Peter Welch (D-VT) gets an earful about the war. People are pissed.
by lordradish
Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 08:55:59 PM PST
Congressman Peter Welch met today with a group of some 100-120 Vermonters to discuss the war in the Aldrich Library in Barre today. Hoo boy, where to begin... Let's just say that it was the most heated confrontation that I've ever personally witnessed between constituents and a politician.
lordradish's diary :: ::
I was there primarily as a participant, and not as a blogger or anything, so unfortunately I wasn't taking notes or pictures. In hindsight, that would have been a good idea. So I'm going to try to give a narrative from the best I can remember. WCAX, WPTZ, The Free Press, the Argus, Peter Freyne, and VPT were among the press in attendance. I've got a lot of mixed feelings about how all parties involved in this behaved, so bear with me as I try to piece it together. It was very tense and hard to follow at times, so I'm not exactly brimming with detail. If you were there, please let us know your take in the comments.
The meeting was opened by a few words from Palmer Legare, one of the activists arrested at Welch's a few weeks ago. He laid out the format, which I'll get to in a minute. The event then started off with an incredibly moving speech from Dottye Ricks of Graniteville, from the organization Military Families Speak Out. Her husband is one of the many who were injured in Iraq and came back a shadow of his former self, with the resulting problems that are all too well familiar now, in our fifth year of war. She was none too happy with the situation, and visibly quite frustrated with Welch, especially in light of the fact that she put a lot of time in volunteering on his campaign. She looked at him directly in the eye as she spoke, for the most part. Judy Sargent of Plainfield said a few words, and then Will Allen, a farmer from Thetford and the organization "Farms Not Arms" got up and spoke as well . Of all the activists who spoke, he seemed to be the most concise and well-composed, a very impressive guy and undoubtedly an asset to the movement.
Legare then took to the podium to lay out the format of the forum (which Welch was not told of in advance). There was a big board with fifteen questions for Welch, each with three boxes next to them : yes, no, waffle. Some of the questions (if memory serves me correctly, and if those who were more certain have a correction, please let me know):
Do you promise not to vote for any more money for the war?
Will you submit legislation to call home the military contractors in Iraq?
Will you introduce legislation banning the use of depleted uranium?
There were also several questions involving Iran, the Moveon ad, investigations, and impeachment.
The plan was for Welch to answer the questions directly, yes or no, after which he would be given ten minutes to say what he wanted, and then the floor would be open for questions.
And then all hell broke loose.
<snip>
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/11/235250/62And this is why I no longer feel I can support Peter Welch, who I had great hopes for, and who I genuinely like. I will support a challenger. I'm hoping that David Zuckerman, a Progressive who sits in the State House, will run. Unless Welch stands up for Vermonters who overwhelmingly support ending the war and impeachment, he's lost my vote. His rhetoric on the war is good, but it's not matched by his actions. And that makes me sad. He's too cozy with the leadership. My impression is that he's more attentive to rising in the ranks, than representing Vermonters. Should a viable candidate appear on the scene, I'll work for that person.