Barney Frank, Massachusetts' gift to the gods of humor, is never so funny as when he's trying to be serious. Then he sounds just partisan. And loud. One can always tell those who have the weakest case in this melodrama; they're the ones with the loudest voices.
The Henry Hydes and Asa Hutchinsons don't have to raise theirs.
Profile in courage
PAUL GREENBERG
These are times, like many others, when politician has become a term of
opprobrium--not unlike lawyer or, yes, journalist. Power corrupts, whatever
its form, and no one should expect to come away from exercising it with
clean hands.
What's more, it may not be the most sterling characters that people call to
mind when they make generalizations about our occupations.
But these are also times when some politicians rise to the occasion. At
such moments--call them moments of truth, as they do in the bullring--there
is no longer any avoiding responsibility, decision, action. The vote in the
House last Thursday was such a moment, and there will be others as this
solemn inquest and grand comedy called impeachment proceeds.
Yes, it'll be a grand comedy, too, for this is an American show with
something for everybody. For example: Barney Frank, Massachusetts' gift to
the gods of humor, is never so funny as when he's trying to be serious. Then
he sounds just partisan. And loud. One can always tell those who have the
weakest case in this melodrama; they're the ones with the loudest voices.
The Henry Hydes and Asa Hutchinsons don't have to raise theirs.
There will be moments of high drama and dedication in this pageant, too.
Consider the brief address Thursday of Barney Frank's fellow Democrat,
Paul McHale, who was scarcely known outside Pennsylvania before
impeachment became the order of the day. He's known now. Because he
rose above the party line when he spoke out for a full, unflinching inquiry into
this president's conduct.
Paul McHale was eloquent not only because of what he said but because
of who he is: The kind of loyal Democrat who worked for Bill Clinton's
election and re-election as president, and consistently supported the
president's program.
Congressman McHale even began his address and indictment by quoting
the first New Democrat, the father of the New Deal: "Mr. Speaker, Franklin
Roosevelt once said that the presidency is pre-eminently a place of moral
leadership. . . . " When a fellow starts a speech with those words, you know
he's for impeachment. Any defender of the president who would talk about
moral leadership would be indulging in parody.
Paul McHale is no Republican, no right-winger, no reflexive clintonphobe,
but one more guy who was facing his moment of truth after having given
William Jefferson Clinton a final chance once too often. This congressman's
politics are not noticeably different from many of those whose moment of
truth is still to come. They may still be looking for some way to spare the
president the consequences of his actions. But as for Paul McHale, he can
no longer square his convictions with his party's line.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania explained where he was coming from,
and it was solid Democratic territory: "I want my strong criticism of
President Clinton to be placed in context. I voted for President Clinton in
1992 and 1996. I believed him to be The Man From Hope, as he was
depicted in his 1992 campaign video. I have voted for more than
three-fourths of the president's legislative agenda and would do so again. My
blunt criticism of the president has nothing to do with policy. Moreover, the
president has always treated me with courtesy and respect, and he has been
more than responsive to the concerns of my constituents."
There's no doubting Paul McHale's party credentials. But his conscience
belongs to no party. And he followed his conscience Thursday--and upheld
his oath to the Constitution. His was a voice of and for conviction. Here's
one Democratic congressman who's had enough:
"Unfortunately, the president's misconduct has now made immaterial my
past support or agreement with him on the issues. Last January 17th, the
president of the United States attempted to cover up a sordid and
irresponsible relationship by repeated deceit under oath in a federal civil
rights suit. Contrary to his latest public statement, his answers were not
'legally accurate,' they were intentionally and blatantly false. He allowed his
lawyer to make arguments to the court based upon an affidavit that the
president knew to be false. The president later deceived the American
people and belatedly admitted the truth only when confronted, some seven
months later, by a mountain of irrefutable evidence. I am convinced that the
president would otherwise have allowed his false testimony to stand in
perpetuity."
The congressman has a point. Does anyone believe that Bill Clinton would
have stepped forward voluntarily and confessed, to the extent he has, if he
hadn't been caught out? Which is why this impeachment inquiry should be
conducted expeditiously but not arbitrarily limited--either by subject or in
time.
The White House has used every privilege in the book to stall this
investigation, and some that aren't--like a "protective function privilege" for
the Secret Service. Limiting the inquiry's scope or time would only have
encouraged more delays and evasions. And if there's one thing the country
can agree on, it's the need to get this thing over with.
There is something awful, in the old sense of awe-inspiring, about the sight
of the great wheels of justice beginning to turn, however slowly and
tortuously. One fears for the president, and is bound to pray for him, but he's
not the only one on trial here. We all are. What happens to William Jefferson
Clinton is less important than what his fate will say about where the country
is, and where it's heading. Paul McHale understood as much, for he ended
his brief address to the House with this observation: "We cannot define the
president's character. But we must define our nation's."
By now Paul McHale has already been tarred by the White House muck
machine (Geraldo Rivera had to issue a semi-apology for passing along the
smear) but that was to be expected. That's how this White House operates.
It doesn't matter. The Paul McHales aren't going to be intimidated. Nor will
they be dissuaded from their duty as they see it. Let it be noted that 30 other
Democrats joined Congressman McHale in voting for an unhindered inquiry.
One need not agree with these 31 Democrats to recognize that they put
their duty before party, and to respect them for it. Indeed, almost every
Democrat in the House voted to authorize some sort of inquiry, even of a
limited kind. Just as did many Republicans a quarter of a century ago when
the House was considering the impeachment of a Republican president
named Richard Nixon.
The conventional, nose-counting wisdom, even before the evidence has
been fully examined, is that Bill Clinton may be impeached in the House but
he'll never be convicted in the Senate, where a two-thirds' vote would be
required to remove him from office. Besides, why should even Republican
senators vote to oust this president? Bill Clinton is the best thing the GOP
has going for it just now.
But that purely political judgment doesn't take into account somebody like
Paul McHale. He may be leaving Congress to attend to important
business--his family--but I've got to believe there are a lot of Paul McHales
out there, Democrats and Republicans, who are simply going to follow the
evidence wherever it leads. There may be more of them, in the House and
the Senate, than the conventional wisdom dreams.
Consider the words of Robert Byrd, the very senior senator from West
Virginia. To call him a Democrat of the old school would be a colossal
understatement. Senator Byrd is almost a caricature of the old,
stumpwarming breed. And he has already warned the White House not to
tamper with the jury called the Senate of the United States. The conventional
wisdom may have overlooked the most unconventional of political
phenomena: principle.
Not to mention pride. Each house of Congress has its own history, its
own traditions, its own code, and, when the test of principle comes, its own
reputation to uphold. We have seen only the first moment of truth.
Whatever the cynics say, there is still honor in politics, in Congress, and in
the Democratic Party. Just look at the roll call. And especially those 31
votes cast by Paul McHale and his fellow Democrats of conscience.
Paul Greenberg is the Pulitzer Prize- winning editorial page editor of
the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
ardemgaz.com
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