LETTER TO REPRESENTATIVE KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.) REGARDING REP. DENNIS KUCINICH'S ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

July 24, 2008

Dear Representative Gillibrand:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich's articles of impeachment will be discussed in an upcoming session of the Judiciary Committee. I suggest strongly that you support Mr. Kucinich's attempt to bring the Bush administration to justice.

Your recent email to me indicated that you were more interested in compromising with the Republicans in the House than you were in defending the constitutional protections of the bill of rights. A vote for the FISA legislation was a vote against the American people, and was part of a bold-faced attempt to grab power from the electorate and place it in a restricted group that now controls the government. It was in no wise a vote to protect the American people against what amounts to a bogus terrorist threat that has been trumped up as an excuse to wage wars on the backs of the middle class and diminish their power. This is a power grab.

A vote for FISA was a criminal act and a violation of the oaths of office of each member of Congress who voted for it. The FISA act is as it stands unconstitutional and will be resisted by the freedom-loving American public. We will not wait for a Supreme Court to affirm our rights and we will not obey or recognize the validity of unconstitutional provisions.

You have not exercised leadership, but have rather chosen to answer, not to your constituents, but to a tight group that wishes to subvert democratic processes and grab power. Your last vote demonstrated that you, like House Speaker Pelosi, were willing to abandon the majority of your party and side with the Republicans, all but one in the House of whom voted for the FISA bill. Constitutional rights are not subject to compromise. They are the bedrock of America, and no excuse such as the events of 9-11 will change that. However bad 9-11 was, it is a choice to interpret 9-11 as a seminal event that demands the relinquishing of constitutionally guaranteed unalienable rights.

What I suggest is that, instead of concentrating on kissing babies and having your picture taken with with girl scouts, that you support Dennis Kucinich's attempt to bring the current administration to justice and strike a blow against the power grab that it has perpetrated throughout the seven years of its existence under false pretenses. This administration lied to the faces of the American public. Would you continue to support the administration's power grab, its affront to the American public and to the world community?

I call on you to exercise leadership. By looking too much like a Republican, you have endangered your congressional seat, because the Republican candidate can better represent your position. Don't sell your district down the river.

I strongly suggest you support Dennis Kucinich's articles of impeachment, and demonstrate your support in a tangible manner. Don't continue to undermine democratic freedoms and the legitimate rights of Americans under the guise of nonpartisanship.

Kindest regards,

Peter Duveen

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