Zip across Ledyard Bridge, cruise down I-91 South for about an hour, and you will soon enter the quaint village of Brattleboro. This town in the Vermont boonies has taken an unlikely -- and unwise -- foray into the world of geopolitics that extends well beyond the fringes of the Green Mountains.
On Tuesday Town residents approved a resolution authorizing Brattleboro's finest to detain and charge President George W. Bush for war crimes, as reported by the Associated Press. The legislative screed began: "Shall the Selectboard instruct the town attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictment for consideration by other municipalities?" Never mind Nuremberg. This is "Judgment at Brattleboro."
In an over-the-top comparison between U.S. counter-terrorism tactics and the infamy of the Third Reich, the ringleader of the movement told the Rutland Herald last January: "If Hitler were still alive and walked through Brattleboro, I think the local police would arrest him for war crimes." Talk about a bizarre image. Then again, to be fair, the Fuhrer could have had a soft spot for foliage and maple syrup.
But these Vermonters should hold off a few seconds before outfitting their own presidential paddywagon. Obviously, there are just a few hitches to the harebrained judicial scheme. The resolution carries weight only within the town's jurisdiction. Translation: the president will simply have to avoid scenic Brattleboro for the rest of his life. Dubya will cope.
The town ordinance simply overreaches the purview of its actual constitutional power. Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell conceded to the New York Times in December 2007 that the measure holds "very dubious legality." At the end of the day, the decree remains unenforceable: a symbolic vote of no-confidence in the Bush administration from the villagers of Brattleboro. These are words for the sake of words.
And Brattleboro is simply following the lead of other local governments that have passed similar non-binding resolutions decrying the missteps of the 43rd president. Last April, the Vermont State Senate called for the dual impeachments of Bush and Cheney.
Even the town of Hanover has jumped on the impeachment bandwagon. In May 2006, by a 111 to 42 margin, residents voted in favor for the removal of Bush and Cheney "due to their arbitrary exercise of executive power by instituting a system of warrant-less wiretapping of American citizens ..."
The popular passions that fuel these symbolic edicts muddle the law. An indictment in the "court of public opinion" should not become an indictment in a court of law. Fortunately for the Bush Administration, incompetence is not illegal.
The refusal of Congressional Democrats to initiate impeachment proceedings against the executive branch has spawned these grassroots movements in northern New England. Core leftists have slammed the Democratic-controlled Congress as "do nothing" for failing to implement a progressive agenda. Thanks to the presidential veto pen and the Senate filibuster, this is easier said than done.
While hard to believe, this lame-duck president does not place dead last in the Beltway popularity contest. The U.S. Congress fares the worst. A late-February FOX"Opinion Dynamics poll puts the legislative branch's approval rating at a dismal 22 percent while the commander-in-chief bests his Democratic rivals at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue by a solid 10 points.
At first glance, Brattleboro and Hanover taking the jobs of unable (or unwilling) Federal lawmakers into their own hands seems righteous and harmless. Yet beneath the surface, there are definite downsides that stem from anti-Bush referendums and resolutions. These legislative stunts waste money and distract local legislators from their real work that actually improves the lives of their constituents.
Brattleboro's farcical presidential arrest warrant simply perpetuates the image of Vermont as being disgruntled and politically out-of-touch with the rest of the country. In 2004, Democratic presidential candidate and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean personified this caricature. After the infamous Dean Scream in Iowa more-or-less confirmed this typecast in the minds of Americans, the dam broke. The hopes for a Dean presidency were washed away in the ensuing flood.
In an alternate universe, if not for this stereotype, President Dean could have been in the middle of his re-election campaign right now -- to the joy of Brattleboro and Hanover.
It is better to "do nothing" than to do something silly.
