Following Saturday's vote to push for an impeachment resolution, House Speaker Gaye Symington said today she's unmoved in her decision not to spend time on the issue.
"They're frustrated with me," she said of her fellow Democrats. "I think it's hard to understand outside the building how little time there is to get things done."
It's not just the time spent debating the issue, but the emotional distraction, she said. Once you throw the flaming torch of impeachment into the middle of the room, the parties retreat to their own corners. It's hard to come back the next day, she said, and go back to working together.
She contended, too, that focusing on impeachment might not produce the quickest route out of Iraq.
Does it matter to her that the governor would hammer the Legislature for debating impeachment? "The governor hammers us no matter what we do," she said.
Speaking of the governor and his hammer, he'll be bringing his "accountability" tour to Essex on Thursday. 6:30 p.m. at the Grange Hall on Route 15 in Essex Center. I'm not sure you'll find that these are widely publicized events. A press release about it went out about 5 minutes after I inquired today.
- Terri Hallenbeck
