Don't believe it when they give you the line about "the votes just aren't there." The PROCESS brings the votes with it.
Last week we brought an impeachment resolution (Bush & Cheney) before our city council (population approx 160,000). When we were finally successful in getting them to place it on the agenda, almost every one of the 7 council members publicly asserted they would vote against the resolution, but would only agree to consider it out of deference to the 2,000 signatures we had gathered in support.
We lobbied intensely. Just a couple of us from the larger group meeting multiple times with each individual council member--sometimes in their offices, sometimes at local coffee shops. We provided a packet of carefully selected materials. We walked them through the petition process, showed them of copy of the Congressional Record where petitions are received, officially recorded, and referred to committees. We politely but matter-of-factly connected the action with their oath of office. We then asked them to tell us what made them feel uncomfortable in acting on the resolution. We provided answers to their specific questions. Our goal was to raise their comfort level, so each meeting had a different, personalized slant. (By the way, we never asked any of them for their vote, just to listen and give it their consideration, as we knew it was unfamiliar territory for them.)
A few days before the hearing the Mayor called 2 of us in for a meeting with him and the City Manager. He told us he KNEW the council was going to vote it down and offered to "do us a favor" to reward us for all of our efforts and agree to pass the petitions on to Pelosi for us. (Thanks, but we have the postage to do that ourselves!) He, like Pelosi, did not want impeachment "on the table" for this city council. We politely told him we'd face the council, even if it meant rejection.
The night of the hearing, we went in with only 1 vote in our pocket. We had no real idea how the rest would vote. All we knew was that almost every member had started out in public opposition. We thought the Mayor was right about the vote, but we were confident that we were right about the cause. Our presentation was strong, and we laid out the path with certainty because we knew from our discussions what each one felt was an obstacle. We addressed all the obstacles publicly so that EVERYONE could move past them together. Then we hit them with the impeachable evidence. What we, as a core group, could not provide within our allotted presentation time was provided by the community voices during the public comment segment. The evidence was factual, and well-documented. The council could not escape the force of what was laid before them. It was now in their hands to make a judgment on what had been publicly presented.
The vote finally came at the stroke of midnight (I kid you not!). The Mayor, confident in his assessment of the council's rejection called for the vote. The Mayor (and the packed chambers) was astonished as the first council member stood to his feet to explain how he'd come 180 degrees in his thinking and would support the resolution. Then came the next vote, with the same explanation, and then the next, and the next. We couldn't believe what we were hearing. Where there was only 1 vote, now there were 5! The Mayor stood alone with the only NO vote. Even his closest ally had switched from a firm NO to an abstention.
THE EVIDENCE WON THE CASE!!
So don't believe them when the say, "The vote is not there." The process of exposing the details brings the vote with it. It's all there. It just has to see the light of day.