Vermonters vote to impeach Bush/Cheney!

[Gn2Dlnd]

This (http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070307/cm_thenation/1172344;_ylt=Ap4l.wIJTvGAHRaQgcB.ByMDW7oF) is amazing -

The Nation -- When Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, a Republican with reasonably close ties to President Bush, asked if there was any additional business to be considered at the town meeting he was running in Middlebury, Ellen McKay popped up and proposed the impeachment of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

...McKay, a program coordinator at Middlebury College, pressed her case. And it soon became evident that the crowd at the annual meeting shared her desire to hold the president to account.

...Late Tuesday night, there were confirmed reports that 36 towns had backed impeachment resolutions, and the number was expected to rise.

[Morrigoon]

I'm surprised it took this long!

[Alex]

Vermont didn't vote to impeach anybody. This is Town Meeting, a wonderfully anachronistic form of direct democracy that is very well known for passing all kinds of "outside business" that has absolutely no force of law other than as publicity. But none of them speaks for the state as a whole and even if every town in Vermont votes on it, it doesn't carry any weight (Vermont still has a standard representative legislature for statewide business).

So it is interesting but I can't say it is important.

For more information on Town Meeting, First Tuesday in March (http://www.vpr.net/audio/town07_mtg.mp3) is a radio show from Vermont Public Radio that talked about the institution, the difficulties it faces in our modern world, and the issue of "outside business." They played it on KQED (San Francisco NPR over the weekend and it was very interesting).

It is also worth nothing that when it says Putney, Vermont voted unanimously that this probably represents less than 10% of the population since most people do not go to Town Meeting.

[Gn2Dlnd]

Yeah, people who choose to attend town meetings and vote are teh stoopid.

I realize it doesn't carry the weight of law, any more than the popular vote carries the weight of law. It may, however, carry the weight of impending political backlash if the direct voice of the people is ignored.

[Tramspotter]

OK, so that closes the debate on the speed bump installation on Delaware Street. Next agenda Item

Impeach the Bush Hitler now or we will collectively spit in your maple syrup so help us ahhhrhhrhrhrhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

all in favor...

[Alex]

Yeah, people who choose to attend town meetings and vote are teh stoopid.

I'm not saying they're stupid. Just engaging in meaningless theater.

And the political backlash is hardly impending since it manifested five months ago. Now I'll go call Comcast to complain about my water bill.