OBERLIN, Ohio -- In front of more than a dozen residents wearing peach "Impeach Bush and Cheney" buttons, the Oberlin City Council voted unanimously to ask the House of Representatives to do just that.

Last night's vote backs a petition signed by 648 Oberlin residents and makes Oberlin the first city in Ohio to formally support impeaching the president and vice president. Fifty-seven other cities and Vermont's legislature have passed similar measures.

Oberlin, southwest of Cleveland, is no stranger to earning accolades and criticism for its progressive firsts. It's home to Oberlin College, which was the first college in America to admit black students (1835) and the first college to award a bachelor's degree to women (1841). In 2005, the council passed a motion urging a moratorium on the death penalty.

"Oberlin is a friendly place for this sort of measure," said June Goodwin, who spearheaded the impeachment campaign.

Goodwin decided to take on the Bush administration the morning after the death of liberal columnist Molly Ivins, known for her snarky political commentary and outspoken criticism of Bush.

Goodwin's campaign began with a letter to the editors of The Oberlin News-Tribune asking for support; she was quickly joined by the grassroots Community Peace Builders and Oberlin's chapter of Veterans for Peace, who sponsored the petition.

The measure challenges the Bush administration's policies related to habeas corpus, treatment of prisoners, surveillance of American citizens and assertions about the threat posed by Iraq.

Council member Eve Sandberg said that succinctness distinguishes Oberlin's proposal from those passed in other cities.

"One of the things that we did in Oberlin was we narrowed the particular concerns … from the laundry lists that you'll find on some other cities' to ones that we really think do warrant investigation."

The petition's supporters said they realize the limited effect of their proposal but think its symbolic value makes their efforts worthwhile, even obligatory.

"We understand -- I think we all do -- that impeachment is a long shot," said Michael Kay, a World War II veteran who leads Oberlin's chapter of Veterans for Peace and is active in Community Peace Builders.

"What this administration has done has been so destructive and so dangerous," he said.

Not all Oberlin residents are in favor of the petition.

One woman told Goodwin, who was gathering signatures on a street corner, that signing the petition meant "going against God's plan."

No one spoke in opposition at the council meeting. After the bill's passage, the crowd -- and some council members -- joined Goodwin in singing This Land is Your Land.

 

Rowland, a graduate of Westerville North High School, is a senior at Oberlin College and editor-in-chief of The Oberlin Review, the school newspaper.