It was not too long ago that 13 members of the House of Representatives accepted the duty to serve as Managers and present the case for impeachment of President Clinton before the Senate. At the time, many pundits and other talking heads expounded on both the severity of impeachment and the near useless efforts of the Managers try the President for "high crimes and misdemeanors." We were all subjected to a justification of moral haphazard conduct and a whimsical dismissal of anything that resembled evidence of criminal wrongdoing. There were myopic parallels drawn to the impeachment proceedings brought against Richard Nixon, and no one seemed to care that this was not the "most ethical administration in history."
Does it matter now anymore than it mattered then? Arguably, the protectors and enablers of Bill Clinton will continue to wring their hands and lament the harsh criticism and unfair judicial treatment of the President. Now we hear of possible disbarment of the President in Arkansas. The path of shame and deceit winds on and on.
When popular support faded for impeachment, the House Managers remained true to their cause and their principles. When the Senate sat silent and bored with the detailed account of corruption and deceit fostered and nurtured by the President, the House Managers pressed forward out of respect for the Constitution of the United States and reverence for the trust given to members of Congress.
We must not forget the Representatives who served as House Managers and those who voted to remove the President. We can count on President Clinton's cronies to do anything possible to remove the Managers this fall. Now is the time to exercise OUR power and send a message to those who believe the rule of law is dead in America.