I love Vermont

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I do, seriously. It's a beautiful place. But I also admire the audacity of its senate:

Vermont senators voted Friday to call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, saying their actions in Iraq and the U.S. "raise serious questions of constitutionality."

The non-binding resolution was approved 16-9 without debate -- all six Republicans in the chamber at the time and three Democrats voted against it. The resolution was the latest, symbolic, effort in the state to impeach Bush. In March, 40 towns in the state known for its liberal leaning voted in favor of similar, non-binding resolutions at their annual meetings. State lawmakers in Wisconsin and Washington have also pushed for similar resolutions.

The resolution says Bush and Cheney's actions in the U.S. and abroad, including in Iraq, "raise serious questions of constitutionality, statutory legality, and abuse of the public trust."

No, nothing will come of it, and no, I'm not advocating impeachment myself (although there may be a case to be made for it), and yes, Vermont is a liberal state, and yes, its senate is dominated by Democrats, and yes, this was evidently a wholly Democratic effort. I get all that.

Still, symbols are important, and what is clear, impeachment or not, is that Bush is going down as one of the worst presidents in history. He was wildly unpopular among many people and in many parts of the country even after he "won" the 2000 election, but now, after over six years of trampling all over the Constitution and embroiling the country in a horrendous war of his own deliberate choosing, he is only getting what he deserves.

Well, no. This is actually much less than he deserves. But it's a start.