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Hinchey becomes target of protesters

By Robert M. Miraldi / Kingston Daily Freeman

KINGSTON - Several members of local anti-war groups, upset that U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey would not co-sponsor a bill aimed at impeaching Vice President Dick Cheney, staged a brief sit-in at the congressman's Kingston office Tuesday afternoon. Police were called, but no arrests were made.

The protest followed a meeting of more than two hours between the anti-war activists and Hinchey, D-Hurley, who late last month unveiled a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for the censure of both Cheney and President Bush.

Tuesday's meeting, held in the offices of the Rural Ulster Preservation Co. on John Street and drawing a crowd of about 50, seemed to leave both Hinchey and the crowd frustrated, but Hinchey would not say as much.

"I'm not frustrated, because I understand how these people feel, and they understand how this administration has compromised the basic promise of the Constitution," Hinchey said.

The group included representatives from Hudson Valley Code Pink, Veterans for Peace and the Network of Spiritual Progressives. The original panel that was supposed to speak with Hinchey consisted of seven people, but the meeting grew into a much larger affair.

Afterward, members of the group made their way to Hinchey's office a block away, to protest. Most remained outside, but others staged a sit-in in Hinchey's office. Kingston police officers were called to the scene, but no one was arrested.

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, Code Pink coordinator Annie Katz had said she was hopeful that Hinchey would be receptive to the group's concerns. As it turned out, Katz was visibly frustrated with Hinchey's answers.

"He hasn't quite heard the groundswell," she said. "I was very disappointed in his dismissing the notion that impeachment is just emotion, when it is the law. ... If he believes what he says, that this administration is guilty of high crimes, it is his duty to make sure impeachment is brought back on the table. He's obligated for nothing less than impeachment."

Barbara Sarah of Spritual Progressives said the meeting, while not exactly what it was designed to be, did have some positives.

"I think the good that came from today was citizens coming together, and that is thanks to Mr. Hinchey," she said. "We saw democracy in action."

Hinchey's move for a censure - essentially a formal reprimand that carries no punishment - was aimed at admonishing the president and vice president for misleading the American people about the reasons for invading Iraq, mismanaging the war and the military occupation of Iraq and abusing the Constitution through warrantless surveillance.

"All of that recognizes, as I've said, that this may be the most impeachable administration in history," the congressman said.

His justification for not co-sponsoring an impeachment bill, however, was that it wouldn't go anywhere. Hinchey at one time pursued impeachment proceedings but received little support from his colleagues in the House.

"I'm looking to get something done that takes us forward," he said, adding that other measures need to be taken to protect the Constitution. "I'm not going to do something that isn't going to lead anywhere. I'm not going to waste my time."