Salon Newsreal | And now, back to impeachment

A L S O+T O D A Y

Life of the party?
By Joshua Micah Marshall
With Livingston gone, Tom DeLay runs the party
(12/19/98)
Clinton tries to carry on...and on
By Harry Jaffe
(12/19/98)
A plague on all their houses
By Murray Waas
On Capitol Hill, partisan hard-liners have damaged the constitutional democracy they claim to hold so dear
(12/18/98)
The war at home?
By Jeff Stein
There's not much the U.S. can do to prevent an Iraqi terror attack, besides watch and listen
(12/18/98)
Going through the motions
By Harry Jaffe
Patrick Kennedy and Bob Barr's offstage sparring was the only surprise of Friday's impeachment debate
(12/17/98)
The Impeachment War: What on earth is going on?
Experts, pundits and kibitzers weigh in on Washington's weirdest week
(12/17/98)
Home for Ramadan?
By Jeff Stein
Don't hold your breath: Clinton's air war isn't likely to knock out Saddam Hussein
(12/17/98)
House of adulterers
By David Weir
Unless the GOP is able to convince voters the impeachment proceedings are based on more than disapproval of his private sexual affairs, revelations like Bob Livingston's will continue.
(12/18/98)
Rep. Bob Livingston's remarks
The text of the statement Thursday by the incoming speaker of the House
(12/18/98)

R E C E N T L Y
The few, the proud, the relieved
By Jeff Stein
President Clinton risked a revolt within the military if he pulled back from the brink with Iraq once again
(12/17/98)
Baghdad bombing: The right move, the wrong time
By Lori Leibovich
A foreign policy expert says Clinton should have struck Baghdad sooner -- and argues that U.S. sanctions should be lifted
(12/17/98)
Reaping the whirlwind
By Joshua Micah Marshall
Clinton's move against Iraq raises the stakes for both parties in the impeachment debate
(12/17/98)
The whole world is watching -- again
By Todd Gitlin
Left-wing literati turn out to block impeachment
(12/16/98)
Peace, the movie
By Daryl Lindsey
Clinton's three-day visit to the Middle East was full of symbols and photo ops, but precious little in the way of content
(12/16/98)
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And now, back to impeachment
Republican skeptic Christopher Shays tries to explain why fence-sitting Republicans suddenly rushed to oppose the president.

BY BRUCE SHAPIRO | NORWALK, Conn. -- As the House of Representatives returns to the matter of impeachment after a brief pause for the bombing of Iraq, the spotlight is once again on the handful of moderate Republicans still undecided.
There are very few of them. In the days after the close of the House Judiciary Committee hearings, formerly fence-sitting Republicans began lining up to declare their new resolve to impeach President Clinton. What had transpired to give impeachment such momentum -- "like a tidal wave," in the words of presidential advisor Harold Ickes? It may have been plain opportunism -- with the president's fortunes waning, there was no gain from standing against House Whip Tom DeLay and the craftily silent Speaker Bob Livingston (though with Livingston's relevations of his own affairs Thursday, maybe that silence was more prudent than crafty). But there's no denying the terms of the debate did undergo a transformation with the president's strange, self-flagellant plea for his own censure last week.
No one exemplifies that transformation better than Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut. As a leading campaign finance reformer -- author of the bipartisan Shays-Meehan bill and a critic of big-money politics in both parties -- Shays is the most prominent Republican skeptic of President Clinton's impeachment. Early on he announced himself outright opposed to impeachment. But after the president's speech last Friday, even Shays began to waver.
On Tuesday, hoping to hear "the wisdom of Solomon" from his constituents, he hosted a raucous, emotional town meeting on the president's future; some 1,100 people crowded into Norwalk City Hall auditorium while 1,000 others were turned away by fire marshals. Shays presided over what was less a public dialogue than a town-hall version of politically polarized talk radio. On Wednesday afternoon, as Washington teetered gingerly between imminent impeachment and imminent bombing, Shays was scheduled to meet with the president at the congressman's own request, but instead cooled his heels waiting to see if Clinton could tear himself away from bombing Baghdad. The meeting was rescheduled for Friday morning.
If Shays has been portrayed as something of a St. Christopher in this debate, it's because he earned a reputation for probity long before the campaign finance bill. When I first met him about 15 years ago, he'd just gotten out of jail. Then a young Connecticut state legislator, Shays had landed behind bars for the same offense that turned Susan McDougal into such an unlikely Whitewater martyr: contempt of court. Shays had taken up the cause of an incapacitated woman bilked out of her life's savings by Alexander Goldfarb, a prominent Hartford attorney and Democratic power broker. When a judge decided that the corrupt lawyer merited only the gentlest of wrist-swats, Shays rose to his feet in the courtroom and wouldn't shut up about how the legal profession was protecting its own until the judge ordered him escorted to a holding cell.
As Shays has spoken about impeachment in recent weeks, he, like some other Republicans, clearly feels caught in a corridor of rocks and hard places -- between his disdain for the far right wing of his own party, his commitment to constitutional principle and his utter exasperation at the president and what he sees as Democratic reluctance to confront genuine issues. "No one wants to admit how complex an issue this is," he said to me when the Judiciary Committee hearings were just getting under way.

N E X T+P A G E+| "There were crimes, but not high crimes"

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A L S O+T O D A Y Life of the party? By Joshua Micah Marshall With Livingston gone, Tom DeLay runs the party (12/19/98) Clinton tries to carry on...and on By Harry Jaffe (12/19/98) A plague on all their houses By Murray Waas On Capitol Hill, partisan hard-liners have damaged the constitutional democracy they claim to hold so dear (12/18/98) The war at home? By Jeff Stein There's not much the U.S. can do to prevent an Iraqi terror attack, besides watch and listen (12/18/98) Going through the motions By Harry Jaffe Patrick Kennedy and Bob Barr's offstage sparring was the only surprise of Friday's impeachment debate (12/17/98) The Impeachment War: What on earth is going on? Experts, pundits and kibitzers weigh in on Washington's weirdest week (12/17/98) Home for Ramadan? By Jeff Stein Don't hold your breath: Clinton's air war isn't likely to knock out Saddam Hussein (12/17/98) House of adulterers By David Weir Unless the GOP is able to convince voters the impeachment proceedings are based on more than disapproval of his private sexual affairs, revelations like Bob Livingston's will continue. (12/18/98) Rep. Bob Livingston's remarks The text of the statement Thursday by the incoming speaker of the House (12/18/98) R E C E N T L Y The few, the proud, the relieved By Jeff Stein President Clinton risked a revolt within the military if he pulled back from the brink with Iraq once again (12/17/98) Baghdad bombing: The right move, the wrong time By Lori Leibovich A foreign policy expert says Clinton should have struck Baghdad sooner -- and argues that U.S. sanctions should be lifted (12/17/98) Reaping the whirlwind By Joshua Micah Marshall Clinton's move against Iraq raises the stakes for both parties in the impeachment debate (12/17/98) The whole world is watching -- again By Todd Gitlin Left-wing literati turn out to block impeachment (12/16/98) Peace, the movie By Daryl Lindsey Clinton's three-day visit to the Middle East was full of symbols and photo ops, but precious little in the way of content (12/16/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		And now, back to impeachment Republican skeptic Christopher Shays tries to explain why fence-sitting Republicans suddenly rushed to oppose the president. BY BRUCE SHAPIRO \| NORWALK, Conn. -- As the House of Representatives returns to the matter of impeachment after a brief pause for the bombing of Iraq, the spotlight is once again on the handful of moderate Republicans still undecided. There are very few of them. In the days after the close of the House Judiciary Committee hearings, formerly fence-sitting Republicans began lining up to declare their new resolve to impeach President Clinton. What had transpired to give impeachment such momentum -- "like a tidal wave," in the words of presidential advisor Harold Ickes? It may have been plain opportunism -- with the president's fortunes waning, there was no gain from standing against House Whip Tom DeLay and the craftily silent Speaker Bob Livingston (though with Livingston's relevations of his own affairs Thursday, maybe that silence was more prudent than crafty). But there's no denying the terms of the debate did undergo a transformation with the president's strange, self-flagellant plea for his own censure last week. No one exemplifies that transformation better than Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut. As a leading campaign finance reformer -- author of the bipartisan Shays-Meehan bill and a critic of big-money politics in both parties -- Shays is the most prominent Republican skeptic of President Clinton's impeachment. Early on he announced himself outright opposed to impeachment. But after the president's speech last Friday, even Shays began to waver. On Tuesday, hoping to hear "the wisdom of Solomon" from his constituents, he hosted a raucous, emotional town meeting on the president's future; some 1,100 people crowded into Norwalk City Hall auditorium while 1,000 others were turned away by fire marshals. Shays presided over what was less a public dialogue than a town-hall version of politically polarized talk radio. On Wednesday afternoon, as Washington teetered gingerly between imminent impeachment and imminent bombing, Shays was scheduled to meet with the president at the congressman's own request, but instead cooled his heels waiting to see if Clinton could tear himself away from bombing Baghdad. The meeting was rescheduled for Friday morning. If Shays has been portrayed as something of a St. Christopher in this debate, it's because he earned a reputation for probity long before the campaign finance bill. When I first met him about 15 years ago, he'd just gotten out of jail. Then a young Connecticut state legislator, Shays had landed behind bars for the same offense that turned Susan McDougal into such an unlikely Whitewater martyr: contempt of court. Shays had taken up the cause of an incapacitated woman bilked out of her life's savings by Alexander Goldfarb, a prominent Hartford attorney and Democratic power broker. When a judge decided that the corrupt lawyer merited only the gentlest of wrist-swats, Shays rose to his feet in the courtroom and wouldn't shut up about how the legal profession was protecting its own until the judge ordered him escorted to a holding cell. As Shays has spoken about impeachment in recent weeks, he, like some other Republicans, clearly feels caught in a corridor of rocks and hard places -- between his disdain for the far right wing of his own party, his commitment to constitutional principle and his utter exasperation at the president and what he sees as Democratic reluctance to confront genuine issues. "No one wants to admit how complex an issue this is," he said to me when the Judiciary Committee hearings were just getting under way. N E X T+P A G E+\| "There were crimes, but not high crimes" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Become a Salon member. Click here.