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In a denouement that may pre-figure a failure by Congressional Democrats to end the War in Iraq, a united Republican caucus, joined by almost half of the nominally-majority Democrats in the New Mexico State Senate, voted this afternoon against accepting the report of the State Senate Judiciary Committee on Senate Joint Resolution 5, which called on the U.S. House of Representatives to begin the impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney.

The vote was 26 to 13, with nine Democrats joining all 17 voting Republicans against 13 Democrats in favor of accepting the report, which was a necessary precursor to substantive floor debate about whether the President and Vice President out to be impeached for multiple violations of their Constitutional oath to "preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States."

You can listen to a discussion of how this happened, and its aftermath, in a just-recorded Impeachment Channel interview with Desi Brown, a staffer in the office of New Mexico State Senator and SJR 5 co-author Gerald Ortiz y Pino.by clicking on the appropriate "PLAY" button in the "3 impeachment line-up" on the Impeachment Channel, below.

Following this afternoon's vote in the New Mexico Roundhouse, the state capitol, Desi Brown sent this message to supporters of SJR 5:

Hello to all,

We must regrettably inform everyone that SJR5 has formally been killed before it could technically reach the Senate Floor today.

Explanation of Events:
- Yesterday (March 8th), the Republicans noticed a lack of a large number of Democrats on the Senate floor; they called for a voice vote to adopt the Judicial Committee Report concerning SJR5 (which they are allowed to do). The Dems were caught off guard and lost the voice vote. Luckily, Senator Ortiz y Pino was able to challenge this and request that a ‘hands’ vote be done today.
- Today, that vote was called for by Majority Leader Senator Michael Sanchez at a time when there was a clear majority of Democrats on the Senate floor.
o The Republicans quickly called their missing members to the floor which helped their cause.
o The Democrats simply imploded.
o The vote to ‘adopt’ the Judiciary Committee Report – which is mandatory in order for a bill to be heard on the floor, was 26-13 with 17 Republicans and 9 Democrats voting against adoption and only 13 Democrats voting to adopt it.

This is MY PERSONAL OPINION (Not Senator Ortiz y Pino’s):
I feel that the 9 Democrats who voted against this hearing SJR5 on the floor were probably fearful of voter backlash in their districts and may have had some other personal reasons for doing so. I do not blame them for this – if anything, I blame the national party for refusing to take a stance on the issue or even entertain the idea (at the national level) of what we were all asking our state legislature to do.

While obviously deeply disappointing to those of us who worked hard on this Resolution, I do feel proud to have been a part of this effort. We have witnessed a tremendous amount of effort and passion on the part of the citizenry of NM as well as a number of our elected officials. The roundhouse has rarely seen this much participation by folks like yourselves.

Please know that these efforts have not been in vain. We have made it further than any other state in the history of the U.S. in attempting this procedure. Other states are sure to follow, and can hopefully learn from our successes and failures. In addition, note that you have had an affect on the state legislature, and with your continued participation you will be able to influence future legislation as well.

I encourage everyone to be reasonable if you plan to contact any of those 9 Dems who voted against hearing SJR5 on the floor. Remember that we may need their votes again in the future on other progressive issues. Remember that they each had their own personal reason for not supporting SJR5, and no amount of admonishment will change their personal reasoning.

IF you find their actions reprehensible, I would suggest working to get them out of office next year... I would suggest campaigning at the local level to see IRV (Instant Run-off Voting) and/or EDR (Election Day Registration) adopted to reduce our bipartisan political problems and fears. I would suggest talking to elected officials on a regular basis on important topics. I would suggest talking more with your families, neighbors, the news, and co-workers about progressive issues and progressive politicians.

I would suggest becoming even MORE involved in OUR political system, ALL the time, and work to change it for the better.

Senator Ortiz y Pino and Senator Grubesic send their sincere thanks to all of you – without you, they wouldn’t have introduced the Resolution, without you, it wouldn’t have gotten as far as it did!

I would like to also say thanks to each of you for your support and hard work on SJR5 - and don't give up your hopes and dreams to make the world – your world – a better place.

Sincerely,

Desi Brown