NEWS
Town to vote on Bush, war
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by Carly Stingl
Friday, February 16, 2007
Residents of Stoughton will be voting this April on resolutions recommending a full troop withdrawal out of Iraq and the impeachment of President George W. Bush.
The Stoughton City Council decided Tuesday night to include two nonbinding referendums on the April 3 ballot. Direct legislation petitions collected between Jan. 6 and Feb. 2 were used to include these two referendums.
Members of the Stoughton Peace Coalition, Veterans for Peace, Wisconsin Impeachment and Bring Our Troops Home Coalition all had members working on getting the signatures for the petitions.
"The power of referendums is that it focuses people's minds on a topic," said Buzz Davis, a member of all three organizations. "If it passes, then it becomes the policy of the city and we would ask … the city clerk or the mayor to forward over a certified copy of the election results to the (U.S.) House of Representatives."
Davis said it took about five extra days to get the petition for the impeachment investigation, which he attributed to citizens being less familiar with it than the troop withdrawal proposal.
These referendums are similar to the ones Madison and 23 other Wisconsin cities approved last spring to withdraw American troops from Iraq.
"They can be wildly successful at rising public awareness, especially when done in coordination with other things," Madison City Council President Austin King said.
King added that he tried get a Madison referendum to investigate the impeachment of Bush similar to Stoughton's, but couldn't get it approved.
"Stoughton did it through a petition process, so there was no way to keep it off the ballot," King said.
According to Charles Franklin, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, the national impact of these types of referendums is doubtful.
"Congress is not likely to respond to a referendum in a small place," Franklin said. "I think symbolically, they are a little more effective. Last year when we had a number of small towns with these referendums it was reasonably striking that so many of them passed."
Franklin thinks the best approach to making changes in Washington is to elect different representatives.
"In 2004, opponents of the war (and) opponents of Bush had their opportunity and, of course, it didn't happen," Franklin said. "So it is understandable that frustrated people with the direction of the country use non-binding resolutions."
So far, Stoughton is the only city in Wisconsin that is planning to have this referendum on their spring 2007 ballot.
"I'm excited for the proposal for Stoughton," King said. "Madison voters really enjoyed the opportunity last year to weigh in on this ridiculous war in Iraq."
Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 8:01am):
Bring them home!
Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 9:57am):
Not until the job is done!
Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 10:02am):
I love these little non-binding resolutions. I think it hilarious that people think this means something. That by passing it they will have shown washington the will of the people. Nobody cares about your non-binding resolution from podunk nowhere. Find something better to do with your time liberals!
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