A very thoughtful column you posted. Not knee jerk liberal at all.
I agree with much of it. I agree about the long lasting and pernicious effects if we impeach and remove from office over this.
The trouble is I think resignation has much of the same, or really worse effects. It lowers the bar to impeachment as much, or even more, since it holds out the expectation that the process will be relatively easy. It seems and easy way out, but really isn't. Certainly I've thought about it.
I think the right thing is to vote impeachment down but also vote censure. Ironically, I think resignation then would be a lot less harmful to future standards, and perhaps the best thing on balance for the country. Although probably also unlikely. My point is that resignation which is or appears to be forced, especially if early in the process, is a big problem.
Nixon's resignation, for one thing, was a one time event, rather than an expected course of action, as it might now become. But more importantly, the fact was that Nixon DIDN't resign until there was an absolutely unambiguous smoking gun. That made his loss of an impeachment vote in the Senate absolutely clear. It might even have been unanimous, or close to it, ignoring abstensions.
The sort of evidence we demanded for a consensus to form on Nixon was a lot more than the amount which might well convince a jury that Nixon was involved in the conspiracies. And absolutely unambiguous smoking gun was demanded. And finally found. That's when he resigned. (After the tapes he had made of his own statements to numbers of his lieutenants were discovered.)
Doug |
