attachments: NIN lobbying packet;
photos of lobbying delegation with Kucinich, Conyers (one with Conyers wearing
the IMPEACH BUSH-CHENEY button)
|
National
Impeachment
A delegation of National
Impeachment Network (NIN) activists began lobbying Congress for impeachment on
July 8. The delegation included: Tobi Dragert,
We focused as a team on meeting
with Representatives who publicly support impeachment, as evidenced, for
example, by cosponsorship of H. Res. 333(799) or 1258, or Wexler’s letter
to Conyers. Below are reports on face-to-face meetings with Representatives
Dennis Kucinich D-OH, Robert Wexler D-FL, John Conyers D-IL, Lynn Woolsey D-CA,
Walter Jones (a Republican!) R-NC, and Maurice Hinchey D-NY. We will follow up
these meetings with "thank you" letters and reiterations of our
requests.
A second team of NIN lobbyists
starts work in DC July 15: Stuart Hutchison and Keith Armonaitis of New Jersey
Impeach Groups, Susan Serpa of Northeast Impeachment Coalition and Cynthia
Papermaster of California Impeachment Coalition.
Please contact Cynthia if lobbying
is your calling and you can lobby this month or in September when we will
resume the lobbying campaign [if hearings haven't started]. What if our efforts
get the hearings started! Don't you want to be a part of this campaign?
cynthia_papermaster@yahoo.com;
510-333-6097
Your thoughts on how to
improve this campaign are welcome. We can't think of everything, so if you have
any brilliant ideas, please send them.
The strategy and
message
We decided on a positive approach:
thanking them, reminding them that we're on the same side, showing them how it
will benefit them politically to impeach, giving them assurances of
support.
We had two lobbying goals and
requests for Representatives:
- Introduce
your own resolutions for impeachment
- Lobby the
Judiciary Committee to start hearings
It’s important to know the
mood in Congress right now. Every Representative is running for
re-election. They need money, and they need votes. Our strategy and message
takes this into account. These are our talking points:
- We
aren’t bringing them money and votes in the usual sense, but we are
assuring them of abundant money and votes not only from grateful
constituents but citizens nationwide if they start impeachment hearings.
They will receive tremendous support.
- Hearings
establishing that Cheney/Bush are guilty of impeachable offenses will help
them and Obama tremendously in the elections, not create political
blowback. McCain and many Republications will go down in defeat. This is a
fantastic political opportunity for them.
- They will
be considered national heroes for their part in this episode of
- We thank
them for their commitment to impeachment and emphasize once again that our
numbers in the NIN and in the general population mean that their patriotic
and energetic work for impeachment will be appreciated and supported
nationwide.
- We ask
them to tell Conyers to start hearings and to take the next step--
introducing their own resolutions for impeachment.
- We
suggested selecting one of the impeachable offenses that resonates;
perhaps the signing statements issue, or the one about the
administration's refusal to honor subpoenas.
We give them a professional,
polished velobound piece (attached) containing supporting materials, including
sample resolutions for impeachment, a one-page list of the 35 articles for
Bush, and "Starting Impeachment Hearings Via Congress' Nixon Impeachment
Plan".
John Conyers,
Chair of the Judiciary Committee [cynthia]
Conyers met with us for an hour.
He talked about his love of jazz for the first 15 minutes.
He said he wanted to impeach. He
said he wanted to personally serve Karl Rove with an inherent contempt
citation. He said he would like to send the House Sergeant of Arms to arrest
Rove. He said the decision to start hearings was up to him alone. He said he
hasn't decided to start hearings or when he would decide. He said he wants us
to invite him to come and speak at an event. (this could be significant) At one point I got down on my
knees and beseeched him to start hearings. He asked his staff to take pictures
of us with him, and he put his arm around me for one picture. He admired my
"Impeach Bush and Cheney" button so I asked him if he would like to
have it. He asked me to pin it on his lapel (see attached photo). He walked out
of the meeting wearing it and was seen by a PDA (Progressive Democrats of
America) leader who reported to PDA and democrats.com that he saw Conyers wearing the button.
He arranged for reserved seats at the Judiciary Committee hearing where Rove
didn't show up to give testimony on Justice Department irregularities re. the
firing of U.S. Attorneys. The Committee voted to express their disapproval of
Rove for not showing up, but they did NOT cite him for contempt and they did
NOT arrest him.
Dennis
Kucinich [sandra and cynthia]
Dennis met briefly with us. He
said he wants support, cosponsors, and money for his re-election. He is facing
a serious challenge for his seat.
He was very busy working on the
impeachment resolution charging Bush with deliberately lying to Congress about
Iraq-- the WMDs, connection with Al Qaeda, and the threat Iraq posed to us. We
went to his press conference on Thursday announcing his new resolution to
impeach Bush. Due to Sandra's special relationship with Dennis (she was on his
campaign team in
Robert
Wexler [cynthia]
Wexler met with us for about 20
minutes. He said he was considering introducing his own article of impeachment
based on charge re. the administration's refusal to honor subpoenas. He said he
was going to "huddle with his staff" on this. I pointed out that he
could also introduce one or more resolutions simply directing the Judiciary
Committee to start hearings and to ask other representatives to do the same,
per the "Nixon Flooding Plan." He remembered meeting with the
"We The People" impeachment group who presented the "Nixon
Flooding Plan" idea to him. His Legislative Director Ellen was in the meeting
and I spoke to her afterward. She is completely on top of this issue and told
me that they are trying to get Congress members to stop thinking of the hurdles
and start viewing impeachment as a simple one-two-three process. We were elated
after this meeting; Wexler could introduce an impeachment resolution himself
and didn't dismiss the idea out of hand. We'll follow up with his staff
mid-week.
Lynn
Woolsey [janine]
Jason Feld, Legislative Assistant
(LA) in charge of impeachment (yes, she does have one!) in attendance.
Jason received an overview of NIN and packet while waiting for Congresswoman to
return for meeting. He did mention the volume of calls they get daily
from the district on impeachment and how the trend is growing.
Congresswoman seemed curious while non-committal on the idea, as Co-Chair of
the Progressive Caucus, of her heading up a very real delegation of
Congressional Progressive Caucus members calling for and proposing
impeachment. She said that was a possibility. Same response on the
idea of her writing her own resolution. She gave me her word she would
read fully the NIN Impeachment Lobbying packet on the flight she was about
to catch to
Walter Jones,
Republican [janine]
Congressman Jones mentioned before
we even sat down that Dennis was about to introduce his resolution that evening
and expressed regret that he would not be able to go down for Dennis’
press conference at 2:00. He is 100% supportive of Kucinich’s
actions on impeachment. Most importantly, on May 8, 2008, Jones introduced
HR 5993 “to promote congressional and public awareness, understanding and
political accountability of presidential signing statements”. The
bill awaits action in the Judiciary Committee.
Maurice Hinchey,
D NY-22 [tobi]
We all four sat
down with Congressman Hinchey's senior legislative assistant, Terra
Sabag, and as we were beginning the meeting, the congressman himself joined us.
He and the others we met with seemed very receptive to our visit. Congressman
Hinchey stated he's been working on impeachment for several years, and was not
certain why it had not gone forward yet. Hinchey is a recent cosponsor of
H. Res. 1258, Dennis Kucinich's 35 Articles of Impeachment. We asked
how our group of over 100,000 activists could help impeachment, and he replied
that if even a small percentage of those 100,000 would lobby hard, it could
likely be done. He and other congress members have indicated they do not feel
there is sufficient public support, and without that, the members are reluctant
to act. He does not want to introduce his own resolution to impeach and doesn't
think other members will do this either.
----- Original Message -----
From: Fernwoods@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, July 13,
2008 6:46 PM
Subject:
[CarlislePeaceCollege] Reasons 7 GOP House Judiciary members called for
impeachment in 1998
Seven
Republican Members of House Judiciary Call for Impeachment
- but in 1998 - Read what they said
then & remind them now
These are excerpts from HJC
impeachment hearings Dec. 10-11 1998. It's standard to go back to see
where members of congress stand on certain issues. To remove the context of
Clinton - or Bush - for that matter - allows their remarks to stand
alone. They can now be reminded and held accountable for them.
(I included excerpts, go to link for
entire article and longer quotes.)
http://www.opednews
|
July 11, 2008 |
|
|
GOP Reps. Smith, Sensenbrenner, Coble, Gallegly,
Goodlatte, Chabot, and Cannon after much deliberation put the Constitution and
rule of law before politics. Rep. Lamar Smith stated, “As much as one
might wish to avoid this process, we must resist the temptation to close our
eyes and pass by. The president's actions must be evaluated for one simple
reason: the truth counts.”
Hon. Lamar Smith (TX)
Phone 202-225-4236 . Fax: 202-225-8628
We should not underestimate the gravity of the
case against the president. When he put his hand on the Bible and recited his
oath of office, he swore to faithfully uphold the laws of the
"The office of the president is such that
it calls for a higher level of conduct than the average citizen in the United
States." .........
The president's actions must be evaluated for
one simple reason: the truth counts.
As the process goes forward, some good lessons
can be reaffirmed. No one is above the law, actions have consequences, always
tell the truth. We the people should insist on these high ideals. That the
president has fallen short of the standard doesn't mean we should lower it. If
we keep excusing away the president's actions we as a nation will never climb
upwards because there will be no firm rungs.
Hon. James Sensenbrenner (WI) Phone
(202) 225-5101 . Fax (202) 255-3190
…being a poor example isn't grounds for
impeachment; undermining the rule of law is.....
The framers of the Constitution devised an
elaborate system of checks and balances to ensure our liberty by making sure
that no person, institution or branch of government became so powerful that a
tyranny could be established in the
Hon. Howard Coble (NC) Phone (202)
225-3065 . Fax: (202) 225-8611
...I take umbrage to charges that some are out
to get the president...
...I can't see that this is going to shut down
the government or tie it up, assuming it does advance to the Senate.
Hon. Elton Gallegly (CA) Phone (202)
225-5811 . Fax (202) 225-1100
Mr. Chairman, I'm not a lawyer -- one of the few
on this committee -- however, everyone that knows me knows I believe in the
rule of law -- believe the rule of law is fundamental to our society. A society
without laws is anarchy. Societies that ignore the laws are condemned to
violence and chaos......
He violated the Constitution. To condone this
would be to condemn our society to anarchy. Mr. Chairman, I cannot and will not
condone such action.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte (VA) Phone (202)
225-5431 . Fax (202) 225-9681
Since it is the rule of law that guides us, we
must ask ourselves what happens to our nation if the rule of law is ignored,
cheapened or violated, especially at the highest level of government. Consider
the words of former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who was particularly
insightful on this point. "In a government of laws, the existence of the
government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. For
good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. If government
becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law. It invites every man to
become a law unto himself."
......This same principle must also apply to the
most powerful and privileged in our nation, including the president of the
I have a constitutional duty to follow the truth
wherever it leads. The truth in this case leads me to believe that the
president knowingly engaged in a calculated pattern of lies, deceit and delay
in order to mislead the American people…
The precious legacy entrusted to us by our
founders and our constituents is a nation dedicated to the ideal of freedom and
equality for all her people. This committee must decide whether we will
maintain our commitment to the rule of law and pass this precious legacy to our
children and grandchildren, or whether we will bow to the political pressure
for the sake of convenience or expediency.
Hon. Steve Chabot (OH) Phone (202)
225-2216 .
(202) 225-3012
Thank you. Mr. Chairman, every member of our
committee recognizes that this is likely the most important vote we will ever
cast, and all of us would prefer that the president's actions had not led us
down this fateful path. However, we have sworn an oath to uphold the
Constitution and we must fully accept that responsibility. ......
The historic record, the law, and the
Constitution tell us that the charges against the president do indeed rise to
the level of impeachable offenses. They constitute serious violations of
criminal law and fall squarely within our Founding Fathers' definition of
"high crimes and misdemeanors.
Mr. Chairman, impeaching the president is an
extremely serious matter. Throughout these proceedings, I've tried to keep an
open mind, giving the president every opportunity to refute the facts that have
been laid before our committee, but now all of the evidence is in and a
decision is at hand.
It has become apparent to me that impeachment is
the only remedy that adequately addresses this president's illegal and
unethical acts. Allowing the president's actions to go unpunished would gravely
damage the Office of the President, our judicial system and our country.. .....
When we cast our votes, we are not voting as
Republicans or Democrats, we are voting as Americans. Our allegiance does not
lie with any one president but with our country. Our charge is not handed down
from any one political party but from the Constitution. Every member of this
body is duty-bound to put politics aside, follow our conscience, and uphold our
oath of office.
Hon. Chris Cannon (UT) Phone (202)
225-7751 . Fax (202) 225-5629
We are at a defining moment in our history. What
we do here will set the standard for what is acceptable for this and future
presidents.
I believe profoundly that the behavior of this
president is unacceptable because I agree with John Jay, one of our Founding
Fathers, who said, "When oaths cease to be sacred, our dearest and most
valuable rights become insecure." ........
I submit that in the spirit of our Founding
Fathers and John F. Kennedy, that our first duty is to provide for the security
of the fundamental rights of Americans.
To properly perform that duty, we must vote to
impeach the president. Thank you.
The statements above
are excerpts from transcripts of the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment
hearings. December 10-11, 1998. Each congressman is a current member of the
House Judiciary Committee.
[writer's note: a question mark was added
to the title after the original posting so that the reader might slow down and
read the entire piece to understand the context before forwarding to others.]
Comment by author in comments following article:
their #'s are attached. simply in a
respectful, yet firm way ask each to be a man of his word. remind them of
their convictions, how the constitution meant so much to them and how they
should allow the process to work - that all the evidence be made available
within the confines of an impeachment hearing (that cannot be tampered
with or ignored) and let the chips fall where they may.
definitely
actions like using local papers is where it counts. they absolutely pay
attention to local news about them. no politician wants to look
bad in the daily local.
I
believed putting it into context immediately would take the oomph out of
their words. And, if the title had been about Republicans during
One of the great things about posting on
OpEdNews is that because it is a news source, when Congressional staffers set
news alerts for their bosses, articles like this will top the list. They also
come up in places like U.S. Politics
Today (an EIN news service). It's a
subscribed service for political professionals giving those inside the beltway
a direct connection to us.
So, this is the scenario I like to
envision. Rep. Lamar Smith's staff sees a link to an article that he supports
impeachment. A link
to this currently sits under his name on U.S. Politics Today. Staffer
reads it and let's Smith know people are bringing up his statements during the
Clinton impeachment and maybe to save face he will at least be willing to
listen to some arguments for impeachment where he otherwise might have totally
dismissed it. Call me a dreamer.
My inbox has been filling up with ideas that
people have with how to deal with this info. Many are calling and faxing and
reminding the reps of their words. It was mentioned above that it would work
well in letters to the editor of their local papers. A reader sent me a
message showing me her sample letter. Very clean and simple. Presents them with
their own words and asks politely if they "still apply" - a c.c. to
pelosi, conyers and a big city newspaper.
We're in the best place we've been in a
long time, maybe ever, with impeachment. Kucinich having an opportunity to
address the members of the HJC. If these Republicans are reminded of their
strong convictions ten years ago - i am not saying they will vote to impeach,
but they will be harder pressed not to allow the information to at
least be presented. "
.
__,_._,___