for things to happen. The next thing you knew, Mayor Kucinich was plowing the airport because it was the only way to get the job done. I’m really honored to be able to introduce you to the one person in Congress who has supported the constitution, who has stood tall above all others.
Speaker: Dennis Kucinich:
Thank you for your commitment to the principles of democratic government. The very idea that prayer for gov of by and for the people is for each generation.
When I read the declaration of independence, I am struck by founders who pledged their unity. We understand that it is all on the line today. Our very democracy is in danger.
As a member of congress I have seen this systematic destruction of our democratic principles. You can look at the Bill of Rights, you can see, chapter and verse, its destruction. Giving the government the right to reach deeply into people’s personal lives. There’s this fear of personhood, privacy, which is essential to ensure each of us is free of government intrusion.
You find things you couldn’t believe happening, like HRes 1955 – only 6 voted against it. Once again I voted against it because I read it. Section 1603 of the Defense bill broke down the Posse Commitatus act, allowing the President to use our troops against us.
We are at a moment in time when we realize that our democracy is on the line.
Why after introducing HRes 333 in April did I find it necessary to come forward with HRes 799 a couple of weeks ago? What changed?
There were no hearings on 333, despite growing approval of on the bill. So I submitted 799 as privileged resolution.
The defense budget calls for spending 10 mil to retrofit B2 stealth bombers to carry 30k ton bombs (massive ordinance penetrators). Analysts all said these will be used to drop bombs on nuke research labs in Iran. If dropped, there will be a tremendous energy release, blowing dust and debris high up into the atmosphere, creating radioactive fallout, hundreds if not thousands of miles across the continent.
I had no choice but to bring this through under privileged resolution. It resonated with article 3 of HRes 333 about the VP beating drums of war against Iran.
Impeachment is the one remedy for this administration to stay the trip down the warpath. By taking it off the table, they (the democratic leadership) are licensing the violation of the constitution and international law by pres and VP. Neither leadership nor any other member of congress has the right to not do their constitutional duty.
When I hear: “We have more important things to do.”
I say “What?”
I hear “They’ll be gone in 14 months.”
I say: “They can do a lot of damage in that time. It doesn’t take long to attack a country that has no capacity to attack us.”
Each one of us has the responsibility and the honor to restore our nation.
Speaker: John Nichols:
I don’t know what unnatural quirk of the planetary order has occurred that would have me speaking after someone who should be the pres of the united states, but I will take it as an illustration of our democratic principles in this country that the president is second only to a citizen.
There are so many friends and comrades allies in this audience.
None of this happens without Dan DeWalt.
Liza Earle is a baker and day care provider, she had never gone to town meeting before. Came to some of our events, rustled up the courage to go to her town meeting to submit articles of impeachment.
When we toured VT we thought New Englanders might not want to listen to out-of-staters, we suggested that they should. This country would be tremendously well served to have a knowing and caring veteran to represent us in the Congress.
One of the other vets was Matt Howard.
Recently Matt went to Australia. The president was there as well. President had gone to thank John Howard who was the Prime Minister of the time. He turned to prime minister and said “Thank you for sending the Austrian troops to Iraq.”
John Howard has been thrown out. [applause]
Matt told story of his service in Iraq. they went out of Kuwait city, after 1/2 hr of training. A young marine jumped out, raised his arm with a fist to say halt. The car stopped, in it were a father with his children, wife, relatives. the father stopped, rolled down the window and returned what he thought was the international sign of solidarity (raised arm clenched fist). Then he pulled forward. The marines shot everyone in the car. That night, as the soldiers slept in the truck, the young marine stirred in his sleep screaming. Matt held him, and said, “It’s ok, bad things happen in a war.”
But bad things don’t “happen” in a war. Bad things happen when you send them unprepared, and untrained to fight.
120 soldiers a week now commit suicide.
When I hear stories like that, I despair.
When I hear our presindent speak and talk of more surge, I despair.
When I hear VP casually discuss launching a more dangerous and deadly war against the more powerful and connected state of Iran, I despair.
When I see congress fail to uphold the end of the war, I despair.
When I see people come out from across New England in a rainy night. I realize I do not have the privilege of despair.
Courage patriots, the republic is in danger, the constitution is under attack, democracy itself undermined. We are the descendants of those who fought a revolution against a king named George.
I say to you my name is John Nichols and I want to impeach the president and vice president of the United States.
I want to impeach them for their attack on this constitution of the United States. Because they shredded the constitution, because they undermined the separation of powers when they lied to congress, because
they have spied on the American people when the constitution of the us gives us freedom in our homes from intervention, because they have sanctioned torture and extaordinary rendition.
Some people want to impeach because they violated the Geneva conventions, but we don’t have to go to the Geneva conventions, we have only to go to the 8th amendment.
When Cheny authorizes torture, he commits an impeachable offense.
I want to impeach them because of what they did to Wilson and Plame.
The 3rd article in Nixon’s impeachment was for use of office to punish political foes.
When they used their office to punish Joe Wilson for speaking out, they committed an impeachable offense.
I didn’t come up with these ideas myself. I read the notes to the constitutional convention.
George Mason, author, wrote: No instrument in this document is more important than the power to impeach, for if we cede our power to impeach, we cede the ability to hold the president accountable. If we do not have power to impeach, we make him a king for 4 years.
Jefferson: without impeachment, we have a monarch for 4 years, with no difference between him and a king.
Oh, but it is a time of war. We must support the troops! Well, we do support the troops. But keep in mind, Mason said: “War is the true wet nurse of executive aggrandizement, to empty the treasury of resources …, to destroy even the freedoms that the war was supposedly launched to defend.”
Wars waged illegally and immorally are the highest of high crimes.
James K. Polk started the Mexican American war, claiming an attack by Mexico on America.
A young congressman was elected from the Midwest, and went to Washington. He offended party the leaders.
He said from the Well of the House to the President: “Show me the spot on which a single Mexican shed a single drop of American blood. If you cannot, then show me why you should not be removed from your office.”
When Polk did not answer, the congressman censured James K Polk, saying essentially “we honor the troops but not the one who sent them to an immoral war.”
When admonished that “you cannot attack the president in a time of war.”
The Congressman replied:
Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to do so, whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose – and you allow him to make war at pleasure. Study to see if you can fix any limit to his power in this respect, after you have given him so much as you propose.
If today, he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada, to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say, “I see no probability of the British invading us” but he will say to you, “be silent; I see it, if you don’t.”
The provision of the Constitution giving the war making power to Congress was dictated, as I understand it, by the following reasons: Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object. This, our Convention understood to be the most oppressive of all Kingly oppressions; and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression upon us.
I was not elected to serve a king.
Abraham Lincoln.
Q & A Session
Q: How do we change the mind of Peter Welch?
A (Kucinich): The people of Vermont can do that. Continue to talk to him.
A (Nichols): The force you use on this issue IS having an impact. The media will not tell you that.
Q: Why is impeachment off the table?
A (Kucinich): It seems that the political calculus is that the more offenses pile up on this administration, the more Republican loyalty will be brought to a lower and lower level. I think it’s a cold calculating attempt, in the same way the democrats put ads on tv against the Republicans’ war funding plans, then turned around to fund the war.
Duplicity is the word that was made for this moment. The word duplicity has found its hour. We cannot permit this to count as governance.
It’s just incompetence.
Q: Welch voted for H. Res. 1955:
In response to a constituent, he replied: “The law doesn’t criminalize any activity.”
A: (Kucinich) It’s trying to criminalize thought.
There’s an effort to break down thought, word, deed, free speech. When you start to criminalize thought [missed]
Q: How did 400 congressman, after they read that bill pass it?
A: (Kucinich) People don’t read these bills. You get a dozen bills, some a few pages, some a hundred. Comes from your side, and vote for it. It was a democrat’s bill – Jane Harmon’s bill. They don’t read the bill, they look at the title.
This is what we’re faced with.
Then when they’re called on it, you see gymnastics that are olympian in their grandeur, but pathetic in their implications.
A: (Nichols) Most of the pathologies in this bill were also in the patriot act. It was much harder to vote against the patriot act, due to the tenor of the times.
You now hear Chris Dodd talking about how much he loves the constitution. Then why didn’t he love it enough to vote against the patriot act? It mattered at the time when the votes happened.
Q: (battery recharge needed, so I missed this one, it was 9/11 related)
Q: (Jimmy Leas) Many speakers have given reasons to impeach. We need to start thinking about them as the steps a government takes … towards dictatorship. It’s enough that our president tortures people. Once it starts moving from people in other countries, it’s going to creep toward us. Once that happens, nobody is going to stand up. When people start being afraid of being tortured, they stop speaking out. We are the ones who are the victims, because our rights are at stake. It [this effort] is to stop the next war, the current war, and preserve our constitution. We have to work so hard to build the movement, so we don’t go further down this path toward dictatorship (turned out to be a comment – no question)
Q: Republicans were going to vote against tabling H. Res 333 to embarrass democrats. I was very confused. I looked into it. I thought, what could be embarrassing to Democrats about that? When you investigate Cheney the people who should be embarrassed about it would be the republicans.
I looked into it and came up with PACs, the big pacs are oil & gas. The Republicans wanted to expose the democrats as listening to the PACs that fund them instead of listening to the people, and embarrass the democrats in the eyes of their constituents.
I am not going to be afraid to be called a name for telling the democratic leadership to stop listening to the PACs, and start listening to us. [this was another comment]
A: (Didn’t see who spoke?) We are facing a culture of intimidation – torture, wire tapping to deprive people of civil rights and liberties to make us apprehensive about speaking out for the constitution, civil liberties and this country. We don’t have the luxury of despair or of being intimidated.
A: (Nichols) I interviewed Bernstein: he says there’s no question they should be impeached. “What’s different now,” I asked? The Congress is dramatically more bought than in the 1970s. But more serious is our media. Media is invested in power. On bended knee. Media that does the work of the powerful, reinforces those in power. They’ve played the media brilliantly.
Believe me, amazing things are happening, but you won’t hear about them on TV or the radio.
I have great hope that we can fix this mess. The only thing that worries me, is our media. We can roll over Congress. Our media is in a crisis.
I don’t hear candidates talk about media reform.
A: (Dan)It’s not just Fox and Murdoch and CBS and NBC. Recently, I spoke with public media head (alan ?). “Let’s have a program about it.”
He replied, “No, it’s not an issue.”
A: (Tim:) Visit AfterDowningStreet.org
Invite people like John N., David Swanson, and others to meetings like this. Begin those kitchen table conversations.
Ask you congress member to call for hearings in judiciary on HRes 333.
Q: Had an epiphany, had copies of sample resolution for impeachment. Fill in your town’s name, go to your town, and put it in for town meeting. Talked with Secretary for my town: she said the warrants closed. Guess what, they weren’t.
You have to stay on it, want to have it happen. Before I went to the 1st places, I was afraid of what people would say. When I sat with 500 people, I knew our Republic was about done. It’s a very simple concept – when our country was founded, we were separating ourselves from the monarchies. We would not kneel to a king and be strung up for asking why if told to fight a war.
In a republic, you are the sovereign, I am the sovereign. We don’t get down on our knees.
We shouldn’t feel that someone else is going to do this work for us.
Q: On media and impeachment, when Dennis Kucinich filed HRes 333, there was a blackout. I begged for a lawsuit against media. Overwhelming evidence of 911 being fixed. John N., please look at this and start writing about and publishing.
Prince Bandar says he warned Bush.
Q: How do we impart the passion we feel to the young people at the universities?
A: (Nichols) I get this question everywhere I go, on every issue. Young people make a realistic choice not to be engaged in the political process because they see nothing come of it. Something you can do: Stop being PUNDITS. It’s the biggest disease going: stop talking about electability, and how you need electability to succeed, there’s no idealism in that. Young people respond to idealism – a promise that something real can happen. The candidate that has touched most young people in this campaign: Ron Paul. When he stared Giuliani down and said there are reasons this country was attacked and 9/11 occurred, and people, young people were watching and said “yeah! you’re right.”
Attract young people by voting your conscience, acting upon your conscience, and making real the idealistic options.
Young people look at older folks and see older folks compromising. If we don’t hold up higher ideals, we won’t get young people to believe that this is a savable political process. You will find that young people will be what you want them to be if you are what they want you to be.
A (Kinne): At ISO, There were kids responding to what our country has never been and should be.
When we have actions not governed by “What won’t offend anybody” but by what do we need to do, the kids like it and get engaged. They’re not so afraid of offending someone for a decent cause. I don’t think we’re going to pull this off without more kids. We have a long way to go. We need to stop limiting ourselves.
Q: I believe we need to be calling on a higher power and invoke the martyrs (Kennedy, Wellstone, etc.) who have given their lives, and we must honor them, because they really are with us.
A: We will only succeed if we truly believe that we will succeed and move forward and believe that we will succeed.
Q: I am a confused citizen. In any movement it’s important to understand the position of those who do not support the position in order to get them to change their position. Our democratic legislators seem to be sitting on the sidelines. Can you comment on the rationale for the democrats to not stand up?
A (Hall): Too much money and not enough courage. I don’t know why my colleagues don’t think the way I do. I got arrested and put in jail because I didn’t move. In court, they asked all the questions – did she do this or that wrong? The answer was no, so the case was dismissed.
Q: What are they afraid of?
A (DeWalt): The smear machine that kicks in when you stand up. Also have to face possibility that they’re members of the same team, but wearing different coat.
A (Nichols): I do a lot of right-wing talk radio shows willingly for sheer sport of talking to conservatives. I talk about impeachment. I think it’s relevant to this. I say, “I know you believe George Bush is touched by God. I believe he’s been touched as well. [laughter] I know you believe he’ll do the right thing, but do you really want to hand those powers over to president Hillary Clinton?” I’m always amused by the reaction.
I am afraid both parties like power, and like it so much, they don’t enjoy a discussion about disempowering the president because they’re afraid that we’ll start discussing disempowering others, too.
Jefferson envisioned the president becoming corrupted, the congress becoming corrupted, and even the media becoming corrupted. It is for that reason we rested all power in the people.
You’re the leaders, you guys have to do it.
A (?): In my darker moments I wonder what they might be afraid of: on wiretapping, Sr. members of Democratic party were briefed on wiretapping, and know they’re just as culpable.
Some are afraid that if we impeach, we won’t be able to elect a democratic president because they won’t have Bush to kick around anymore.
We can’t address this by focusing on fear, we must address it based on protecting the constitution, and handing down to the next generation a country they can be proud of like was handed to us.
Q: About the 120 soldiers committing suicide per week: do those include returned or in-field?
A (Nichols): Returned. Not all are Iraq vets, some are Vietnam vets. There’s a dramatic surge in suicide. It’s the reason the administration and VA at fed level are not keeping unified set of stats.
I’ve interviewed returning troops – today you can pluck someone off the battlefield who would have died, send them to a hospital in Germany, then home to the VA, but the tragedy is survival in horrific condition. Part is because of that, but part is the mental agony from war.
Every single day we don’t just doom someone to die, we doom hundreds of young men and women to a future in which suicide will be a logical option. I counsel urgency because there are young men who will be ruined today, tomorrow, and every day we go forward. And that doesn’t count the innocent Iraqis.
A (DeWalt): Twice as many Vietnam vets have killed themselves as were killed in the war.
A (Kinne): I have worked with vets on PTSD. It’s not PTSD, it’s not a disorder, it’s having a conscience. When they are asked to commit war crimes and atrocities, when they come home and suffer guilt, then to be told that they have a disorder, there’s something wrong. It’s when you have leaders who send you to commit these atrocities with a clear conscience – that’s the disorder.
Q: (John N. who’s walking to Pelosi’s office) For info, go to MarchInMyName.org. I urge you to give me pictures of you and your family to bring to Nancy Pelosi.
Q: My brother committed suicide on my birthday 2 years ago. We are all one. The thoughts and feelings are energy permeate all of existence. Everyone who has lost loved a one can understand that. I want people to realize that this world is terrifying the sensitive souls which exist here. They don’t want to express it in front of others because it “shows weakness.” I’m a radio operator, my call letters: W1JSB. I get on 80 meters, 40 meters, 20 meters, to share with people.
[at this point Dan D. takes a moment to acknowledge Nancy (last name?) put this together.]
Q: I’m tired of writing letters and emails to Congress. I think of other countries and when the get organized, they take to the streets. What’s it going to take for us to make a showing and be heard.
A (Nichols): The original sin of this whole moment: when they were not going to count the votes in Florida. People went into the streets about that in other countries, but we didn’t. We allowed the election to be stolen from us. We have another election coming. We invite all the sins that flow from the moment they steal an election.
Q: to John Kaminsky
In the Maine Lawyers for Democracy’s impeachment document articles, you parsed many things. There must have been information on 9/11 – how were they discarded from the impeachment articles?
A: Didn’t know a lot about the questions ’til the last 3 – 4 months. I had been looking at so much other evidence and focused on putting together strong supportable case that took advantage of the evidence before us now.
We don’t have a lot of evidence in handabout what really happened 9/11. My concern is a concern of urgency. We need to move forward now, with the case we have in our hands. I don’t mean to diminish the arguments on 9/11, I fear there would not be enough time during this administration’s time in office to accomplish a complete investigation of 9/11. I would hope next pres will appoint special prosecutor.
Q: The Right of Revolution is included in NH constitution (article 10) listed on back of tonight’s program. NH is the only state with the right of revolution. [… missed the rest as we prepared to head out, since the space was closed at this point]
