Democracy for New Mexico

Alibi Focuses on NM Impeachment Effort in Latest Edition

The unsuccessful impeachment effort in New Mexico is still making waves and getting media coverage. Why? One reason is that the initiative was ultimately stopped by Democrats. These days, many rank and file Dems feel they have two forces working against them -- right wing Bushies and leaders of their own Party. All too often we're being stonewalled from the right and from within. Too many Dem officeholders, candidates and power brokers still seem paralyzed, afraid to risk the wrath of right wing criticism and smears. Meanwhile, polls consistently show that public opinion is on the side of the Dem activists. Voters want decisive action to stem the damage the Bush administration continues to inflict on both domestic and foreign affairs -- not more excuses on why we can't act now.

The latest edition of the Alibi focuses on the impeachment battle that occurred during New Mexico's regular Legislative Session that ended last Saturday. In the end, nine Democratic Senators joined with Republicans to kill the resolution (SJR 5) before it was allowed the floor debate it had earned by passage through three Senate Committees. In their News/Opinion section, James Scarantino describes the Democratic betrayal, led by Senate President Pro-Tempore Ben Altamirano, in a piece entitled, "Democrats Thumb Their Noses at Democrats." You might say. As to an explanation for the defection of the Dems, Scarantino reports:

I asked Altamirano’s office why he switched from seconding the motion for the impeachment resolution in committee to killing it on the Senate floor. Altamirano has yet to explain himself. Sen. John Arthur Smith reportedly told one activist he opposed the resolution because “you can’t impeach someone for being stupid.” I haven’t seen any explanation from the others.

In their Features section, the Alibi's editor, Christie Chisholm, comments on The Year of Impeachment and presents the views of Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque), one of the bill's main sponsors along with Sen. John Grubesic, contrasted by the negative response to the effort by Republican Sen. Rod Adair (R-Roswell). You can find the articles here.

Here's a sample of what Adair offers to argue that the impeachment effort is merely about policy differences and hatred, not serious crimes and misdemeanors against the constitution and bill of rights:

The fact that the leaders of the impeachment "mini movements" in a couple of states are smart enough to couch their resolutions in terms that make them look like indictments for "crimes" does not mask the real motivation for these activists. This becomes most obvious when speakers go off script at hearings and talk about the one public policy motivator that sets them off to start with: the war in Iraq. That's what the entire issue is based on. Everything else is filler. The Bush haters are Bush haters for the very reasons mentioned in the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee meeting this week: He is a friend of Israel, an opponent of Islamo-fascism and is determined to fight the terrorist menace—with or without support from France, Germany or anyone else deemed to be necessary for us to convince.

I find it sad that at least nine Democratic State Senators apparently agree with Rod Adair's reasoning over that of the large numbers of citizen lobbyists who worked so hard for the effort, and of Senators Ortiz y Pino, Grubesic and the other Dem Senators who voted to support the resolution. At the very least, they clearly aren't up to the task of taking legitimate actions available to them to stop Bush's dishonest, deadly and anti-democratic agenda. What are they afraid of? The views of their fellow Democrats who supported their campaigns and voted them into office?

To read our previous coverage of New Mexico's impeachment effort, visit our impeachment post archive.

National Attention Continues on NM Dems Killing Impeachment Resolution

Was it Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Rep. Tom Udall or someone else in a leadership role in the Democratic Party who ordered SJR 5, the New Mexico impeachment resolution, killed before it got to the floor of the NM Senate? David Lindorff examines the odd parliamentary manueuver used to preclude debate of the measure on the floor of the NM Senate, "Democrats Kill Democracy and Protect a Criminal Presidency in New Mexico". The article also ponders who may have called the shots on the strategy. His piece has been published on BuzzFlash and other progressive national news outlets and blogs.

As far as I know, it's unprecedented to have a measure that's been approved by three Senate committees blocked from having a floor debate in the NM Senate. It certainly appears that something anti-democratic and underhanded happened between the time SJR 5 was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and it was killed by a refusal to accept the Committee's "Do Pass" report. Speculation continues here and nationally as to just exactly what that was and who was behind it.

Editor's Note: To access our previous coverage of the New Mexico impeachment issue, visit our impeachment post archive.

Guest Blog: Request to Gov. Richardson-Persuade Senate to Reconsider SJR5

This is a guest blog from Joe Thornton of Carizozo, NM:

Good Morning Governor Richardson:
I just finished reading over the vast amount of information in regards to your biography that was superbly presented by Thomas Cole and Leslie Linthicum, in the five part series presented in the Albuquerque Journal. Many events caught my eye while reading over the information. 

For example, “Former house speaker Foley says Richardson’s personality was a major asset during his years in Congress.”  “He’s outgoing and makes friends easy,” Foley says, “Politics is an interactive, personal business.” 

“Richardson also likes to give people nicknames and tease those who work for him.”

“The nicknames he chooses are often incomprehensible – he has called several aides Joseph over the years – and always chosen to especially annoy their recipients.” 

I like nicknames as well, Governor.  After reading over your resume, and realizing the number of goals that you have accomplished in your short lifetime, probably the nickname I would give to you would be Bill “Get Results” Richardson.

“A former senator says Richardson has an “enveloping energy and enthusiasm.” A longtime friend calls him a “Force of nature.” 

It seems to me, that by being a fast moving and high energy type individual that you would almost have to be a prankster type while attempting to associate yourself around people that has a hefty sense of humor in order to stave off some of the stress of the job. For example: “When Richardson arrived in Congress, Rep. Claude Pepper, D-Fla, was an esteemed member of the House.  He also was elderly and had a hearing problem.”  “Richardson would approach Pepper on the floor and frustrate him by mouthing but not speaking his words, causing Pepper to fiddle with a hearing aid before catching on to Richards’s prank.” I’m smiling while writing this, and if you have read this far, then you are probably grinning while you are reading this. That was very funny to me, when I first read it. 

Another thing I noticed in the Journal series was: “Former Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich, says, Richardson is more than book-smart.”  “He’s street-smart, too,” Bonior says. “He knows what’s important to people.” 

We The People and SJR5
At this point I would like to change gears, and share with you what I believe to be important to We The People. For several weeks, we have traveled from Lincoln County to the Roundhouse to support other grassroots American We The People, in regards to the committee hearings in Room 321 of the Roundhouse.  We were in attendance at the Rules Committee hearing where Senator Linda Lopez, Chair of Rules conducted the hearing. There was a great host of We The People at that hearing, and probably just as many people out in the hallway. The Rules Committee passed SJR5, by a vote of 5-0 out the committee hearing.  Several days later, some of the same We The People plus others (both Democrats and Republicans, and other persuasions) were in attendance at the Public Affairs Committee Hearing where Senator Dede Feldman, Chair conducted the hearing.  Probably more We The People present at this meeting both inside and out of Room 321, than at the Rules hearing. The Public Affairs Committee passed SJR5 by a vote of 3-2. 

Then it went to the Judiciary Committee where Senator Cisco McSorley, Chair conducted the hearing late in the evening on Monday, March 5, 2007. We didn’t get to make that meeting, because we were there all day on Saturday, March 3, 2007, waiting for the hearing to take place that day.  The vote in favor of passing the Committee hearing out of the Judiciary passed by 5-1, with Senator Rod Adair voting against. From shortly after the passage of the Senate hearing report to be sent to the Senate Floor for acceptance and debate, apparently things were happening behind the scenes, I don’t know this for sure, because the big surprise happened on Wednesday, March 7, 2007, when the Republicans used a procedural maneuver to stall the Impeachment Resolution and prevent a full debate on the Floor. 

On Wednesday, March 7, 2007 something major happened on the Senate Floor that has thus far destroyed the rights of We The People. The Republicans decided to block "adoption" of the Judiciary Committee report, by using a procedural move not to adopt the committee report from the Senate Judiciary Committee. They were successful in a voice vote largely because the Democrats were not on hand in number to oppose the motion.

On Thursday, March 8, 2007, sometime after 2:15 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez had held out for a roll call vote sometime that same day.  The roll call vote was on this order: If you wanted “to uphold” the voice vote of the previous day (which was to block “adoption” of the Judiciary Committee Report) let your vote be known by “YES”. If you “did not want to uphold” the voice vote of the previous day (which was to block “adoption” of the Judiciary Committee Report) let your vote be known by “NO”. 

The Senate did not vote on the resolution itself. Rather, it voted 26-13 not to adopt the committee report from the Senate Judiciary Committee. By refusing to adopt the committee report, senators have prevented the resolution from reaching the floor this session. 

Governor Richardson, I believe the vast majority of We The People across these united States of America want the war (killing) to stop, the troops to be brought home, the corrupt administration removed from office in order to set a precedent to any and all government officials that the stealing, killing and destroying has to stop and truth has to prevail no matter who is in office. 

You might say, What does all of that have to do with me, the governor of New Mexico, and my answer would be because you have a life long reputation as being an excellent negotiator. In my opinion, there is no presidential candidate in the Democratic Party that is more qualified than Governor Bill Richardson, who carried New Mexico with over 60% of the vote.  As you declared your candidacy for President, something in the neighborhood of 40% stated that it would be good for New Mexico state to have you as President of the United States. 

A Request
Therefore, I, Joe Thornton, am appealing to your best side to use your natural born ability to persuade the Senate to reconsider/revisit SJR5 by allowing the Senate Judiciary Report to be accepted on the Senate Floor and debated and voted upon as soon as possible.  This very special Senate Floor Session should be absolutely on the up and up, with no trickery or slight of hand allowed.  The Senate Floor hearing should designate a specific time so We The People would be able to attend the session and observe from the gallery the hearing.  It would also be proper to allow select people in the gallery to speak to the issue, either for or against, which would require some microphones up in the Senate Gallery. 

I believe you have the influence to pull this off, and I hope and pray, and trust that you will do the right thing. 

Some might would say, How will this affect his run for the Presidency?  It will definitely enhance your candidacy for the President of the united States, by showing the whole world that is watching via the internet that New Mexico has a very progressive action oriented Governor that likes to get the job done. On the other hand, if you so choose not to do anything, then what happened on the Senate Floor on Wednesday, March 7, 2007,and Thursday, March 8, 2007, with the action that the Republicans initiated by slipping in the procedural move to block the Senate Judiciary Committee Report, the Repub’s along with the missing Dem’s took away (stole) one of the  Constitutional means to possibly right some of the many wrongs against We the People and innocent people everywhere by blocking the passing of SJR5 from New Mexico state to the U. S. Congress urging  Congress to investigate and begin Impeachment proceedings for high Crimes and Misdemeanors.  (Article II, Section 4)

The whole world will be watching via the internet whatever action you take.  Thanks for accepting this fax that attempts to express my heart. 

Thanks,
Joe Thornton
Carrizozo, Lincoln County, New Mexico
Phone: 505-648-4447

Editor's Notes: This post is a guest blog by Joe Thornton, a citizen activist supporter of SJR 5. Guest blogs provide readers with an opportunity to express their personal views on issues. The opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by this blog. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper left-hand corner of the page.

The New Mexico impeachment effort has been followed and discussed all over the internet by tens of thousands of people across the nation and the world. It's generated blog and forum posts, articles, videos, audios, photographs and many threads of comments. It's resulted in this blog receiving up to 5,000 hits per day from people seeking information about the progress of the legislation. To read our previous coverage of this issue, visit our impeachment post archive.

Statement by Senator John Grubesic on Action to Stop Debate of NM Impeachment Resolution

This is a statement just released by Senator John Grubesic (D-Santa Fe), who was one of the sponsors of SJR 5, the impeachment resolution that was killed without debate this afternoon. He's one of the patriots in our NM Democratic caucus and in today's America, along with co-sponsor Gerald Ortiz y Pino, all the other Democratic Senators who voted for the resolution as it was passed through three committees and all the ordinary citizens who worked so hard on this effort. I hope future generations will know that there were many who dedicated themselves to stopping the madness of the Bush era, whether we are ultimately successful or not. Not everyone clung to business as usual, in the worst possible sense.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SENATOR JOHN T.L. GRUBESIC
MARCH 8, 2007

This country was founded by rebels.  This country was forged in violence, ferocity, dissent and uproar.  This country is vanishing before our eyes, not because we are blind, but because we are willing participants in its destruction.  Today on the Senate floor you witnessed an excellent example.  The Impeachment Resolution died quietly with no debate whatsoever.  The dignity of the New Mexico State Senate was maintained as we followed carefully designed rules of procedure to ensure that nothing disrupted the workings of this austere body.  We did a great job of making it appear that government was working.

However, we have to ask, which government and on whose behalf?  The action taken by the Senate was not the action taken by a body that protects the freedoms of a sovereign people.  The action was a carefully orchestrated option designed to protect the integrity of an institution and perpetuate the well oiled workings of government.  A government that has evidently forgotten that we serve at the pleasure of those we govern.

It is clear, that from the highest levels of government in our country down to our State, very few of us want to deal with the unpleasant political mess that impeachment could become.  Our actions today showed where our priorities are, we forgot that the Constitution was not designed to serve government, but to protect the people.  There should have been a debate, argument, uproar.  Instead, we quietly gutted the sovereign power of the people with polite political procedure.

When future generations look back on our time, the shock will not be because of the violent, impolite nature of the fight that preceded the destruction of Constitutional government, but by the meekness with which we watched it die.

To read our post on the Senate vote today, click here.

To read all our previous posts on this issue, visit our impeachment archive.

(Updated) NM Impeachment Resolution Killed Before Debate on Senate Floor; 9 Democrats Vote With Republicans to Prevent Debate

Earlier today: I just got a phone call reporting this and I don't yet know what the vote was. However, SJR 5, New Mexico's impeachment resolution, was killed when it failed to get the votes necessary to move to the Senate Floor for debate. So it didn't even get a discussion by the Senate, the very least that could be expected from a legislative body dominated by Democrats. I don't know exactly who voted against debating the resolution or who was absent, but I'll report that when I get it. I did hear that 5 or 6 8 NINE Democratic Senators voted against debating the measure.

According to Steve Terrell, "the vote was 26-13 to uphold Senate Majority Leader Ben Altamirano’s ruling yesterday. Altamirano ruled on a voice vote not to accept the committee report of the Senate Judiciary Committee." We had previously been informed that the original maneuver to keep it off the floor was a Republican effort, but now we learn it was one of our TOP DEMOCRATIC LEADERS who kept it from a debate -- Ben Altamirano. I guess Ben and his pals didn't like to see all those citizen lobbyists up there, practicing democracy like Americans. And those phone calls and emails were so, well, irritating. So much easier to go to lavish dinner parties with lobbyists.

UPDATE 3:55 PM: I just got the names of the eight NINE Democrats who voted not to accept the Do Pass of the Senate Judiciary Committee, thus preventing the resolution from being debated on the Senate Floor:

Ben Altamirano, Silver City, who is the Senate Pro-Tempore, the Senate's top leader

Pete Campos, Las Vegas

Carlos Cisneros, Questa

Phil Griego, San Jose

Tim Jennings, Roswell

John Pinto, Tohatchi

John Arthur Smith, Deming

James Taylor, Albuquerque

David Ulibarri, Grants

I hope they hear from plenty of their constituents and Democrats everywhere. If Democrats won't even allow something this timely and critical to our nation's future to be DEBATED, why do they call themselves Democrats? What this shows me is that these 9 men have only disrespect for all the hundreds and hundreds of our citizens who traveled to Santa Fe on their own dimes, spent hours in the Roundhouse, made phone calls, sent emails, shot video and audio, spoke personally to legislators, spread the word and worked so hard on this effort. They knew they had the votes to ensure the measure failed on the Senate Floor but they chose to kill it early, using an anti-democratic technical maneuver to make sure no debate took place. To me, what they did is the complete antithesis of representative democracy and an affront to the power of the people.

I can understand some of these Dems from conservative districts voting against the bill on the Senate Floor. What I can't forgive is the nine of them voting to stop the people's voices from being represented there. They silenced those who disagreed with them. Is there a worse example of anti-democratic behavior?

For those reading this on a direct link, be sure to go here to a later post and read what one of the resolution's co-sponsors, Sen. John Grubesic, has to say in response to what happened today.

Visit the impeachment archive to see all our previous posts on this issue.

(Updated) URGENT: Republicans Mount Counterattack, Stall Impeachment Resolution in Procedural Maneuver

UPDATE 2:20 PM: I just got a call reporting that the impeachment resolution is now being debated on the Senate Floor.

UPDATE 11:30 AM: Terry Riley informed me that he has it on good authority that the blocking maneuver by Republicans will be dismissed when NM Senate Democrats vote to accept a Do Pass by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the last committee to approve the resolution, sometime this morning. The impeachment resolution is then expected to be debated on the Senate Floor, probably sometime today or tomorrow. The effectiveness of the blocking mechanism tried by the Repubs will be ended when enough Democratic Senators are gathered to vote to accept the Do Pass.

Editor's Note: I just got this in my email and I'm not really sure what's going on at this point. Things are confusing to say the least, but I'll keep passing along the info as I receive it. The NM Legislature website lists the Do Pass of the Senate Judiciary Committee as not adopted. Meanwhile, Marvin Moss, Chair of the Bernalillo County Democratic Party, has been contacted and he has stated that a meeting of all the County officers and Ward Chairs, constituting a meeting of the Executive Committee, would need to be called to vote on a statement of support for SJR 5, as Leland Lehrman is recommending. He also said that no proxy voting would be allowed per State Party rules and that with the officers busy with setting up the coming County Party meetings, volunteers would have to organize the effort and do the work themselves.

From Leland Lehrman of Mother Media:
Floor Vote Called Prior to Debate for Thursday March 7th During Floor Session. All Citizens to the Roundhouse 9:30 AM On. Check Senate Print Media Gallery for Updates.

With shock I received word today from resolution sponsor Senator Ortiz y Pino's secretary Sharon Shaffer that the Republicans had used a procedural maneuver to stall the Impeachment Resolution and prevent a full debate on the floor. Immediately double-checking with Majority Leader Michael Sanchez's secretary Sharmaine, I realized that the impeachment resolution had been dealt a serious if not fatal blow.

During the ordinarily mundane reading of committee reports, wherein the Senate is informed of the decisions of the various Committees, the Republicans decided to block "adoption" of the Judiciary Committee report. They were successful in a voice vote largely because the Democrats, caught completely off guard, were not on hand in number to oppose the motion.

Majority Leader Michael Sanchez successfully held the roll call vote until the Democrats could be present in number, and when I spoke with him late in the day, he told me that the roll call vote would happen some time Thursday.

Therefore, it is now urgently important to call in high volume and with utmost respect to the swing vote Senators listed below under action items via the Capitol Switchboard at 986-4300. Let them know through their secretaries that the Republicans have chosen to use an unfair procedural method to require a vote on the resolution before it even gets a chance to be openly debated. Explain that there will be a Senate Floor roll call vote on the adoption of the Judiciary Committee Report with the Impeachment Resolution SJR 5 in it, and ask them to be on the floor alert to vote in favor.

This vote may be more difficult to win than the vote for final passage, because it must be taken without opportunity for debate on the merits of the resolution.

Some believe that Senator Sanchez has everything under control and will successfully move adoption when he gets the opportunity. According to experienced sources, there is a remote possibility that there will be a "Call of the Senate" wherein the State Police are assigned to track down every Senator and all are required to be on hand.

Regardless, this moment of truth will be a historic occasion and it is essential that maximum public scrutiny of the decision be brought to bear in order that the gravity of the decision be made clear by the citizenry. Be there. Along with the action items below, I have created two worksheets for serious citizens with the phone numbers of relevant Democratic Party Central Committee Members and County Chairs on it. Download and call away. Visit Mother Media for the rest of this message.

Editor's Note: For a collection of our past posts on this issue, visit our impeachment post archive.

NM Impeachment Resolution to Move to Senate Floor

From Desi Brown, aide to NM Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino:
With joy and relief I can now announce that SJR 5 has passed through the NM Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-1 vote! As a member of Senator Ortiz y Pino's staff, I can tell you that at times it felt like we were herding a bunch of wild cats in trying to get members of the public on the same page as what he and his co-sponsor Senator Grubesic were trying to portray to their fellow Senators. But yesterday you ALL (well, almost all) were PERFECT! Those who chose to speak in the hearing were eloquent, concise, and impassioned. Those in attendance were uniformly respectful and attentive to the process (almost!).

What We Need Next
Now, take a deep breath, relax, stretch for a minute and congratulate yourselves! Alright, time to get back to work and help us push through our next step -- the Senate Floor -- and beyond! Take your focused energy, your renewed faith in the process, your understanding of what this bill is about -- and try to stay away from the Senators this week! Now is a stressful time for all of them and the sponsors of this legislation will most assuredly be working hard behind the scenes to try to ensure there will be enough votes when SJR5 comes to the Senate Floor. What you can do is:

• Continue to call all 42 of the NM Senators' offices to simply show your support for the Resolution. (Click for contact info.)
• Particularly try to contact constituents and local civic/democratic groups in Senator Smith's, Jennings', and Carraro's (yes, he's a Republican!) districts to see if they will support SJR5 and forward that info to those three Senators. We are leery of direct contact between them and the public at this point so please try not to approach any of the three directly. Please honor this request by Senator Ortiz y Pino.
• Begin casual contact with Representatives on the House side in the event of passage off of the Senate Floor.
  • Keep in mind everything we have been discussing before!
• Really try to ramp up public input through letters to the editor of local and national papers, call in to radio shows, talk to everyone you know and continue spreading the word.
  • While of course staying on topic and focused on the process, not the end result.
  • Our mantra is that we are asking Congress for an investigation into possible Impeachment via a legally recognized and constitutional means provided to the people of the U.S. thanks to Thomas Jefferson and the founders of our nation.

If this Resolution passes the Senate Floor, there needs to be an IMMEDIATE and INTENSE upswing of public support in order to get it through the House side of the Legislature. We are counting on each of you to make that happen! Thanks again -- you have all been wonderful to work with so far!

I hope that those in attendance last night appreciated Senator Rod Adair's comments and respected the fact that others are entitled to their own opinions, even if they are quite different from our own. This is the first time that a Republican has openly spoke out against this Resolution and you should note that he didn't seem concerned with it on its own merits.  Rather, he focused on the rare mistakes and miscues by speakers that strayed from the direct message of the Resolution.

On behalf of both Senators and their staffs, I would like to send out a sincere thank you for all of your public support. Without your daily presence at committee hearings, without your phone calls, without your letters and e-mails, without you stalking the legislators in the halls of the Roundhouse; this Resolution would not have passed and made it as far as it has. THANK YOU!!!

Wish us and yourselves continued good luck in the coming days of this legislative session,

Desi Brown, (505)256-0668, desibrown@comcast.net

Editor's Note: See our live blogging thread from last night for a rundown on the votes. To access all our previous posts about this initiative, visit our impeachment post archive.

(Updated, We Win Again!) Live Blogging from NM Impeachment Hearing

UPDATE: As reported in the comments section by LInda in the hearing room, the NM Senate Judiciary Committee passed the impeachment resolution this evening! The measure passed by a margin of 5-1 along party lines with one Democrat, Sen. Lidio Rainaldi (D-Gallup), not voting and only one Republican, Sen. Rod Adair (R-Roswell), present and voting no. Voting yes were Senators Cisco McSorley (D-Albuquerque), Richard Martinez (D-Espanola), John Grubesic (D-Santa Fe), Linda Lopez (D-Albuquerque), and Michael Sanchez (D-Belen). Big thank you to all who voted for passage! Next the resolution will go to the Senate floor for a vote by all the State Senators. Another victory for truth and justice -- the third Senate Committee to pass the resolution. Thanks to all who are working so hard on this!
**************

Linda is at the Senate Judiciary Hearing of SJR 5, the NM resolution requesting that the U.S. House investigate Bush and Cheney to determine if impeachment is merited, this afternoon in Santa Fe. She's been entering her comments under the previous thread so I thought I'd put them together here under a thread about the hearing. Click on comments and read what Linda has to say and/or type in your own comments. You can read our previous posts on this issue in our impeachment post archive.

By the way, here's a recent article in The Nation by Elizabeth Holtzman, who testifed via video at today's NM Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. She was involved in the Nixon impeachment. She lays out the reasons we need to do this in a clear and convincing way. The momentum builds.

NM Impeachment Hearing Videos

Video of 2.27.07 hearing of SJR 5 at NM Senate Public Affairs Committee at Roundhouse, Santa Fe. Footage provided by  Concentric Media, Arthouse Productions, Vivo Studio, Mother Media.

Notice the diversity of the citizens testifying at the committee hearings. The Bush defenders like to pretend that the only citizens concerned about the administration's actions are from the far left. These videos tell a very different story.

Video of 2.16.07 hearing of SJR 5 at NM Senate Rules Committee at Roundhouse, Santa Fe. Footage provided by  Concentric Media, Arthouse Productions, Vivo Studio, Mother Media.

The impeachment resolution is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, March 5, 2007. Click to read what you can do to help. All of our posts on the impeachment effort are contained in our impeachment archive.

(Updated) Senate Judiciary Hearing on NM Impeachment Resolution Delayed Until Monday

UPDATE 3/6/07: The impeachment resolution was finally heard by the NM Senate Judiciary on March 5, and passed by a vote of 5-1. The resolution will be heard next by the full Senate.

From Leland Lehrman of Mother Media:
The Senate Judiciary hearing on the NM impeachment resolution SJR 5 has been rescheduled for Monday, March 5th, after the Floor Session, around 2:30 PM. Sex offender bills may precede the resolution so check with Chairman McSorley's office regarding the estimated time the bill will be heard. Capitol Phone: 505-986-4300.

After a long and uncertain day on Saturday, the entire Judiciary Committee hearing was rescheduled. Fatigue was one factor after a long and involved floor session, but votes were another, as two Democratic Senators -- Linda Lopez and Senator Richard Martinez -- were absent for personal reasons. Without those votes, the resolution would not have passed, a reminder of the importance not only of counting your votes in theory, but counting your votes in person and in the building.

At this point the situation is so sensitive that there is push back from the Senators regarding aggressive lobbying so keep the calls and visits going, but be discreet and respectful. We can have it both ways. There are ways to express ourselves honestly without offending. Senator Ortiz y Pino also requests that we focus on the need for an investigation of alleged impeachable offenses, rather than requiring Senators to assert the President is already guilty if they vote for the Resolution. For this reason, the language of the resolution is going to be minimally amended with more "may haves" and "allegedlys."

To read the rest of Leland's latest advice on lobbying and more, visit his website, Mother Media.

To review all our posts on the NM impeachment resolution initiative, visit our impeachment post archive.