Can't get to sleep because I've quit smoking. Day 1. Wish me luck! I'll take moral support from anyone, regardless of their political opinions.
As to your question, the Senate probably can try to do anything it wants. That doesn't mean that members can't object, i.e. appeal to Chief Justice William Rehnquist for a ruling. If, say, the Democrats object to the Republicans wanting to bring up certain matters, they can take it up with Rehnquist. Let's say that Rehnquist rules that certain matters cannot be brought up. A simple majority is all that's required to overrule his decision.
But voting to overrule Rehnquist won't be completely without cost, IMO. If, say, the Republicans overrule Rehnquist's decision not to allow certain matters to be weighed in as evidence, they risk looking as though they're trampling over Rehnquist's judicial wisdom in a vengeful partisan drive to get the president. That would not be politically astute, IMO.
What will be interesting is how moderate Republican Senators and especially those with presidential aspirations will behave, i.e. whether they'll want to be perceived as part of the GOP's Clinton-hating crowd. There's no guarantee that John McCain, for example, won't vote with the Democrats on certain issues. Smart candidates have always been deferential and respectful of popular past presidents of other parties. Look at all the cowtowing among presidential aspirants of both parties to JFK and Truman. Another example: Clinton's refusal in 1992 to disrespect the Reagan legacy. Abroad we saw this especially with Gerhard Schroeder, who campaigned as a successor to Helmut Kohl, and Tony Blair, who was downright cordial with respect to Margaret Thatcher.
A lot of Republicans and some Democrats say that voters won't remember this issue come 2000, and instead will focus on bread-and-butter issues like social security and healthcare. I think that is downright wrong, in one major respect. Much of American politics is based on imagery and emotion. The electorate may not explicitly decide to vote against the Republicans because they pursued the impeachment debacle. But they very well might associate the Republicans with the ugliness of the impeachment on the level of popular culture. That will hurt any potential Republican presidential aspirant who doesn't stand above the fray in this matter. |
