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``PERHAPS ONCE or twice in every generation,'' said former Rep. Paul
McHale, D-Pa., last week, there comes an issue ``that is so wrapped in
passion that families are torn apart, political parties are divided and
friendships are destroyed. The controversy takes on a life of its own. I
knew that no matter what position I took, unless I tried to waffle my
way, that I would lose friends.''
The issue, of course, was impeachment. McHale voted to impeach President
Clinton in 1998. He was not running for election at the time, nonetheless
the vote was difficult for him.
``A president of my party, for whom I voted twice, had blatantly and
repeatedly lied under oath,'' said the former Marine. He was willing to
vote against impeachment if Clinton admitted his misconduct. But that
never happened, and McHale cast the only vote he felt he could as long as
the president continued to trade in untruths.
McHale was one of only five House Democrats to vote for impeachment. Now
only three are left -- Ralph Hall and Charles Stenholm of Texas and Gene
Taylor of Mississippi. Virgil Goode of Virginia is still in office, but
he became an Independent in January.
Voters in four out of five of these Dems' districts favored Bob Dole over
Bill Clinton in 1996. Only McHale's district preferred Clinton to Dole.
While cynics may dismiss these Democrats' impeachment decisions as the
result of shameless scrambling to retain their seats, the same also could
be said of the 200-plus Dems who voted against impeachment. Said Goode,
``I think some that defended the president did so out of party loyalty,
instead of the facts or the evidence.''
Both McHale and Goode say that Democratic party and House leaders treated
them well despite their impeachment votes, and a staffer from one of the
other impeaching Democrats' office confirmed as much. Republicans who
voted against their party said as much when I interviewed them two weeks
ago. Leaders on both sides of the aisle want a majority, and they're not
likely to mess with any incumbent who can help them tip the scale.
Goode -- his name rhymes with mood -- felt that the vote was a simple
matter that did not require courage or a wrenching journey into his soul.
``I feel that I voted correctly based on the facts and the evidence.
President Clinton, in my opinion, lied under oath. His attorney waved
around a knowingly false affidavit, and when asked if this affidavit was
true, (Clinton) said, `absolutely true.' '' If the media had focused more
on the facts and less on the polls, Goode thinks, the outcome could have
been different.
Tonight, President Clinton will address the Democratic National
Convention. He will speak to a party he has traumatized, to elected
officials who risked their credibility as they told reporters they
believed Clinton was guiltless in the Monica scandal, and to delegates
whom he misled. None of that will matter. Expect the faithful to swoon.
There is a belief among Democrats that the less said about impeachment,
Monica and perjury, the better. They want to put the whole mess behind
them, and leave that old garbage in the wake, along with the shattered
friendships and political alliances and other wreckage.
Why not? As a staffer of one of the other three Democrats said of
pro-Clinton constituents who were angry at the member's impeachment vote,
``Frankly, they've gotten over it.''
Goode certainly doesn't expect the president to address the episode.
McHale said he hopes that Clinton doesn't mention impeachment -- that
he'd prefer that the president speak about the successes of his
administration.
That's how the professionals feel. And so the question remains: After all
the acrimony, will the public be as understanding as Bill Clinton enjoys
his Last Hurrah? |
