These statements are, of course, in reference to the trial managers and presumably the Senate, the organization responsible for conducting the trial, and the Republican Party, the people in
the Senate who are primarily responsible for keeping the impeachment trial going.
Although this is probably just another exercise in futility, there are no constitutional requirements as to how an impeachment trial is to proceed nor are there any constitutional obligations concerning the trial.
Any ‘rules’ have been made by a House and a Senate. The only requirement is that the House basically indicts the offending official, be he a president or other servant of the people, and that the Senate has sole responsibility for conducting the trial.
Therefore, all constitutional requirements were met as soon as the House elected to impeach (indict) and the Senate started the trial. From then on, any process followed has been a device of the majoral party. Thus, the end to the impeachment saga could have easily ended the day it began.
There will never be a time in our history that the impeachment of President Clinton and the manner that this situation developed and progressed will be respected by the people or
history, unless, of course, all the historians and all people become, God forbid, Republicans.
It will, however, remain a black-eye as to the governing of this nation by a group that is totally out of control, the Congress of the United States, which is our government located in the District of Columbia. That is what will go down in history, or should, anyway.
The people, the majority, that is, have not wanted any of the past actions taken against President Clinton. As Starr’s investigation of Whitewater found nothing he could use
against President Clinton, the people soon tired of the relentless pursuit of the president by Republican leadership.
The accompanying disruption of what might have been the smooth running of this nation had the Republican Party not been so full of hate for the president and the Constitution has led many, including the writer, to arrive at the degree of distrust, disbelief, and knowledge of governmental violations of liberties, that the necessity for removal of the power of the Republican and Democratic Party has been recognized.
Republicans full of hate because of losing the power the office of president brings to a party has caused many of us to question the government and the unconstitutional roles it is now assuming.
They could not defeat President Clinton and win back the presidency for the Republican Party so the only recourse leaders of the party could see was to destroy President Clinton.
The party could not, and still can’t, understand nor accept his popularity.
The party’s strategy now will be, as indicated by the above quote and others during this ordeal, that the Republican Party was meeting constitutional requirements. That is pure
Washington crappola.
Once again, any rules could have been adopted concerning the investigation and the impeachment process, including stopping the process at any time prior to the indictment and then during the trial.
History is going to reveal the last five years or so as one of the blackest periods in the development, the maturation, of this nation. It will be looked back on as a prime example of what can happen when the Congress of the United States pursues party power in lieu of good government.
Hopefully, history will also reveal the truth as to the continued expansion of the initial Whitewater investigation.
Final note. On the positive side, as alluded to above, it may well be the last few years will result in the major
political parties learning the people's needs and wants must not be ignored, that the Constitutional rights of the people must not be ignored.
There may be the positive effect of many Americans, such as myself, researching the exact design and implementation of our form of government. Many of us now know the extent the government has been conducting itself unconstitutionally and perpetuating unconstitutional government acts.
And, I for one, am sick of my liberties and rights being falsely taken away by the quality of people we have in government. The truth is alien to them as is Constitutional integrity. Hopefully, there are thousands, millions, more who now believe as I do.
Should this be the result of the tremendous turmoil during the past few years, then the saga will have had inestimable
value for freedom and the rights of the individual.