Congressman John Olver Believes Bush Will Cancel 2008 Elections, Still Refuses to Support Impeaching Him or Cheney
By Bob Feuer
At 9 am, some twenty of the successful presenters of impeachment resolutions at their W. Mass. annual town meetings met
at the Jones Library in Amherst, MA. We ratified our agenda and prepared ourselves for our 10 am meeting with Cong. John
Olver.
At about 10 am, the congressman came into the room with his aid, and Susie Patlove welcomed the congressman, laid out
our agenda, and the congressman approved. We commenced with individual introductions and brief reports on the outcomes
in each of our towns. Cong. Olver asked us to spare him a review of what he already knew and believed about the crimes
of the Bush administration, and of the overwhelming majority of his district in favor of impeachment. When he
aggrandized himself on his voting record, I took exception to 24 April 2007. When he asked what I was referring to, I
challenged him to co-sponsor H. Res. 333; and he emphatically refused.
Nonetheless, we informed him of the good that would come out of an impeachment, and gave intelligent and caring answers
to all of the objections he might harbor. We had present a young U.S. soldier, a veteran of both the Iraq and
Afghanistan occupations, who directly asked the congressman what could we do to move him towards co-signing H. Res. 333.
The congressman did not answer that direct question.
He is deeply concerned whether we will actually have an election in Nov. '08, as he believes this administration will
likely strike Iran from the air, declare a national emergency, and cancel the '08 elections. He sees ending the war as
his primary goal, and he believes the brilliant Nancy Pelosi has a strategy more potent than impeachment. He thinks
impeachment is a futile waste of legislative energy, will be harmful of democratic '08 victories, and further tighten
the "gridlock" he has complained of for the past few decades.
We adjourned at 11:45 am.
Bottom line: It's the Beltway, stupid.
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