Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: Criminal Sexuality
Author: Steve Ross Posted: 12/15/1998; 12:13:05 PM Topic: DaveNet comments Msg #: 1254 (In response to 1213) Prev/Next: 1253 / 1255
Bill Clinton should resign. I don't think many of us disagree with that. His selfishness in remaining in office means that the United States government will be completely ineffective throughout the rest of his term. At a time when the world is going through economic turmoil unseen in the post-World War II era, he has left the United States government crippled. And the world without a leader they can depend on.But I think that to impeach him is to set a dangerous precedent. The problem is, the evidence against him basically boils down to "he said, she said." There are no third party witnesses that can directly corroborate the testimony of either Mr. Clinton or Ms. Lewinsky with regard to what they may or may not have done behind those closed doors. And without that second witness, we have no concrete way of knowing WHO was lying and who was telling the truth with regard to where he may or may not have touched.
From what I have heard, all of the other charges are similarly difficult to prove. There are no smoking guns in this case.
So are we going to give the Congress permission to remove a sitting President simply because they THINK he's a crook? Should the Democrats have been able to impeach Ronald Reagan simply because they THOUGHT he knew more than he was letting on with regard to Iran-Contra? This opens up a can of worms that should make every American uncomfortable. If the Congress can impeach any sitting President simply because they have the majority to do so, then the rule of law no longer applies.
Bill Clinton is entitled to be innocent until proven guilty. I personally THINK he is guilty in this, but unless I can prove it, my thoughts have no bearing whatsoever. In our quest to send a message to a corrupt political system, we should not subvert the rule of law.
Thankfully, the Republicans do not have the numbers in the Senate to remove him from office. So the only way he actually WILL be removed is if new evidence comes to light that makes it clear to even the Democrats that Clinton has in fact committed the crimes he is accused of.
Instead of impeaching Bill Clinton in 1998/99, how about we simply vote against those of his breed in 2000. Unfortunately, it seems that once again we have gotten the government that we deserve.
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