Impeachment Rally - 11/3/19

Following last week's vote in the United States House of Representative to formalize the impeachment inquiry, songs and words in support of removing the president from office reverberated through downtown. "Nobody is above the law," sang attendees at the start of an approximately hour-long rally Sunday afternoon at Pliny Park in downtown Brattleboro. In an impassioned reading of the declaration he drafted and invited attendees to sign, Franz Reichsman of Brattleboro said President Donald Trump's "personality and behavioral tendencies are ill suited to the office of the presidency of the United States." "This is a man who values only his own needs and desires, and cares not for the traditions and sacrifices that have truly made America great," Reichsman said. "We have watched what he has done and we have seen enough." Trump "attempted to threaten and bribe a foreign leader ... through intimidation and back channel threats into agreeing to help his own political campaign," Reichsman said, referring to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who Trump asked to look into the business dealings of former vice president and presidential candidate Joe Biden's son. The declaration insists that Congress impeach and remove Trump from office. It follows a resolution proposed by Reichsman and unanimously approved by the Windham County Democratic Committee on Oct. 22. "Because of Donald J. Trump's repeated violations of his oath of office to 'protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Windham County Democratic Committee supports the efforts currently underway to impeach and convict him of his offenses justifying his removal from office in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Constitution," states the resolution. "We commend the Congress for its deliberate, methodical, and orderly approach to addressing the crisis facing our country, brought on by the president's corrupt actions." The committee meeting had been attended by 41 delegates representing 14 towns, according to a news release. The plan was to send copies of the resolution to the Vermont's congressional delegate, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. At the rally, Reichsman counted nearly 100 attendees. He led a chant saying, "Donald Trump, you're fired." The phrase had been used by Trump when he hosted "The Apprentice" on NBC. "Not only should we impeach Trump," former state representative John Moran of Wardsboro told the Reformer. "We should disbar Barr."