(HOST) Senate president pro tem Peter Shumlin says he’ll urge the State Democratic Committee this weekend to support a plan to have Congress initiate impeachment proceedings against President George Bush.
But Shumlin says he’s reluctant to try to push an impeachment resolution through the Vermont Legislature this year.
Shumlin says there’s no doubt in his mind that Congress should schedule impeachment hearings:
(Shumlin) “We have not had a president who more deserves impeachment hearings than George Bush. He lied about the war, he lied about the weapons of mass destruction, he lied about the reasons for going to war, he lied about Saddam’s involvement in 9-11, and those issues should be addressed and we should certainly bring up the question in Congress.”
(HOST) A resolution calling for Bush’s impeachment has been introduced in the Vermont House and has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee.
House Speaker Gaye Symington says she hasn’t made the resolution a high priority because she believes lawmakers have a lot of other pressing business to attend to.
Shumlin says he understands the Speaker’s concerns:
(Shumlin) “We’re in the unusual position here, in my years of public service, of having to both lead and implement. I think we’ve had very little leadership from this governor, so the result is that we have our hands full. We’re a citizen’s legislature, we have lots of balls in the air, so I think realistically and I’m sympathetic to the Speaker’s argument that it’s tough for us, what we have to get done, accomplished, and it would be a big burden for the Legislature.”
(HOST) The Democrats will be meeting in Randolph on Saturday to consider a number of agenda items including the impeachment plan.