NM Senate Joint Resolution 5, the state legislation urging impeachment of Bush and Cheney, was passed this morning in the NM Senate Rules Committee with only Democrats present, all of whom voted for the resolution!
The meeting room was packed to the gills, with a huge crowd winding down the hallways outside the hearing. Several hours were spent listening to citizens speak on behalf of the bill, until Committee members were forced to move on to other business. In fact, they allowed more citizens to speak after the committee voted, to allow more people to participate and make sure they met quorum for the vote.
I find it appalling that every Republican member of the Committee refused to attend and listen to what our citizens have to say about what may well be the most important issues of our era -- the Iraq occupation and the refusal of the President and Vice President to obey the law. I guess they couldn't bear to hear ordinary people speaking truth to power. I guess they believe they only represent the Republicans in their districts, not all the citizens.
HEARTFELT THANKS TO THESE DEM SENATORS FOR VOTING FOR THE NM IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION:
Senator Linda M. Lopez, Chair
Senator John T.L. Grubesic, Vice Chair
Senator Ben D. Altamirano
Senator Dede Feldman
Senator Cisco McSorley
And we can't forget the resolution's ORIGINAL SPONSOR, Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino.
(Should anyone want to send a note of thanks, contact information can be found here.)
Job well done also goes out to Santa Fe's Leland Lehrman of Mother Media and ALL the citizen lobbyists, activists, callers and emailers, in New Mexico and around the country who are doing what they can to get this done. We have much more to do, but this is a very hopeful start. The resolution has to pass through the Senate Public Affairs and Senate Judiciary Committees before it can be debated on the Senate Floor, but I think getting even this far in Bush's America is a real accomplishment and an act of courage by the legislators involved. We've got the mo.
To read more about this story, including a powerful statement by one of our local activists who was the first to testify at this morning's hearing, click here. It's at the end of the post.