

By Mary Elizabeth Fratini, Vermont Guardian — An impromptu, and at times contentious, 40-minute meeting between Speaker of the House Gaye Symington, D-Jericho, Senate Pres. Pro-Tem Peter Shumlin, D-Windham, and more than 100 people in support of an impeachment resolution this afternoon ended abruptly when Shumlin walked out of the room.

“The reason we are here is because we don’t want to be good Germans, and we don’t want you to be good Germans either,” said Fletcher Dean of Calais, to wild applause from the packed room. The exchange drew enough bystanders, including legislators and media, to render the scheduled press conference unnecessary.

On Town Meeting Day, 38 towns passed resolutions calling for Congress to introduce articles of impeachment against Pres. George W. Bush and Vice Pres. Dick Cheney. Since then, supporters have been urging state lawmakers to pass a similar measure.

“Vermont has so often been the moral compass of the nation. Huge swaths of Americans have hope in this resolution, and huge swaths of Vermonters support this critical issue, and you know that you are standing in the way of that,” said Barry Aleshnick of Guilford.

Last week, the popular comic strip Doonesbury profiled Vermont’s impeachment efforts during a six-day run.

Symington reiterated her steadfast belief that a resolution supporting impeachment was not the solution when asked what could change her mind. “I don’t disagree with your goals, but I don’t believe that this is the way to achieve them,” she said.

One of the meeting’s organizers Liza Earle of Richmond noted that they were asking for a vote, not a victory, to which Symington replied, “In the House it is a simple action: Any legislator can ask the Judiciary Committee to lead the resolution and we will vote on that.” Likewise, Shumlin said, “I would welcome anyone to introduce the resolution and I will vote for it.”

That is a different position than Shumlin took earlier this year in public statements, including in statements at a monthly meeting of the state committee of the Vermont Democratic Party. He said earlier that if the resolution made it to the Senate it would receive immediate hearings; however, all of those statements were made before Legislative Counsel said that the resolution did not have to start in the House.

In recent weeks, Shumlin has said that there is not enough time remaining in the legislative session to take up the resolution.

“Each of them, on their first day, took a solemn oath to support the Constitution of the United States,” Earle said after the meeting. “The oath is to protect the Constitution, period, not if it is not divisive, or if there is time, or after discussing broadband.” …

Impeachment timeline

February 13: The Vermont State Senate adopts a resolution in support of bringing American troops home from Iraq now. Dan Dewalt of Newfane asks Shumlin if the impeachment resolution can be taken up simultaneously in the Senate as was done with the troops resolution. Shumlin says he will look into it, but encourages Dewalt to focus attention on the House.

March 2: Dewalt again asks Shumlin to introduce the impeachment resolution in the Senate. But Shumlin says that he prefers to let the House pass it first.

March 6: 38 Vermont towns pass impeachment resolutions, including Putney and Jericho, the hometowns of Shumlin and Symington.

March 20: Shumlin tells the Rutland Herald that if the measure did pass the Vermont House “it would immediately be brought up in the Senate for hearings.”

March 24: The Democratic State Committee passes the impeachment resolution after hearing Shumlin speak strongly in support.

March 27: Shumlin asks the Legislative Counsel to research whether the resolution can be introduced first in the Senate; the answer is yes.

April 3: Legislative Counsel provides Sen. Jeannette White, D-Windham, with text for new resolution at her request that avoids the need for any investigation in Vermont. Shumlin tells White not to introduce that resolution, meeting later with Liza Earle, Adrienne Kinne, and Leas to say his reason for not going forward is his relationship with Symington.

April 11: Earle, Kinne and Leas meet with Shumlin and Symington. Symington says Shumlin can introduce the resolution in the Senate and it won’t affect their relationship. Shumlin says there is no time left and says the citizens are to blame. (More)

What can WE do?

Contact Speaker of the VT House Gaye Symington and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, and tell them they’re failing to fulfill their oaths to defend/protect the Constitution.

Peter Shumlin ““ (Home) 802-387-4447

Gaye Symington (Home) 802-899-3324

115 State Street

Montpelier, Vermont 05633-530

(Work) 802-828-2231

[email protected]