Report by Elaine Brower, WCW steering committee:
On Monday evening, June 25th, at the New York
Society for Ethical Culture, there was a stellar lineup of speakers hosted by
World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime.
The topic for discussion was Drive Out the Bush Regime–Impeach Bush and
Cheney for War Crimes. Mayor Rocky
Anderson, Salt Lake City, UT;
Mayor John Shields, Nyack, NY; Ret. Col. Ann Wright, U.S. Army; Jeff
Sharlet, foremost writer and author on the right wing “Christian
Fundamentalists” for Rolling Stone and Harper’s Magazine joined Debra Sweet,
National Director for WCW, and Sunsara Taylor, WCW Advisory Board Member.
The room was filled, with about 350 people attending. Debra Sweet gave rousing opening remarks
about why we need to drive out this Regime, and introduced Ret. Col. Ann
Wright. Col. Wright spent 30 years as a
member of the U.S. Army and then the diplomatic corps. She resigned in protest at the beginning of
the war in Iraq. Her knowledge about torture and specifically,
Guantanamo is
so extensive, that people gasped at the horror stories she recounted. Stories included how all of the detainees
arrived in this jail by our government paying for them. Military members in Afghanistan would offer $5,000 to
$10,000 to anyone who would turn over a member of the Taliban. This led people in Afghanistan who may have had a
“beef” with former rivals or warlords, to just turn anyone over for a fee. Those people were disappeared immediately,
without recourse, to be dumped at “Gitmo” and tortured.
Next speaking was Mayor John Shields. Nyack was among the first towns in this
Country to pass a local impeachment
resolution. Mayor Shields discussed how this occurred when a local resident,
who was in the room that evening to hear him speak, approached the Mayor and
asked that this resolution be presented at a town hall meeting. Mayor Shields decided that there was “nothing
more important to the people of his town and this country” than to address the
crimes being committed by this President in their names. The resolution passed immediately.
Mayor Rocky Anderson, mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah
has been traveling all over, including appearing on shows with Sean Hannity,
presenting his detailed account on how and why George Bush should and must be
impeached. Mayor Anderson is also being
filmed by a documentary film crew, who will be creating a movie for Sundance
based upon his stance for impeachment.
By the end of his time on stage, everyone in the audience
was convinced, if they hadn’t been already, that impeachment was
necessary. He received a standing
ovation by the crowd.
Sunsara Taylor spoke on behalf of World Can’t Wait, and once
again drove home, loud and clear, that this Regime is criminal and needs to be
driven out of office, and the entire program repudiated or else the next
president will inherit not only the huge amount of powers this president has
grabbed, but will continue the program and fascism and oppression. She presented a powerful challenge to the
audience in our responsibility to break out of waiting for the next election
and build the kind of movement that is necessary to change the course of
history, and to struggle with many others to do the same.
Debra Sweet introduced Retired Representative from the 11th
Congressional District, Major Owens. He
immediately received a huge round of applause as he made his way onto the
stage. His speech was that of a leader
harkening back to the days of the civil rights movement, which he recounted and
remembered as if it were yesterday. He
warned people that if they did not take direct action, they would not be
successful in getting rid of the cancer in Washington.
He advocated the same type of civil disobedience that happened back in
the 60’s when people would take over the streets, lay down on the Brooklyn Bridge, and keep up a visible fight
relentlessly. He said he would even
participate, if that is what it would take, although he is 71 and couldn’t walk
too well! He would take on the capitol
police if he occupied or as he put it “lay siege” to a congressperson’s
office. He specifically referred to his
“good friend” John Conyers. He said
“maybe people should go pay him a visit, and not leave!” He received laughs, applause and loud shouts
of support.
Debra Sweet introduced Anastasia Gomes to speak to the new
“DECLARE YOURSELF–WEAR ORANGE” campaign introduced by WCW. Wear orange:
ribbons, bandanas, t-shirts, declare yourself against the Regime! This has been started to provide a way for the
millions who hate what the Bush regime is doing but are not yet ready to come
into the streets to express their sentiments.
In addition to people wearing them in their daily lives and thus seeing
others who feel the same way, there will be scheduled “launch
days”–public events with music and other cultural presentations to make
more visible those sentiments. In this
way, political momentum can be built for demonstrations and other mass
mobilizations that will be necessary to drive out the Bush regime.
The floor was then opened up to Q & A. About half the crowd remained to discuss how we
may be able to bring enough people into public opposition to be able to impeach
Bush and Cheney or otherwise drive out the Bush regime. Some presented their
ideas for actions to build the movement.