March In My Name
103 Main Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.marchinmyname.org

December 15, 2007

Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0508

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

My name is John Nirenberg. I left Boston on December 1st and am currently on my way to your office, walking the entire distance, hoping to meet with you in early January.

A former college professor and dean, I live in Brattleboro, Vermont. This fall, I founded the non-profit organization March In My Name (see: http://www.marchinmyname.org) as a vehicle for Americans to express their incredulity that this administration is apparently being given a virtual pardon for its many crimes, abuses of power, and violations of the Constitution.

Your repeated statements that impeachment is off the table have sent the message, intentionally or otherwise, that no basis for impeachment exists. Consequently, succeeding Presidents can assume that they, too, have the powers that Mr. Bush claims under the contrived construct of “a unitary executive.”

If Congress does not utilize the Constitutional remedy of impeachment, which was designed for precisely this kind of situation, how can Bush and Cheney be held accountable for any of their lies and crimes? If Congress does not open impeachment hearings, if no act of censure is introduced, then the courts, the people, and history will clearly assume that Congress approved of the entire spectrum of illegal acts, abuses, and immorality perpetrated by this administration.

Speaker Pelosi, I decided to demonstrate the intensity of my outrage—and that of many, many other Americans—by beginning my march to your office from historic Faneuil Hall, where other patriots once gathered to protest the egregious acts of another George. My sole purpose in making this trek is to implore you to immediately begin impeachment proceedings.

I am not an activist; I am a concerned citizen with no other viable way to argue this critical case. I have written my Democratic Congressperson, Peter Welch, and informed him that a survey by Vermont’s NBC television affiliate found that 64% of Vermonters want to see the President impeached; an even higher percentage wants the Vice President impeached. Their valid arguments include:

1. deceiving the American People and Congress, resulting in an unwarranted and illegal war against Iraq;
2. condoning and encouraging the use of torture, thus flagrantly violating not only international and domestic law but also stipulations of the Constitution;
3. suspending the right of habeas corpus by holding American citizens without charges;
4. conducting illegal domestic spying on the citizens of the United States;
5. breaking the oath of office, which mandates the faithful execution of the laws of the United States, by issuing “signing statements” to in fact completely negate newly passed laws;
6. pardoning Scooter Libby, whose criminal behavior was committed on this administration’s behalf; and
7. refusing to comply with subpoenas and with lawful Freedom of Information Act inquiries.

Congressman Welch refuses to change his position, in terms that echo yours. But these rationalizations for keeping impeachment “off the table” have become an almost meaningless mantra that I and so many other citizens cannot accept.

And the lies from the Bush administration continue daily. Just last week, the President dismissed his own sixteen-agency intelligence community’s assessment of the so-called threat from Iran, choosing instead to continue to chastise the Congress and the American people into supporting a military build-up for a possible strike against that country. Then, on the heels of that appalling tactic comes the disgraceful revelation that the CIA has destroyed evidence of torture, and that millions of emails regarding administration patent wrongdoing have likewise disappeared.

I believe Congressman Welch is mistaken, and I believe that you and the Democratic Party are mistaken as well.

Congress has a lower approval rating than the already historically low rating held by the President. I think that you do not fully understand either the anger that a majority of Americans feel about the impeachable offenses of this administration or the depth and breadth of the sense of betrayal that we now feel towards the Democrats, who were elected as the only hope to end the war, to hold this administration accountable for its actions, and to reverse the most insidious abuses of Presidential power.

Congress is failing to protect the Constitution and the moral values that define American democratic beliefs. The Democrats have remained intimidated by a President who continues to act more like a schoolyard bully than as the leader of the free world. Please, you must stand up to him. The people want you to. We expect you to defend the bedrock principle that no one is above the law. No political reason is sufficient to rationalize ignoring this Constitutional crisis.

Speaker Pelosi, all along my route, people have been stopping me to wish me well; men and women of all faiths, ages, stations in life, and political persuasions have urged me on. I am encouraged by them, of course, but the irony hasn’t been lost on any of us that it is “We, the people” who must now save our Constitution, since our Congressional Representatives haven’t done the right thing—yet. But there is still time to turn this around.

Speaker, Pelosi, I would like to meet with you and to deliver to you the signed petitions, personal statements, and photographs of some of the people I’ve met along the way. I want to share my convictions and those of so many others about how this country needs to know the truth: we want each of our Representatives to be on the record for their stance on this administration’s extra-Constitutional behavior; we want history to know that we were not asleep during this administration’s assault on our Constitution, that we stood up against what are unquestionably their “high crimes and misdemeanors,” against the dismantling of the only contract between the people and our government. We want our children to know that when the Constitution was at risk, we stood up together in its defense.

I will arrive in Washington between January 10th and 15th. I hope you will acknowledge my request and schedule a few minutes of your time to meet with me on this urgent matter.

Most sincerely,

John Nirenberg
(802) 380-8638
john@marchinmyname.org