For PDX impeach activists past and present—the NIN Weekly Digest

PLEASE COPY/SEND TO YOUR BLAST LISTS AND ACTIVIST FRIENDS  

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Folks,

In that only 2 months remain before Election Day (Nov. 4), many NIN coordinators have been simplifying tactics most likely to succeed in convincing a U.S. House representative to either hopper a separate impeachment bill (preferably one of the 2 quickest: signing statements, ignoring subpoenas) or  to cosponsor those Rep. Dennis Kucinich has hoppered against President Bush (H RES 1258/1345) or Vice President Cheney (H RES 333/799).

This issue will focus on what you can do—and what others are doing—to impeach President Bush and/or Vice President Cheney before January 20 (Inauguration Day). Unless Bush, in particular, is impeached, all of the 36 high crimes he committed as listed in Kucinich’s bill will be available for successive presidents. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, has already announced he plans to continue the abuse of signing statements, for example. Congress will be nullified if subpoenas have no power and the signing statements gut any legislation members pass. The Constitution will be nothing more than a piece of paper.

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NIN Gathering 40 House Members' Signatures in September Rally 

to Comply With HJC chair Conyers Demand for Hearings

On Sep 1, 2008, at 12:45 PM, NIN Coordinator William Crain (Billings) wrote:

NIN coordinators going to Washington DC [this month] will be calling themselves: Citizens for Executive Oversight.

We are lining up a bunch of Congress people to approach and [House Judiciary committee chair John Conyers says if we have 40 he’ll bring Impeachment to the table. And we have nearly that many now.

Anyone interested in helping with scheduling in DC—i.e., calling [House members] in DC and setting up appointments for our teams—please get back to me (williamcrain@earthlink.net) and I’ll set you up with the pros. We will not be mentioning the “Impeachment” word except in the NIN ads.

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On Sep 1, 2008, at 10:04 AM, NIN Coordinator Cindy Piester (Ventura CA) wrote:

               Veterans for Peace, in cooperation with (NIN) is planning a month of unprecedented pressuring of Congress to make impeachment happen. [To check the events, dates, and places] please go to: www.veterans4peace. org .

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You don’t have to be a coordinator to go to Washington for a day or two and help NIN lobby those 40 House members to comply with Conyers’ demand we furnish for him to start impeachment hearings in the House Judiciary Committee.

             Sophie de Vries, field coordinator for afterdowningstreet.org website who’s coordinating the DC campaign, pitched the following message to us all on Sep 4, 2008, at 1:24 AM:

There is no point dancing around the head of a pin. We've done that for five years now. The [House] members, especially the Judiciary committee … know all of the impeachment charges. They know Bush and Cheney are criminals and should be jailed.

[Their] problem is one of political will. The key Dem leaders don't have the political will to impeach. We need to affect their will so they can do the right thing.

Many of the Dems and our colleagues over the years have heard from Betsy de la Vega, Bruce Fein, Elizabeth Holtzman, Ray Mcgovern, David Swanson, Kagro X (Daily Kos),  John Nichols (who's still in touch with Conyers) and many other [impeachment]"experts". And still nothing happens.

We keep hitting our head against the same wall over and over again thinking that reason alone will move them. Only [HJC member Jerry Nadler is an intellectual, so he loves reason and logic. Conyers and [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi don't respond to reason and logic. They have to be approached on a different level.

            We need as many people as possible to go to Washington, DC and meet with members and their chiefs  of staff. We are matching up organizers who are going ,with members who will be meeting with us.

If you are going to [be in DC this month] please, please, please let me know by email (sophiegd@yahoo.com)—even if you told me you were going  before. Would you please [list] the following:

Name

Dates in DC

Organization 

Contact info (email, snail mail, telephone(s)

Thank you.

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On Sep 4, 2008, at 11:17 AM, NIN co-founder Cynthia Papermaster (SF) wrote:

All,

….. [The September DC rally] is an education you will never forget, and it's an opportunity for you and our country that is beyond measure. It may be an expense that you can ill afford. Me too. My situation is that I'm unemployed since December, in a field where I was earning quite a lot (for me anyway.) I could be looking for another job and I should be taking care of my finances and everything else, but I am beyond reason with my concern for our country. …

Below is [the] information re. the DC trip. 

Housing costs and options—as low as $25/night!

Harrington Hotel: located right downtown, $34/night, shared room, your own bed. I have made reservations; reply to me so I can coordinate your stay at the Harrington.  http://www.hotel-harrington.com/ 

Clarion Hotel: $25/night sharing a double bed or $50/night for your own bed.

PDA house: $25/night, Mt. Ranier neighborhood, 15 mins. from the Capitol

I'm staying at either the PDA house or there's slight chance at the CODEPINK house. …

Our "Asks"

…. I need to have our "asks" figured out. Doing this will require input from "insiders" on the Hill and possibly "outsiders" who are experts, and an opportunity to ask…questions and share…ideas. To that end we need to have a conversation of more than 5 minutes with [Representatives] Keith Ellison, Bob Wexler, Tammy Baldwin, attorney Bruce Fein, former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, former White House counsel John Dean.

Our choices seem to be:

1) asking [House] members to sign a letter to House Judiciary Committee John Conyers saying they support an impeachment hearing, either a new letter or the existing letter from Wexler, which 20 members have signed so far:

http://www.wexlerforcongress.com/news.asp?ItemID=230

2) asking members to cosponsor a bill for impeachment of Cheney, Bush, or both, based on one or more articles of impeachment that are easy to prove with evidence in the public record, nonpartisan, and without doubt violations of the Constitution. Is a new bill needed, or should we ask for cosponsors for H. Res. 333/799 or 1258? Is Kucinich's name on these a hindrance? Would Wexler, Ellison or Baldwin introduce a new resolution? 

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One action taken by NIN coordinators prior to this September DC 'Rally’ was writing a letter about their mission in DC to House members considered to be pro-impeachment before they arrived. The draft sent us at press time is below.

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Picketing Anti-Impeachment Candidates

at District Offices or at Town-Hall Meetings

Another tactic for impeachment is to picket the incumbent or  first-time candidate for Congress at his/her district office. Or to show up at a town-hall or other event in which s/he will be speaking and get at the head of the microphone line to ask why s/he does not support impeachment and the Oath of Office to support/defend the U.S. Constitution.

Democratic party leadership in Congress has provided each member with 8-10 responses as to why “impeachment is off the table.” They’ve used them so often, the responses are called “The Pelosi Mantra.” The Portland chapter of We the People National Coalition for Impeachment has “responses to those responses” you can download from its website (www.wethepeopleimpeach.org). They’re under the link called “How to Counter Propaganda Points Against Impeachment Your Rep Might Use.”

As to picketing a district office, several have been doing that in Portland in front of Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s building every Thursday (noon to 2 p.m.) for over a year.  They’ve love to have you even as an “irregular” (doing it only once or twice). They’ll even hunt up a red impeachment shirt for you.

The sparkplug is Joe Walsh who ran against Blumenauer in the Democratic primary last May.  They usually stroll the sidewalk with picket signs, but have done launched balloons bearing a pair of rubber chickens labeled Pelosi and Blumenauer. They’ve held a funeral for the U.S. Constitution—and carried it in a coffin aboard the Maxi light rail to the front of the Federal Building downtown. They’ve done street theater. During Christmas, Joe dressed up as Santa Claus—flanked by 2 elves (Sara Graham, Marilyn Pike)—duct taping the front door, and calmly passed out candy canes to police and security before they were escorted to a few hours in jail (charges dropped by the judge).

Pictured below are some of those regulars, several of who will be among the readers of Walsh’s play The Trial of George W. Bush 2005 in an Oct. 21 open reading performance at the Friends Meeting House. Come on down to join them (there are 21 parts and you don’t have to do anything but read) at the next “rehearsal,” this upcoming Thursday (Sept. 11) at 10:30 in the cafeteria across from Blumenauer’s office (729 NE Oregon).

Photo by Ernie Colonna

PICKET-LINE REGULARS at Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s district office every Thursday (noon to 2 o'clock) are (from left) Roberto Lavato, Ineke DeRuyter, Barbara Ellis, Sara Graham, and Irene Steiner. 

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The ‘Blank’ Vote Tactic Launched in PDX

for Those Failing to Support Impeachment

Another impeachment tactic being encouraged around the country and now in Oregon is the Blank-Vote system by which Democrats angry at party leadership—national, state, or county—can do more than quit the party and register for another.

By leaving a blank for a particular office on the ballot, voters are sending a message to party leadership that it is selecting and funding candidates regarded by voters as “losers,” double-crossers, those deaf to constituents, or being an obedient hod carrier for the party. It also means dissatisfied Dems will not be forced to vote for candidates in other parties, boosting their counts.

National supporters of blank voting point out a blank-vote it is a direct way to punish Democrats elected or re-elected to Congress who pledged to end support for the Iraq occupation and to impeach either President Bush and/or Vice President Cheney and double-crossed voters by doing neither because of the fears of being punished by Democratic party leaders.

Thus, a blank-vote amounts to a vote of no-confidence in the candidate and Democratic party leadership—national, state, and local. Payback where it hurts party leadership/candidates the most.

To emphasize that wake-up call prior to the election, impeachment-minded voters will be telling canvassers and  phone-bankers promoting a candidate that they intend to leave the space blank because no interest was shown in impeachment or obeying the oath to support and defend the Constitution.

Promotional/fundraising material will be returned with the same message: No support of impeachment = no donations, no volunteering—and a blank vote.

Activists involved in the blank-vote program will be using blast lists to urge this tactic, as well as suggesting voters email or call candidates’ offices to warn that unless that candidate pushes impeachment—hard (co-sponsoring or hoppering their own bills)—they’ll get a blank vote.

This tactic appeared in a mid-August email to NIN coordinators and as an item in this newsletter. NIN coordinators have a reach of 200,000 on the Internet via their blast lists which then are picked up by other blasts lists.  In Portland, the reach is 55 of those active in impeachment over the last 3.5 years, plus 157 activist groups.

In Oregon, the blank-vote tactic was picked up by NIN member Mark Welyczko. (He ran against Rep. David Wu in the District 1 Democratic primary. ) On ????, he urged NIN coordinators to include it on the list of do-able tactics for its reach of 300,000 impeachment activists around the country:

Six NIN coordinators instantly showed interest in urging the blank-vote tactic in their blast-list correspondence to area activists: Bernadette Evangelist (NYC), Stuart Hutchison (Melbourne FL), Ken Ashe (NC), Ralph Lopez, Susan Serpa (Boston)—and, in Portland, me and fellow impeachment picket Hans-Michael Vermeersch. Hans quickly bought a ready-made website domain (http://www.blankvote.org) and began providing additional information about the tactic for you and a national audience of Democrats boiling over party leadership since 2000.

            One response suggested to unhappy Dems receiving calls from campaigners for Congressional and/or presidential candidates is: “No push for impeachment of B&C. So no volunteering. No donations. And a blank vote this time.”          

A response for snail-mail campaign dollars can be met with this pithy sentence in their enclosed business-reply envelope: “Due to your unfortunate lack of interest with regard to defending the Constitution by impeaching (President Bush and/or Vice President Cheney) for their high-crimes against it, I (and/or my spouse/partner) are not voting for you in the upcoming election.”

            And there’s always the call NOW with the same message to party leadership:

•Democratic National Committee……..            1-202-863-8000

•Democratic Leadership Council……... 1-202-546-0007

            •Democratic Congressional

Campaign Committee…………… 1-202-863-1500

            •Democratic Senatorial

Campaign Committee…………… 1-202-224-2447

            •Democratic Party of Oregon…………...... 503-224-8200

            •Multnomah County Democratic

Central Committee ………………… 503-248-0826

            •National Barack Obama

Campaign Committee

(Obama for America)…………….            1-866-675-2008

            •Your U.S. Senator

or House Representative…………1-800-828-0498

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Newest Tactic: Cover Head With Paper Bag (‘Bag Bush!!’) 

When the Washington Post impeachment ad idea died Saturday for lack of sufficient funds, NIN Coordinator Emily Peyton (Putney VT) suggested to those lobbying House members in Washington in September for impeachment that:

The money we have raised [could be] used to print on paper bags. Bags that we could hand deliver to each member of Congress at their offices. Bags that we could walk the halls of Congress with printing on them and two eyes holes punched out. Bags with suits on below.

…[I]t would be ultimately effective to have people walking … in DC with bags on their heads. In dressy suits. To demand that the Bush administration be bagged!.   

With this disguise, we would make the [security] officers …uncomfortable without breaking any laws that I can think of, and be exquisitely visible for our cause. Who wouldn't turn to look at us with a paper bag on our heads?  What  we might print on these bags is: SACK THIS ADMINISTRATION  [or] BAG THIS ADMINISTRATION [or]BAG BUSH….

Let it be [printed] upside down. It draws peoples' attention more. You'll see them tilt heads and crane necks to read it….

We could print one side of the bags with eye holes and deliver them by hand to each office. The surprise of the staff will ensure the message gets around DC. We might also post YouTube bits that fly out. We could all meet in front of the White House and create a short YouTube piece standing with bags on our heads and our arms crossed—-a fairly potent message to be sure. 

Could we agree to spend part of the $3,000 [raised for the Post ads] for printing these paper bags? We would need roughly 700 bags to cover one for each congressional member's office—and have enough left over for those who are brave enough to wear [these] BAG BUSH  bags. …{M]aybe we could get the attention we deserve without the Post or The New York Times.

When banking [of course] please remove the Bag Bush bag from head. 

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On Sep 6, 2008, at 9:35 PM, NIN Coordinator Susan Harman (Oakland) wrote:

I love [the bag idea]! Just checked some prices and for $500-$1,000 (more likely $500) we can have 1,000 bags [printed]. I’ll do the serious research on Monday [and] try to find a manufacturer in DC who can do a rush order. Let’s think fast about the message.

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On Sep 6, 2008, at 9:45 PM, NIN Coordinator Mikael Rudolph (Mpls./St. Paul) wrote:

The bags couldn't be worn through security certainly, but otherwise it is a steller idea. This could be for impeachment what "Homer Hankies" were to the 1987 Twins. …

I had been going through the NIN emails and started thinking that we need to find something catchy, something wacky and 'outside of the box'. I really believe this is it!!!

1) White Bags to make printing more clear (letter maybe glued onto bag if simpler and cheaper).

2) Letter printed on one side and eye holes cut out on the other.

3) Perhaps a fresh peach on the inside?

… [Sports] fans putting bags over their heads because they were so embarrassed with their team's play started—[like the New Orleans Saints] in embarrassment of "The 'aints" football team.

This is exactly the kind of publicity stunt that takes an event over the top and catches the eye of the "Brittany/Paris media". It certainly could grow into a reminder to every politician making a public appearance when people start putting bags over their heads during the talk, meaning [We are] embarrassed by [you].

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On Sep 6, 2008, at 11:24 PM, William Crain wrote:

        [The paper bag idea] gets my support. Can’t wait for Gucci to pick up the line. J

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South Side’s Balloon Lofted at Denver Convention

Photo by William Crain

SOUTH SIDE DFA’S BALLOON IN DENVER.  Susan Harman, the Oakland coordinator for the National Impeachment Network, was among the NIN team that borrowed our balloon for the national Democratic convention. Big Red was aloft for the week of the Aug. 24-28 event, stationed above the headquarters of the Progressive Democrats of America. Said Susan: “I have to say that I’ve waited my whole life (67 years) to hold a giant red helium balloon.”

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Try These Impeachment Actions at Home

On Aug 31, 2008, at 11:36 PM, NIN Coordinator Pat Thomas (Melbourne, FL) wrote:

[Here are some] action suggestions from the impeachment movement for you and anyone you know who might be interested:



            1)  Join in the simple action of calling your U.S. Representative's DISTRICT office--leaving a voicemail if [need be].  Use your own reasons and include the new angle below. Ask that they push Conyers to immediately hold impeachment inquiries. Ask them to sign any of Kucinich's 4 impeachment resolutions: against Bush:  H.Res.1258 and H.Res.1345; against Cheney:  H.Res. 333/799 (2007/2008, respectively). 

Impeachment groups nationwide are seeking that 10,000 calls be made for this action!  BTW, the current recess is a "District Work Period.” If your Congress representative is not in his district office, call after 9 A.M. on Tuesday and ask why not! 

Sept. 8 is when the House reconvenes in D.C.  [To call your representative, it’s 1-800-828-0498 for the Capitol operator and then asking for the rep’s office.]



New angle: 
Hopefully (but not for sure, given the wording of this ruling and the known behavior of the Bush Administration), Judge Bates' ruling* last Tuesday will bring [former White House lawyer] Harriet Miers in front of the Judiciary Committee and produce documents from Josh Bolten [another former White House official].  If, instead, Bush again tries "Executive Privilege" as a route to deny the appearance of Miers or the documents requested from Bolten, this is a grand opportunity for [HJC chairman] Conyers to hold an official impeachment hearing.  Or, apparently, to declare "impeachment" in the process of a hearing.


By an inquiry being called one of "impeachment," any claims of "executive privilege" are automatically new impeachable offenses, leaving the option for members of Congress clearly dictated by rule of law.
 On July 25 at the Judiciary hearings dubbed (on 2nd try) "Executive Power and Its Limitations," former Congresswoman Liz Holtzman said during the explanation of a prima facie case for impeachment of the current Executive [President Bush]:

"The improper claim of executive privilege subverts the legitimate operations of Congress and may rise to the level of an impeachable offense, as occurred in the Nixon proceedings [in 1974].

Executive privilege protects the confidentiality of advice given to a president by his advisors.  
[But]... Executive privilege was invoked to prevent the disclosure to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of Vice President Cheney’s interview with the FBI about the Valerie Plame [outing] affair.

Extreme claims of executive privilege have been made in connection with Congress’ efforts to examine the [firing of 9 U.S attorneys. In response to the invocation of executive privilege with respect to their testimony, former and present Administration officials, Harriet Miers, Joshua Bolten and Karl Rove, have refused even to appear before Congress in response to subpoenas.

"

Furthermore, in answering questioning by Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) regarding whether Cheney is a member of the Executive or of the Legislative (and whether a member of the Legislative branch can be impeached--which Bruce Fein answered in the affirmative, given the precedent of Rep. William Blount's impeachment in 1798), Ms. Holtzman responded, "I think you can do a 'twofer'." 

This is an example of how…it is possible for Conyers to proceed with impeachment hearings, possibly receive from the White House continued claims of "Executive Privilege," automatically have a new and unambiguous impeachable offense upon which the House is obligated to impeach, and for such impeachment to be of Bush and Cheney simultaneously.



So, please communicate ASAP with your Congressional Representative about Judge Bates' latest ruling, that Judiciary Chairman Conyers must now hold official impeachment hearings, and that any claim of Executive Privilege at that point would clearly be impeachable offenses by both Bush (if he still instructs Miers not to respond to subpoena) and Cheney (if he still instructs Bolten not to turn over subpoenaed documents) upon which the House is obligated to finally yield to the wishes of a majority of Americans and IMPEACH for the sake of our democracy!



In the Bates' ruling:

"Aug. 26, 2008
, a federal judge denied the White House's last-ditch attempt to block a former aide from testifying before Congress as part of the investigation into the U.S. Attorney scandal.
 [Last week’s] ruling by Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is expected to pave the way for former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, who returned to her old law firm in Texas, to testify before Congress in the coming months.

[The ruling] also urges the White House to turn over documents subpoenaed from former chief of staff Joshua Bolten."

"A district court judge denied Miers and Bolten's request for a stay on their Congressional testimony, pending the appeal of the recent decision in HJC v. Harriet Miers et al.

The decision means that Miers will have to appear in response to the HjC’s subpoena for testimony.


House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) has responded to the ruling:
"Today's ruling clearly rejects the White House's efforts to run out the clock on the Committee's investigation of DOJ politicization this Congress. I am heartened that Judge Bates recognized that the public interest in this matter is best served by the furtherance of the Committee's investigation," Conyers said.

"The Committee intends to promptly schedule a hearing with Ms. Miers and stands ready as always to consider any reasonable offer of accommodation with the White House."




2) Don't forget the other urgent call:  Dennis Kucinich's Impeachment Petition #2 at http://kucinich.us  Dennis says, "If we can deliver one million signatures to the Speaker of the House [Nancy Pelosi] on September 10^th—the day before the world changed—we can change the world. We can send a powerful message that will shake Congress from its silence which enables President Bush to continue to violate the law. We the People must demand accountability."


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Questions Raised About Bush Overturning

Impeachment Vote Using Pardoning Powers

            One question that has begun to be raised by NIN coordinators is whether President Bush can overturn an impeachment conviction of any of his Administrative staff—including Vice President Cheney—by use of the Presidential pardon. Or, indeed, whether the next president can pardon Bush and his people if they are convicted of treason or war crimes.

NIN co-founders Tobi Dragert and Cynthia Papermaster asked impeachment guru Phil Burk (www.impeachbush.tv) key questions on presidential pardons in preparation for the September Impeachment Rally in Washington when they’ll be lobbying House members to push HJC chair John Conyers for impeachment hearings.  You probably have mulled the pardon situation, too.

On Sep 6, 2008, at 12:36 PM, Burk took on these critical questions:

Q. [Is it true that] once impeachment hearings begin, and people are named in investigations, those people could not be pardoned?

A. I don't think so. Bush cannot overturn an impeachment conviction by using his Presidential Pardon. But I believe he can still use pardon to protect his cohorts from future criminal prosecution even if they are impeached or involved in an impeachment.

Q. So the question [is]:  Should we be asking for impeachment before the election, or hope for a lame duck after [the election] and ask for impeachment then?

A. I can see three possible scenarios:

Plan A: "Fast Track". Bush/Cheney are impeached before September 26. This would probably force an extension of the Senate session so they can hold a trial.

Plan B: "Lame Duck". Bush/Cheney are impeached during a lame-duck session in November or December. The Republicans may push for a lame-duck session so they can get oil drilling legislation. The Dems might call a lame-duck session for impeachment if Bush does something to provoke Congress. The Senate trial in this scenario may get deferred until January.

Plan C: "Hail Mary". Bush/Cheney are impeached by the incoming House session. They will only have a couple weeks before the inauguration to get everything done. Cindy Sheehan said she will push for this if elected and could introduce an impeachment resolution as a "question of privilege".

I think we should ask first for Plan A. If it doesn't happen, then we ask for Plan B. And so on. If Bush finishes his term, then we move to Plan D, which is U.S. criminal prosecution or a war-crimes tribunal.

Q. [Is it true that] the specter of blanket pardons can only be prevented by speedy impeachment?

A. Impeachment cannot prevent presidential pardons. If we want to use the threat of pardons to promote impeachment we can say:

         "Do not count on prosecuting Bush or Cheney after they leave office because Bush can use presidential pardons to protect himself and others. If you want to hold them accountable and restore the Constitutional limits on the presidency, you will need to impeach."

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