Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) was aghast. He was indignant as hell about how having a high public official involved in something like perjury and obstruction of justice can damage the very foundation on which our nation was built -- and he had the harsh words to show for it.
"By his words and deeds he chose to place himself above the law. By his words and deeds he has undermined the rule of law in America to the great harm of this nation," the Kansas Republican said. "By his own words and deeds, he has undermined the truth-finding function of the judiciary, at great harm to that branch of our government. By his words and deeds, he had done great harm to the notions of honesty and integrity that form the underpinnings of this great republic."
And here's the Brownback kicker: "We have lost many things over the past few months: trust in public officials, respect for the rule of law, confidence in the truth of the White House's public statements. But perhaps the most tragic loss has been the steady erosion of our societal standards."
That's Brownback in his closed-door impeachment statement on President Bill Clinton, that was read into the Congressional Record on February 12, 1999.
You didn't get all excited thinking he was commenting on that Scooter Libby thing, did you?
I can understand if you did. After all, Libby was convicted of those same charges and sentenced within federal guidelines to a 30-month prison sentence, only to have his friend George W. Bush decide on Monday that anything over, well, zero days in jail was "excessive" when it comes to a White House crony.
But then again, Brownback is hardly alone in the hypocritical silence being shown by the very same Republican Senators who in 1999 voted guilty on both the perjury and obstruction of justice charges against Clinton. The vote took place on that February 12, with the Senate acquitting Clinton of both articles of impeachment -- the perjury charge got 45 guilty votes while the obstruction-of-justice article resulted in a 50-50 split.
Of the 25 Republican Senators still in the Senate and who voted that day to convict Clinton on both articles of impeachment, not one of them has issued a public statement on the Libby sentence commutation in the three days since it occurred.
Not one.
There's not even a statement of support for Bush's lawless decision -- except from Fred Thompson who, while no longer in the Senate, has his sights set on convincing people that he's fit to be the next seedy Republican to occupy the White House.
All of this struck me as rather strange, so I thought I would go back and look at what some of them had to say about the rule of law, integrity and all of that stuff when it involved a Democrat and not one of their own.
And you're not going to believe this: What seems to be OK with them now, wasn't acceptable back in 1999.
"The Constitution is what preserves the rule of law, and guarantees that we remain a nation of laws, not of men.
"I hold the President to a higher standard because he is the chief law enforcement official of the nation. If he is above the law, then we have a double standard; one for the powerful, and one for the rest.
"The sworn oath is central not only to our Constitution, but also to the administration of justice. Our legal system would not function without it."
And John McCain (R-AZ) seems to think that swearing to tell the truth is a pretty darned important thing to abide by:
"All of my life, I have been instructed never to swear an oath to my country in vain. In my former profession, those who violated their sworn oath were punished severely and considered outcasts from our society. I do not hold the President to the same standard that I hold military officers to. I hold him to a higher standard."
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) gives a moving statement about how we should hope that history looks back kindly at how we observed the rule of law:
"I was reminded as well, however, that the laws of our Country are applicable to us all, including the President, and they must be obeyed. The concept of equal justice under law and the importance of absolute truth in legal proceedings is the foundation of our justice system in the courts.
"A hundred years from now, when history looks back to this moment, we can hope for a conclusion that our Constitution has been applied fairly and survives, that we have come to principled judgments about matters of national importance, and that the rule of law in American has been sustained."
And George Voinovich (R-OH) made a good case for impeachment no matter the circumstances -- are we listening Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid? -- when he said "I sincerely believe that this country can survive the removal of a popular president who has forfeited public trust. But, our country cannot survive the abandonment of trust itself."
I remember well, the Clinton Impeachment debacle. The rest of the world wondered what was wrong with the U.S. that it would create a huge mountain out of a very small mole hill. What Clinton did in his own personal life is between him and his conscience (and his wife's moral outrage). The situation with Libby is completely different and much more serious to the welfare of the country. There may be a quid pro quo happening here and a total conflict of interest and lack of fiduciary duty on behalf of the president. This commutation may be completely illegal if it was granted to prevent Mr. Libby from telling all to the press and the FBI (I use the FBI as an example of an agency of justice because telling the Justice Department would be a waste of time under this Administration). The lack of response from these Grotesque Old Party senators and congressmen is to be expected from such dregs of society, evil doers that they are. In a Democracy you get the government you deserve, so scumbag GOP voters (you know who you are) elect scumbag representatives to Government. That's how it works folks!
by
Archie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1285 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 12:02:29 PM
There is no doubt in my mind these ideologues place party before nation. So they really don't love America, at all. Not the America that Madison envisioned. Rather, they like: ass-fuckings in Iraq; Lies and manipulations of our governmental systems (outing Plame; firing prosecutors, etc.); Pardoning convicted criminals because they covered up the president's soiled underpanties.
The old line "Law and Order Conservative" might be part of the party, but not part of these dangerous cabal. They've spend this nation into deep debt; lowered taxes on the richest 1 percent; passed laws to inhibit middle-class folks from going bankrupt; cut Pell Grants to raise military enlistment; and the list goes on and on and on and on . . .
And almost to a man, these GOP Senators see no problem with lynching Clinton but pardoning Scooter.
Like rodents and insects, the ones we didn't eliminate in Nov. 2006, must be removed in 2008. It's not enough to vote. People must contribute time and money and man the phone and get this message out!
- Dusty Nathan
by
Dusty Nathan (16 articles, 0 quicklinks, 8 diaries, 53 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 12:06:37 PM
"GOP Senators Who Voted For Clinton Impeachment Dead Silent
What's all the hubbub about? The Republicans are established liars and hypocrites. Then think of Dems like Zell Miller. It's the people who have the power to take back, or better yet, create a better government that serves the people instead of the Corporate Government now present, and yet, still, unelected. The people have run out of words, and now it's time for action. That would likely be an armed insurrection. These filth in the Bush Klan should be given one opportunity to surrender to custody, and then preferrably hundreds of thousands of people or perhaps even millions take the white house and US capitol by force, deadly force if necessary.
by
tedbohne (87 articles, 103 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 119 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 12:19:52 PM
The problems the USA is having with Bush and company can be directly traced to the spineless democrats who voted against conviction of Clinton. Had Bush entered office knowing that perjury and obstruction of justice had removed a corrupt politician from the presidency, he would have been much less likely to have engaged in bad behavior himself.
How about doing an article on the corrupt democrats who voted against Clinton’s conviction when it was 100 percent certain that he was as guilty of the charges as could be?
by
M. Bennett (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 85 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 12:28:07 PM
Really, you think that it was because Clinton wasn't impeached for lying in a civil lawsuit about sexual discrimination that the Rethuglicans who stole the white house in 2000 felt they were "empowered" to lie to the American people about matters of state, national security, and going to war?
You think it was because DEMOCRATS didn't convict Clinton for lying about whether he had "sex" with an intern that Bush/Cheney broke the cover of a covert CIA officer and destroyed the cover of an organization involved in preventing the trafficing of WMD in order to punish a political rival who had revealed that they KNOWINGLY LIED about a cause belli for war (I guess because Clinton lied about sex)?
That argument makes Rethuglicans like yourself look not only like hypocrites, but pretty damn STUPID as well.
Stop listening to Rush and O'Reilly so much and start using that thing between your ears.
by
Charlie L (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 720 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 12:38:31 PM
Your grasp of exactly what happened regarding the Clinton impeachment is wholly unsatisfactory.
1) Clinton W A S impeached. However he was not convicted.
2) The articles of impeachment did not involve Clinton lying about relations with an intern.
3) I am certainly NOT a Republican. The Democratic Party is only slightly less rotten than is the GOP. If there was but even a scintilla of anything noble in the DEMOCRAT controlled congress, impeachment proceedings against our idiot president would have commenced by the first week of February of this year. The fact that the congress allows Bush to get away with being bad makes it just as bad.
In the future, please take the time to learn about subjects before spouting off about them. You would also benefit from taking a class in grammar.
by
M. Bennett (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 85 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 2:03:32 PM
Maybe some Democrats wouldn't go along with lynching Clinton because they were spineless. But maybe they didn't go along with that fiasco because they were familiar with principles laid out by our Founding Fathers.
One of those Old Daddies was Alexander Hamilton who said jurisdiction in impeachment includes:
1) Violation of public trust while exercising official duties
2) Political in nature
3) Harming the public
Can't say that I find any of those in the Clinton episode and find them all over the place in this current administration.
by
tabonsell (29 articles, 0 quicklinks, 24 diaries, 263 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 5:22:29 PM
Ok then tbonsell, where are these "principled" democrats now? Why aren't they holding accountable that moron presently in the White House? Are you saying that Bush's behavior does not measure-up to Hemiltonian standards? I sure think they do.
Regarding Clinton's unlawful perjury, it is a matter or principal, not degree. I have principles while some posters here want to argue the severity of the transgressions. Government officials should be held to a higher standard. The fact that they are held to a LOWER standard by their fellow politicians, tells volumes about the present congress.
by
M. Bennett (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 85 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 7:02:56 PM
And many congressmen who were silent when President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich are now scandalized. Imagine that.
For all we know, President Bush did this for the awful reasons we're all imagining. It doesn't matter. Other than the impeachment exception, the pardon power is absolute and unreviewable; neither Congress nor the courts can overturn a president’s decision. As President Clinton has pointed out, the power is "without limit."
At least he only commuted the sentence and let the conviction stand. That's something, isn't it?
by
tim bristol (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 28 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 1:43:56 PM
Ron has never voted to raise taxes. Ron has never voted for an unbalanced budget. Ron has never voted for the Iraq War. Ron has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership. Ron has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch. Ron has never voted to raise congressional pay. Ron has never taken a government-paid junket.
Ron voted against the Patriot Act. Ron votes against regulating the Internet. Ron voted against NAFTA and CAFTA. Ron votes against the United Nations. Ron votes against the welfare state. Ron votes against reinstating a military draft.
Ron votes to preserve the constitution. Ron votes to cut government spending. Ron votes to lower healthcare costs. Ron votes to end the war on drugs. Ron votes to protect civil liberties. Ron votes to secure our borders with real immigration reform
How can you not love this guy listen to him he is truly a man who tells the truth "We The People" are taking our country back and restoring the original Constitutional Republic and returning Amerika back to America not the "United States of Surveillance"
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the galleys, heard in the very hall of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor---he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and wears their face and their garment, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation---he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city---he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared.
--- Cicero: orator, statesman, political theorist, lawyer and philosopher of Ancient Rome.
"In the time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act" GEORGE ORWELL
"None are more enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
by
nmlifestyles (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments)
on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 9:44:01 PM
I read somewhere that the only thing that really upset Jesus was hypocrites and money lenders. If he were alive today he would be in anger management full time.
by
davy (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 240 comments)
on Friday, July 6, 2007 at 2:44:12 AM
13 comments
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Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) was aghast. He was indignant as hell about how having a high public official involved in something like perjury and obstruction of justice can damage the very foundation on which our nation was built -- and he had the harsh words to show for it.
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