12/05/07:Impeach Vote Won't Be On Ballot- Wisconsin Impeachment Coalition
Impeach Vote Won't Be On Ballot
The Capital Times :: METRO :: C1
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
By MARY YEATER RATHBUN The Capital Times
Madison residents will not have a chance to cast a vote on impeaching President Bush and Vice President Cheney in February.
The Wisconsin Impeachment Coalition made a call to Madison City Council members to put an impeachment referendum question on the Feb. 19 presidential primary ballot, but the council didn't even discuss it at its Tuesday meeting.
The deadline to put the question on the February ballot is Jan. 9, and it is still theoretically possible for the council to do that, but impeachment coalition chairman Buzz Davis said after the council meeting that his group is going to focus instead on getting a countywide referendum on the ballot through the Dane County Board.
In August, the County Board approved a resolution calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.
The City Council, on the other hand, failed to muster enough votes in September to pass such a resolution.
Although eight council members supported impeachment and only three opposed it, there were eight who abstained and 11 "yes" votes were needed to pass the measure.
Several of the abstaining council members told The Capital Times Tuesday that they should focus their efforts on local issues and that pushing for impeachment, a lengthy process, is a waste of time given that Bush and Cheney's terms expire in about a year.
Ald. Brenda Konkel, a consistent supporter of impeachment resolutions, said today that a resolution for a referendum could be added to the council's Jan. 8 agenda and acted on if either the council president or the mayor introduced it for immediate action that night.
But she added that this is very rarely done and is not likely.
Mayoral spokesman George Twigg said he wasn't sure it could be introduced as mayor's business, but he did agree it could be introduced as council president's business.
In either case, though, he said it would require a super-majority of 14 votes to suspend the rules and vote that night.
mrathbun@madison.com
The Capital Times :: METRO :: C1
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
By MARY YEATER RATHBUN The Capital Times
Madison residents will not have a chance to cast a vote on impeaching President Bush and Vice President Cheney in February.
The Wisconsin Impeachment Coalition made a call to Madison City Council members to put an impeachment referendum question on the Feb. 19 presidential primary ballot, but the council didn't even discuss it at its Tuesday meeting.
The deadline to put the question on the February ballot is Jan. 9, and it is still theoretically possible for the council to do that, but impeachment coalition chairman Buzz Davis said after the council meeting that his group is going to focus instead on getting a countywide referendum on the ballot through the Dane County Board.
In August, the County Board approved a resolution calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.
The City Council, on the other hand, failed to muster enough votes in September to pass such a resolution.
Although eight council members supported impeachment and only three opposed it, there were eight who abstained and 11 "yes" votes were needed to pass the measure.
Several of the abstaining council members told The Capital Times Tuesday that they should focus their efforts on local issues and that pushing for impeachment, a lengthy process, is a waste of time given that Bush and Cheney's terms expire in about a year.
Ald. Brenda Konkel, a consistent supporter of impeachment resolutions, said today that a resolution for a referendum could be added to the council's Jan. 8 agenda and acted on if either the council president or the mayor introduced it for immediate action that night.
But she added that this is very rarely done and is not likely.
Mayoral spokesman George Twigg said he wasn't sure it could be introduced as mayor's business, but he did agree it could be introduced as council president's business.
In either case, though, he said it would require a super-majority of 14 votes to suspend the rules and vote that night.
mrathbun@madison.com
Submitted by wnpj on Fri, 12/07/2007 - 1:02pm.