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Jewish World Review/ Feb. 11, 1999/ 25 Shevat, 5759
Linda Chavez
Why Dems have
(JWR) --- (http://www.jewishworldreview.com) THIS IS THE WAY impeachment ends, not with a bang but a whimper.
The Senate will acquit William Jefferson Clinton of high crimes and
misdemeanors, but not vindicate him. No one -- not even the most partisan
Democrat -- believes the president is truly innocent of charges that he lied
under oath and encouraged others to do so.
But the senators are tired of
sitting silent in their chairs while their poll numbers plummet and the
president's soar, so they will vote to put this matter behind them as
quickly as they can.
Democrats will try feebly to introduce a motion to censure the president,
but whether they succeed or fail matters little. There will be no punishment
for Bill Clinton. It has been that way nearly all his political life. Every
time Clinton has lied, he's been rewarded, which has only encouraged him to
lie more.
Democrats have far more to fear than Republicans about what happens next.
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., voiced that anxiety recently in an interview
with The Washington Post. He recounted a conversation he had on a campaign
trip he took during the last election. His driver, a liberal activist,
complained: "You know, I really don't care what Clinton did. It's not
important to me or to my friends."
Feingold was shocked. "I don't want to sound self-righteous, but I care a
lot about his behavior,"he told the woman. "For liberals to think that all
we care about is 10-point programs and not values and how you live your
life, no, no," he implored. "I deeply resent this president's behavior and
what it's done to us."
When Clinton leaves office in two years, he will have succeeded in
diminishing the stature of the office beyond recognition. No longer will a
president be expected to exemplify high moral standards, be a hero to our
children, someone we admire and trust. Surely Russ Feingold is not the only
Democrat who understands this.
In both public and private, Democrats in Congress fairly drip contempt at
the mention of Clinton's character. One liberal Democrat congresswoman
recently complained to me that the president can't be trusted on human
rights policy. He'll say one thing and do quite another, she said. While no
fan of Clinton's Republican predecessors, the congresswoman acknowledged
that they were at least men of their word, they had never lied to her about
what they intended to do.
The problem is the president lies. He lies to his wife. He lies to his
friends. He lies to his political allies. He lies to the American people. He
even lies under oath. Everyone knows it. And no one does anything about it.
The next two years cannot be easy for the Democrats. Their fortunes are
inextricably tied to the president's. He sets their party's agenda. They
have no choice but to work with him and to accept him at his word, even when
they know it isn't worth much. Those who vote to acquit the president will
have this burden to bear. They will leave in office a man whom they do not
trust.
Democrats have created a moral dilemma from which there is no escape. They
have put their party on the side of perjury and obstruction of justice in
order to save a man whom they fear will continue to embarrass and betray
them.
Those fears are well-founded. Throughout the entire impeachment process,
Clinton has behaved with utter defiance. Where other men would have
retreated in shame, he has stayed in the public eye, cocky and sure that he
would emerge unscathed. In his entire life, he has never been forced to face
the consequences of his actions: not by his wife, not by the voters, not by
his fellow Democrats in Congress.
Democrats have reason to be nervous. As sure as night follows day, history
will repeat itself. It always does with Bill
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