From the Brattleboro, Vermont Reformer:

Impeaching a president
By ANDY ROSEN, Reformer Staff


Tuesday, July 18
BRATTLEBORO -- Area political organizers have scheduled an "Impeachment Teach-In" this week, hoping community education will accelerate efforts to hold President Bush accountable for his actions.
The event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in the community room at Brattleboro Savings & Loan on Main Street.

Organizer Dan DeWalt said the teach-in is designed to shed some light on the impeachment process, because there many public misconceptions about it.

Impeachment, he said, is not as drastic a measure as some people think it is. It's not an immediate removal from office, but a public process to hold officials accountable.

"This is a primer in one small aspect of our constitutional rights as citizens," DeWalt said of the teach-in. "There are certain things we can do to trigger a response."

He said this event will be an opportunity to learn about the types of recourse available to those who feel that President Bush has broken the law.

The teach-in is one of several being held around the country by the Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy organization.

It will feature a screening of the center's film "How to Impeach a President," followed by a discussion about the process, and the center's case for impeachment.

The center has outlined four separate charges against Bush.

One takes issue with his authorization of a domestic surveillance program. Another accuses him of misleading Congress in advance of the war in Iraq. A third alleges that Bush violated laws against torture, and the final charge says Bush has breached the constitutional separation of powers.

The discussion will be moderated by Jeffrey Taylor of Clarendon. A former U.S. Department of Justice attorney, Taylor wrote the "Rutland Resolution," adopted by that county's Democratic Committee.

One focus of that resolution was the role that state legislatures can play in the impeachment process.

DeWalt said if the Vermont Legislature passed an impeachment resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives would have to bring it up for discussion.

Several towns in the state, including Newfane, Brattleboro, Marlboro, Dummerston, Putney and Rockingham, have called for some action against Bush. So have most of Vermont's county Democratic committees, and the statewide Democratic committee.

A petition is also circulating in Westminster that calls for a town vote on impeachment.

DeWalt said residents of any town can call for such a vote by gathering signatures. In many small Vermont towns, he said, less than 200 voters would have to sign on to call for a special town meeting.

In a news release, the Center for Constitutional Rights calls the teach-in non-partisan. DeWalt said this event isn't about politics, it's about reining in the power of the executive branch.

"Impeachment is there to deal with a government that's abusing power," DeWalt said. "This is a crisis, so in my mind, impeachment is a fairly measured response, and it's a response that's outlined in the Constitution."