This Explains Howard Dean

Vermont is an idyllic place, with great skiing, picturesque mountains, winding backcountry roads, hiking, and quaint "bed and breakfast" inns where you can really relax, and let the pressures of everyday life melt away. It's also the home of "independent" Bernie Sanders, the only socialist in Congress, now running for the Senate, and "independent" Jim Jeffords, the only senator to be elected as a member of one party, then betray those voters and his party and change affiliations right after the election. It also managed to elect Howard Dean Governor. Five times.

With that as a background, it comes as little surprise that five towns in Vermont have voted to impeach President Bush, and by large margins.

NEWFANE, Vt. Mar 8, 2006 (AP)— In five Vermont communities, a centuries-old tradition of residents gathering in town halls to conduct local business became a vehicle to send a message to Washington: Impeach the president.

An impeachment article, approved by a paper ballot 121-29 in Newfane Tuesday, calls on Vermont's lone member of the U.S. House, independent Rep. Bernie Sanders, to file articles of impeachment against President Bush, alleging he misled the nation into the Iraq war and engaged in illegal domestic spying.

"It absolutely affects us locally," said Newfane select board member Dan DeWalt, who drafted the impeachment article. "It's our sons and daughters, our mothers and fathers, who are dying" in the war in Iraq.

At least four other Vermont towns, spurred by publicity about Newfane's resolution, endorsed similar resolutions during Tuesday's meetings: Brookfield, Dummerston, Marlboro and Putney.

Just so you don't think the town meeting was a total waste of time, they manage to attend to some serious business also.

Among the other items discussed was whether the town should fix some of its 100-year-old sidewalks.

Some people felt that this was a very important issue for this 1600 person town to address.

"As a teacher I can't say to my kids that what happens on the national level doesn't affect us at the local level," Ann Landenberger told the Newfane meeting. "Would that we could all be in a cocoon, but that is not the case."

That's right, a teacher. Ms. Landenberger wouldn't be related to Jay Bennish, would she? A justice of the peace tells us what we already know.

Greg Record, a local justice of the peace, criticized the amount of time and attention such advisory votes get.

"We spend more time on these things than on a million dollar budget item," said Record, who said the town is made up of people from the "far left."

Yup.