Vermont Surrenders
Mudville Gazette
An update to the story we first reported here. Citizens of Vermont have joined Abu Zarqawi in demanding an American withdrawal from Iraq.
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DUMMERSTON, Vt., March 1 - It began as a garden-variety Vermont town meeting.
The people of Dummerston - or at least the 120 or so who braved a blistering snowstorm - voted Tuesday to give $300 to a meals program for elderly shut-ins, to spend $93,500 on a dump truck and plow, and to grant tax-exempt status to the Green Mountain Camp for girls.
But then they turned their attention halfway around the world.
In a debate that echoed in at least 50 other Vermont towns holding their annual meetings this week, Dummerston passed a resolution asking the State Legislature to investigate the impact of National Guard deployments on Vermont's readiness for a natural disaster or other emergency. The measure, which also asks Congress and the president to "take steps to withdraw American troops from Iraq," was part of a new effort by antiwar activists to take the debate over the war down to a distinctly local level.
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Hard telling whether America will comply with Vermont's demands - in light of recent events I'd guess it's not likely. Still, of the Vermont towns that voted on the issue the vast majority agreed: surrender is America's only option.
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"This shows that the antiwar movement is different for this war than it probably has been for every war before," Mr. Lems said. "What these people are demanding is accountability, and they have this incredibly strong message - their sons, their daughters and their parents in some cases have had their lives torn apart by the war. It's probably the most powerful message we have right now."
In results available Tuesday, 39 Vermont towns, including Dummerston, passed the resolution, 3 defeated it, 3 tabled it, and one town's vote ended in a draw.
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The White House, which has Mudville's comment section available below, has thus far refused to respond.
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