A gentleman by the name of Kurt Daims brought up impeachment during "other business." According to Lise LePage, Daims said that Town Meeting passed an impeachment resolution last year, but that the town seemed to have forgotten about it. After that he read the following motion:
After Daims was done, the moderator's wife made a point of order saying that they no longer had a quorum, so they counted the room. 74 members were necessary and there were 84 present, so they had quorum.
Someone else said that this was going to appropriate funds and couldn't be allowed. The Moderator said that was true and that any action
by this body at this time was solely advisory.
So then the Moderator said it was getting late and that the Memphis State basketball game was on so he wanted to get home fast! The Moderator then asks, "Could we just vote on it now, so we can get out of here?
Daims said that they debated it for 2 hours last year and so the Moderator flip-flopped and agreed, saying to Daims it wouldn't amount to a ball of pins "a hill of beans"....
He (the Moderator) then said that he didn't want to make it look like he's a Bush supporter -- I'm a Democrat, he said, and I've been one all my life.
Someone called the question and much of the room stood in agreement. The Moderator ordered a count, after it was requested, and it carried by a vote of 46 - 27.
The Moderator then said that they were losing quorum, which was true, as several people got up and left as he was saying that.
Town Rep Jim Maxwell said that the motion made no sense, that it would amount to "a hill of beans." However, he said, for people to want to leave just to go watch a basketball game when people are dying over in Iraq was shameful.
The Moderator then said that they no longer had a quorum, and could take no further action. The meeting will have to adjourn, he said.
Seven members then requested a roll call which request was granted.
But first, there was a five minute recess.
The Town Clerk Annette Cappy took roll, calling the names of every single participant. After that was done Cappy said that there are exactly 73 members, and so they still has a quorum.... Mr. Daims, you may proceed, he said.
Mr. Daims refuses to take the mic, then changes his mind after Town Meeting Reps yell at him to use it. Channel 10 switches to loud music at this point, and I move to Channel 8 where the meeting is still going on... ***the Brattleboro Town Meeting was broadcasted live on BCTV's channel 8 and 10.
Daims said that Bush's crimes were so great that he was willing to make this "outrageous" motion, because, he said, we need new weapons to fight Mr. Bush and we should not let procedure stop us. He warned of war in Iran. We have to think long-term, he said. And that's why he suggested a bond.
"The consequences of letting Bush remain in office are potentially calamitous. The only chance left of securing a happy future for our kids is to impeach Bush and his people now," said Daims.
To people who want to wait it out or work around Bush, Daims said there's no way to do that. He's too powerful.
Ellen Kaye a well-known Brattleboro activist said that she doesn't support this particular motion, ... "but the many cuts we had to make here, fighting over crumbs, is put in perspective when you realize how much of our tax money is going to fund the war. I don't want to talk about this all night, but I do think it bears some discussion and thought," said Kaye.
Brattleboro Selectman Steve Steidle said there was no longer a quorum (MANY people were walking out now).
Someone called the question, and the Moderator asked for a count. Then BCTV cut away. Then they came back and a bunch of people talked off mic. By a vote of 39-26, the motion to end debate failed.
One Town Meeting Rep made a friendly amendment to remove all reference to money. Daims agreed to it.
The Moderator read the amended version of the motion to say that the town should appoint two full time people to pursue the impeachment of the president and his administration.
Another Town Meeting rep said that the resolution passed last year did not call for impeachment but just study of whether or not he should be impeached.
"Process does matter," he said. "I'm a liberal, but we don't want to impeach -- I want to replace this whole thing with the resolution we passed last year until it's been established that the president has commit impeachable crimes."
Another Town Meeting Rep points out that in his understanding, to impeach means to accuse and investigate.
Jim Maxwell then apologized to the Moderator for the basketball remark. He then said that an impeachment is an indictment. Impeachment is important, he said, and worth pushing for. He said he would like to approve the Webster amendment (the guy who said "process" does matter)
So then another town meeting rep made a motion that he would like it to go one step further than Mr. Webster and request that our representatives call for the impeachment of the president.
Selectboard member Steve Steidle said he didn't understand why they were continuing debate without a quorum.
The Moderator said OK, he would do what he was required to do by Robert's Rules but overrules it and said that he did want to keep the forum open (sustained applause).
"I would suspend the rules in this case to allow people to try to come up with a resolution, said the Moderator.
The Moderator asked Webster and the other Town Meeting Rep if they would withdraw their amendments. They said (along with Daims) that they were fine with it. But Webster didn't want to call for impeachment and refused to withdraw the amendment....
Now someone else said they were uncomfortable conducting this business without a quorum and requested they adjourn. This motion carried.
Now, it's just the diehards. They're voting on amendments. Webster's amendment fails, and the Cook amendment passes. This is just informal advisory vote, not a Town Meeting vote.
So, while not official, a vote was taken and a call to impeach passed.
Town Meeting began today at 8:30 AM sharp. It ended at 6:15 PM
And that did it for town meeting. Members filed out of the BUHS gym and people for and against impeachment were huffing and puffing for what was really a major cluster****.
This was really ridicolous. This is gonna go down as one of those embarrasing momenets in Brattleboro Town Meeting history and with all the awesome things going on in the VT impeachment movement, this really sucked... but then again you gotta laugh at it... and of course this could only happen.... in a town like Brattleboro.
