Letter to WA Legislator

Honorable [____],

Thank you for responding to my previous letter. It is true that any U.S. Representative can rise to impeach any time they want. We want our Representatives to Congress to honor their oaths to preserve and protect the Constitution now. One strong reason to call for impeachment through the State is that our voices are joined together to speak loudly through our State Representatives. The State resolution does not compel U.S. Representatives to Congress to rise to impeach, but it should give them the courage to do so. But, a State resolution can be used to initiate impeachment by having a Representative or Committee introduce it onto the Floor. In the case of Florida, it is unlikely that Lamar would have risen to impeach Swayne without the resolution. Otherwise he might have already done it by himself.

The citizens of Washington State would not have to petition through the State if our U.S. Representatives would use their power to impeach. They have ignored our pleas for years. That is why we ask you to represent us in this urgent matter. Mr. [____], what event draws the line in the sand for you? Maybe the fact that testimony coerced by torture is now admissible in US Courts of Law? Maybe you would sponsor this petition if our President threatened another war, maybe a nuclear conflagration? Maybe if our Democracy were threatened to an extraordinary degree?

A vote to support this resolution would not take much time. The question legislators in Olympia need to ask themselves is: Are the allegations of wrongdoing serious enough to warrant investigation? Legislators simply need to vote yes or no. If it is adopted here, all of the work to follow would be that of Congress. There is no need to establish guilt or hash out an investigation at the State level. The argument that this petition would take too much time away from your agenda seems like a red herring, and I hear those exact words repeated as an official Democratic mantra every day.

Washington State Legislators need to be responsive to the changing needs of their constituents. If enough constituents are calling on you to support a resolution to impeach, then that can trump roads and schools. If the Bush administration were not robbing billions of dollars from Washington State taxpayers, you could be more effective in all of your work here. When will you stop the robbery of Washington State funds by the Bush administration?

Mr. [____], the citizens of Washington State are informing you that nothing on your agenda is more important now than stopping a tyrant President. Every elected official has sworn an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution. Washingtonians have every right to call on you now to honor your oath. It is not your decision alone to decide what is most pressing. By definition, Representatives must be responsive to concerns of the People. The People of Washington State have an urgent need to rid themselves of a tyrant president and want you to represent them on this point.

SBJM8016 might be our best chance to defend the Constitution from the abuses of the Bush administration. We desperately hope that the Washington State legislature will act now to protect our Constitution and defend Democracy in this country. We hope our petition will encourage one of our US Representatives to rise to impeach. There are no guarantees of the outcome here, but we must go forward to do what is right for this country. The Constitution is not negotiable. Torture is a heinous crime. Another war, intolerable.

On the question of privilege: there is no guarantee that Senator Oemig's resolution would initiate impeachment, but it would be embarrassing to ignore. It could give a fence -sitting member of Congress the courage to rise to impeach. Washington is joined by a growing number of States that are working to initiate impeachment through their state Legislatures. We can join our voices together by speaking en masse through our Representatives in the State Legislature. Our time to act is now, what might be the consequences of inaction?

You have expressed your strong distain for the illegal and immoral policies of the Bush administration, and I trust that we are in agreement on those points. Will you help?

submitted with respect,

Linda Boyd