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Impeachment Petition Passes; Now NH to Pressure Congress
By Mark Anderson
MANCHESTER, N.H.—The New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention saw State Rep. Betty Hall’s “Petition to Commence Impeachment Procedure in the U.S. Congress” adopted, despite numerous roadblocks thrown in her path by party leaders.
As AFP revealed previously, Rep. Hall is the 87- year-old Brookline, N.H. woman who, having served in the state House for 28 years, is determined to uphold the rule of law and constitutional checks and balances by getting the 400-plusmember New Hampshire House to pass House Resolution 24, which calls on the Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress to begin the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for getting the U.S. into the Iraq war/occupation under false pretenses. The administration’s use of torture and snooping on the public, also are cited.
The timing of impeachment near the 2008 elections is seen as immaterial. Ms. Hall says these misdeeds are simply wrong and should be addressed as a matter of principle.
Her resolution that was passed at the party convention is a variant of HR 24 with more guarded language, she told AFP. It builds on the passage of an impeachment resolution at the Democrats’ state convention in 2006.
“The governor [John Lynch] came and went; Howard Dean came and went; the same for the congressional candidates and state politicos during a long stint in a packed gymnasium on a glorious spring weekend day, which began at 8:30 a.m. In the very last minutes of the convention, about 4 p.m., the Democratic Party leaders let the vote for the Hall Impeachment Resolution and the town of Newbury Accountability Resolution take place,” stated a press release from Maryellen Martin of Nashua, a former state representative.
Of the 800 people there at the start, about 650 were delegates elected locally to attend this event. The rest were elected officials, party officials and guests. Even though a number of people left as the day progressed, Rep. Hall and delegates in support of impeachment stayed the course to make sure her petition/resolution was heard. When her item was finally brought forth, it passed 110-88 in a precise county-by-county standing vote.
Deborah Gibson, a friend of Rep. Hall’s who helped AFP navigate the state’s political scene during a recent news assignment there, was elated. She told AFP that this represents the first major victory over the Democratic political machine in New Hampshire.
“This is the first time the tables have been turned against those in the party who think they just rule,” Ms. Gibson said. “They tried every trick to hold Betty down.”
According to Gibson, “they” included State Party Chairman Ray Buckley and Committee Chairwoman Jane Clemmons.
Nancy White, an area business owner and delegate in favor of impeachment, remarked that the party leadership’s extreme reluctance to deal with this issue shows that the Democratic Party is, at best, a weak opponent of the Republicans or is not a true opposition party at all.
This apparent “fix” in the political machine was long ago described by the late Georgetown University Professor Carroll Quigley, an insider who remarked that the nation’s entrenched ruling class would play both dominant political parties off each other to make it look like they’re real opponents when, in fact, they’re working in concert at the top, in order to pursue a regimented global society and do away with a free and independent America. Quigley also was aware of the role the big media would play in promoting this trickery.
To help overcome the corporate media’s strong tendency to either ignore or downplay Hall’s impeachment effort, several hundred copies of AFP’s online version of its first story on HR 24 were handed out at the convention, as delegates prepared to vote on several other resolutions and amendments to the party platform.
Speakers were only given three minutes each to make proposals. Although Rep. Hall waited for hours to speak and push her impeachment petition, she spoke briefly and delegated two of her three minutes to “citizen delegate” Nan Stearn, described as “the people’s lone grassroots speaker, not a leadership pick or a party official.”
At the podium, Ms. Stearn broke into a song called “Impeach the Bas***ds,” written by Rebecca McCall in collaboration with Noel Paul Stookey of “Peter, Paul and Mary” fame. The room erupted in approval.
“Unlike the rest of the day, it was an unscripted, spontaneous expression of celebration, standing and cheering in support of Rep. Hall’s resolution to begin investigations and, at the very least, lay out the facts,” the press release added. “The delegates heard what they wanted to hear, and with their vote confirmed, they want truth and accountability from our government. The message sent by the people is the first step of this constitutional procedure: Begin investigations now to determine if there is sufficient cause/evidence to hold our current elected leaders in Washington responsible.”
The Newbury Resolution that also was passed May 17 centers on “accountability” of federal officials and to “indict and prosecute” those who break the public trust, Ms. Gibson noted.
Moreover, citizen Tom Hosmer’s petition for legislative support for this impeachment effort gathered at least 200 signatures. “It was overwhelming,” Ms. Gibson said. “The people were hounding us to sign.”
AFP Corresponding Editor Mark Anderson can be reached via email at [email protected].
(Issue # 22, June 2, 2008)
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