Clinton, Lewinsky, Starr, and the Republican Plot to Overthrow the Executive Office.

Now I will be the first to admit that I have failings, shortcomings, character flaws, imperfections, what have you. Having said that, I would like to talk about the wonderful soap opera that is being played out in the media over President Clinton, Monica Lewinsky and the U.S. Congress. Like most people, I think Bill Clinton's conduct is morally reprehensible and wrong, but it is and should be a personal matter, not one that is aired out for the world to see. All of us have borne witness to this awful charade from the day it began and I think we all need to ponder a few enlightening points:

• Mr. Starr was appointed Independent(judge/jury/executioner) counsel to look into the Whitewater land deal, which he did. Finding no wrongdoing that he could put his hands onto, he asked permission of Janet Reno to expand his search to other areas of Bill Clinton's life. Ms. Reno in her not-so-infinite wisdom gave him the ok to do so. Many MILLIONS of your tax dollars later, we have this wonderful(media propaganda)report that bears Starr's name. Furthermore, Mr. Starr was a judge prior to being appointed independent counsel; he was up for a seat in the Supreme Court, which Clinton denied him. Starr has reason to hate Clinton with a passion for denying him the opportunity to be a Supreme Court Justice.



• This whole mess broke when Linda Tripp offered up taped conversations she had with Monica Lewinsky concerning her relationship with Bill Clinton, which because she did not ask permission to do so, making anything Monica may have said to Linda inadmissible as evidence. It is considered an illegal wiretap and is protected under the Privacy Act of 1974. Linda Tripp is herself a sad, pathetic woman, who because she would never get to do anything exciting as having an affair with a president, has to delve into other people's private lives for her perverse pleasures. I feel nothing but pity for a woman who acts as repulsive as she looks, and I believe the fringe media, which Ms. Tripp apparently represents, has fueled this scandal fire with looks of greed and lust in their eyes.



• President Clinton is being Impeached for 2 of 4 charges, those being that he lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and that he encouraged others to lie on his behalf concerning his affair. The Republican Congressmen who were members of the House Judiciary Committee looking into the possibility of impeachment had the articles and specifications for impeachment drawn up before Clinton's lawyers were permitted to answer the charges against their client. The Republicans were planning to do it anyway whether there was enough evidence to impeach or not. What ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty?" If our case is that Clinton is not above the law and must be treated as any other citizen of this nation, shouldn't he also be given the benefit of being presumed innocent until found guilty?



• You tell me which of the politicians in Washington doesn't have some sort of "dirty little secret" that they don't want the world to know about? History has proven conclusively that men in power all do things that, if they came to light, would be considered immoral and unethical. A recent example would be Oliver North, who traded arms for hostages, lied about it (to Congress no less!) North covered up, hushed up then President Reagan's invlovement in the deal and got away with it cold. Today Ollie North is a respected member of the Republican Party who has even run for government office. Oliver North's crimes against the people are far worse than Bill Clinton's adulterous behavor. The CHAIR of the House Judiciary Committee Congressman Hyde admitted to having an affair, as did Bob Livingston, who was up for Speaker of the House before stepping down. Mr. Livingston was worried that it might get out later on when it would look even worse for his party and the impeachment process. How many more "little secrets" do all of our elected officials keep from us? Who are these politicians to judge that Bill Clinton's conduct is any better than their own? We don't elect perfect people to office because there are no perfect people. Bill Clinton has a problem he needs to address, but spending millions of dollars investigating his personal life and displaying it for all to see to the detriment of his family, friends, and supporters seems like a crime in itself to me.



• I find it difficult to see how what Bill Clinton has done registers as "high crimes and misdemenors" as interpreted by the U.S. Constitution. I believe that the situation does include criminal charges by Bill Clinton as a citizen, but does not include charges that should apply to him as President of the United States. If they want to go after Bill Clinton, they should wait until after he is out of office. Mr. Clinton should be dealt with as any other citizen who purjures himself, not through the auspices of his office. The American people are going to hold Washington responsible for this charade of a trial, and its not going to be pretty.
  


• Finally, it is so much fun to watch the Republicans chase their own tails in futility, which is the way this whole mess will end up. They are going against the American people who voted them into office by holding this mockery of justice that is called an impeachment trial. Most prosecutors in this country would never take this thing to trial because there is not one shred of positive evidence to point to. It is all hearsay and half-truths on both sides of the issue. If they manage to convict and throw Bill Clinton out of office, they are cutting their own throats in another instance: Al Gore will have to finish out the term and will be incumbent in the next election. He will have tremendous support from the people who disapproved of the whole impeachment affair in the first place (recent polls state that 65% are against impeaching the president in any manner). The Republicans want to get the democrats out of office and put their guy in. What this whole impeachment affair is going to do, in my humble opinion, is turn many people away from the stuffy old Republicans who want everyone to believe they walk on water and are so seamlessly perfect they would never do something as evil as have an affair and lie about it to the American people. If they play their cards right, the Democrats are going to come out of this smelling like roses and the Republicans are going to come out looking like idiots who just wanted to get back at their opposites for the whole Watergate scandal and their more recent failure with the so-called "Contract with America."

Is what Bill Clinton has done right? Nope, not even close. Are what the Republicans doing any better? The answer is no yet again. Two wrongs don't make a right folks. This nation is not going to put up with a government that decides to do its own thing. The politicians in Washington are going to find out that they can't just do what they want. They have to answer to their constituents back home, and if they cannot do that, they will just have to pack up their things and get the hell out!

© 1999 J. S. Brown