Salon Newsreal | Lott's losing control

A L S O+T O D A Y

The man Clinton could have been
By Jeff Stein
Sen. Tom Daschle, the Democrats' point man on impeachment, is a tough negotiator who could save Clinton from himself
(01/06/99)

T A B L E+T A L K
Introducing the Euro! Discuss the political and financial impact of Europe's new currency in the International Issues area of Table Talk

R E C E N T L Y
My dinner with Jerry
By Joan Walsh
A reporter reflects that Jerry Brown's idiot-savant approach to race may carry Oakland into a multicultural future without rancor
(01/05/99)
Letter from Havana
By Frank Smyth
Gays, Catholics and transvestites find their place in the new Cuba
(01/04/99)
Oral history
By David Friend
Sound bites from three scandals
(12/24/98)
Blood money
By Suzi Parker
An Arkansas prison-plasma business protected by Clinton cronies led to a scandal that almost toppled the government -- of Canada
(12/23/98)
Portrait of a political "pit bull"
By Russ Baker
Rep. Dan Burton has a few questions to answer about his own history of womanizing and alleged campaign finance irregularities
(12/22/98)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Browse the
Newsreal Archives
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

spacer

Lott's losing control
Trent Lott

Impeachment proceedings in the Senate could get as ugly as in the House.
BY JOSHUA MICAH MARSHALL
Hopes for an expedited Senate trial and a speedy resolution of the impeachment crisis were dimming Tuesday as senators returned to Washington for the beginning of the 106th Congress.
Only a week ago it seemed that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott was well on his way to cobbling together a bipartisan coalition in favor of a rapid Senate impeachment trial -- a formality that could be brought to a speedy conclusion by a procedural vote, after the equivalent of opening arguments. But early Tuesday afternoon Lott met the press to announce that trial proceedings would begin Thursday, while studiously avoiding any mention of how the trial would be conducted or how long it would last.
That's because he has no idea. Lott didn't take any questions at his brief press conference, and it's little surprise. The Senate impeachment trial is Lott's first real moment in the public spotlight since he assumed the post of party leader when Bob Dole resigned from the Senate in 1996. But Lott's chances of concluding the mess in a way that will enhance his stature and save the GOP from further misfortune seem to be fading fast. Like so many times before, a new act in the long-standing impeachment drama is about to begin with no script for how it will end.
In a development that should alarm senators on both sides of the aisle, the events in the Senate are progressing much the way they did in the House. Bipartisan sobriety is giving way to extremism and political infighting, and reducing the possibility of a swift resolution to the crisis.
Many House Republicans got on the impeachment bandwagon because they saw it as a free vote -- the Senate would rapidly conclude the matter, and certainly stop short of removing Clinton from office. And at first it seemed likely to turn out that way. Bipartisan negotiations to settle the matter quickly got under way. But just as occurred in the House, the Senate Republicans who are most committed to the impeachment program have become increasingly emboldened to fight all attempts at compromise. And neither the members of the Senate Republican leadership nor party elders have seemed able to stem the tide.
Most Republicans recognize that a long, drawn-out trial would do their party great harm for the foreseeable future. Yet few of those senators who have publicly criticized Lott's efforts seem to have any game plan for avoiding such an outcome. Just as in the House, Republican calls to follow what they call "the constitutional process" have placed them on a course of seemingly unstoppable forward motion. When Henry Hyde sent his 81 questions to President Clinton just after the November election, he set in motion a chain of events that moved ineluctably toward impeachment. Republican criticism of Lott's efforts to organize a quick trial are propelling the Senate in a similar direction -- toward a protracted and possibly agonizing trial in which no one will emerge unscathed.
N E X T+P A G E+| It wasn't supposed to be this way

A L S O+T O D A Y The man Clinton could have been By Jeff Stein Sen. Tom Daschle, the Democrats' point man on impeachment, is a tough negotiator who could save Clinton from himself (01/06/99) T A B L E+T A L K Introducing the Euro! Discuss the political and financial impact of Europe's new currency in the International Issues area of Table Talk R E C E N T L Y My dinner with Jerry By Joan Walsh A reporter reflects that Jerry Brown's idiot-savant approach to race may carry Oakland into a multicultural future without rancor (01/05/99) Letter from Havana By Frank Smyth Gays, Catholics and transvestites find their place in the new Cuba (01/04/99) Oral history By David Friend Sound bites from three scandals (12/24/98) Blood money By Suzi Parker An Arkansas prison-plasma business protected by Clinton cronies led to a scandal that almost toppled the government -- of Canada (12/23/98) Portrait of a political "pit bull" By Russ Baker Rep. Dan Burton has a few questions to answer about his own history of womanizing and alleged campaign finance irregularities (12/22/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		Lott's losing control Impeachment proceedings in the Senate could get as ugly as in the House. BY JOSHUA MICAH MARSHALL Hopes for an expedited Senate trial and a speedy resolution of the impeachment crisis were dimming Tuesday as senators returned to Washington for the beginning of the 106th Congress. Only a week ago it seemed that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott was well on his way to cobbling together a bipartisan coalition in favor of a rapid Senate impeachment trial -- a formality that could be brought to a speedy conclusion by a procedural vote, after the equivalent of opening arguments. But early Tuesday afternoon Lott met the press to announce that trial proceedings would begin Thursday, while studiously avoiding any mention of how the trial would be conducted or how long it would last. That's because he has no idea. Lott didn't take any questions at his brief press conference, and it's little surprise. The Senate impeachment trial is Lott's first real moment in the public spotlight since he assumed the post of party leader when Bob Dole resigned from the Senate in 1996. But Lott's chances of concluding the mess in a way that will enhance his stature and save the GOP from further misfortune seem to be fading fast. Like so many times before, a new act in the long-standing impeachment drama is about to begin with no script for how it will end. In a development that should alarm senators on both sides of the aisle, the events in the Senate are progressing much the way they did in the House. Bipartisan sobriety is giving way to extremism and political infighting, and reducing the possibility of a swift resolution to the crisis. Many House Republicans got on the impeachment bandwagon because they saw it as a free vote -- the Senate would rapidly conclude the matter, and certainly stop short of removing Clinton from office. And at first it seemed likely to turn out that way. Bipartisan negotiations to settle the matter quickly got under way. But just as occurred in the House, the Senate Republicans who are most committed to the impeachment program have become increasingly emboldened to fight all attempts at compromise. And neither the members of the Senate Republican leadership nor party elders have seemed able to stem the tide. Most Republicans recognize that a long, drawn-out trial would do their party great harm for the foreseeable future. Yet few of those senators who have publicly criticized Lott's efforts seem to have any game plan for avoiding such an outcome. Just as in the House, Republican calls to follow what they call "the constitutional process" have placed them on a course of seemingly unstoppable forward motion. When Henry Hyde sent his 81 questions to President Clinton just after the November election, he set in motion a chain of events that moved ineluctably toward impeachment. Republican criticism of Lott's efforts to organize a quick trial are propelling the Senate in a similar direction -- toward a protracted and possibly agonizing trial in which no one will emerge unscathed. N E X T+P A G E+\| It wasn't supposed to be this way