Rep. Michael Fisher (D-Lincoln) is the lead sponsor of the bill (a bill which clearly and explicitly calls for withdrawal from Iraq to begin immediately – no messing around), and the day was given over to discussing it. I had the good fortune to bump into Michael who was confident it would pass. |
Rep. Peter Welch has been the focus of much of the Vermont anti-war movement’s angst, and has recently risen to the occasion along with Senator Leahy (for whatever reason, nobody’s been harassing Bernie… we’ll have to look into that). Today, Welch had the opportunity to address the issue on the floor: |
It hasn’t been all butterflies and puppies over there, though, as I also caught word that the nastiness we hear from Republicans in Washington is alive and well in Vermont. Reportedly, Rep. Leo Valliere (R-Barre) went so far as to accuse Fisher of "aiding and abetting the enemy."
Disgusting. Fisher, who has been praised on this site before for several things (signing onto impeachment, for one) has done great work on the issue, despite being caught in the contradictory maelstrom that is the Vermont Democratic caucus. The Iraq measure did not have formal support of the Dem caucus, but Speaker Symington did sign on. Go figure. And yet that’s indicitive of the frustrations that are building among the activist community once again. Policy inertia fueled by the terror of losing the majority is again setting in, and it leads to odd inconsistencies. They’ll debate Iraq, but are still dead-set against taking up impeachment, for one – but that’s just the most obvious and accessible contradiction. A very progressive legislator kindly wrote to me last night explaining why he believes there simply will be no will for impeachment after the Iraq debate – and yet the Iraq debate shows just how quickly impeachment could be addressed if every time a conflict with Republicans arose, it didn’t lead to political Groundhog Day, with so many in the caucus leadership positions running back into the cave if they see their own shadow. As a private citizen advocate, it is so exhausting and depressing to have to push, fight and cajole so very, very often. But that seems to be our lot in life, these days. The prospect of impeachment, universal health care and other progressive priorities may seem exhausting to legislators – but we’ll continue to push and see who drops first. It’s what we do. But in the meantime, whatever the higher office in question – Lt. Governor, Governor, hell – President, even – as far as I’m concerned, the Draft Michael Fisher movement starts here and now. Bravo, Michael and thanks. |
The complete text will be available soon on his website.. |