"The Big Tent Circus"

By Christopher Geidner

January 16, 1999
For permission to reprint this article, please e-mail [email protected].

This week, as did many Americans, I watched the opening statements of the House "managers" in the Senate Impeachment trial of President William Jefferson Clinton. I was humbled by the importance of this date, and, being a person who is greatly interested in the political future of our nation, I was also humbled by the situation. I have many times defended our nation�s political and governmental institutions from those cynics who do not trust in the power and checks of our democracy. Today, however, for the first time, I questioned those defenses. How, I asked, could the nearly absolute partisan vote of the House of Representatives lead to the historical disgrace of a President? There is no doubt in my mind that President Clinton misled the American people. There is no doubt that he wanted to keep the matter of his illicit affair with Monica Lewinsky a secret from his friends, his family, and the American people, and in doing so, hurt Paula Jones� right to a fair trial. That is wrong.

What strikes me as just as wrong to our system of democracy, however, is the concept that one party could single-handedly impeach the twice-elected President of the United States. While President Clinton will most likely be allowed to complete his term for which the American people elected him, he will not be given his proper place in history. His place , however, will be one of unique standing. He is the only duly elected President to be impeached by the House of Representatives in our nation�s history. And this impeachment was passed with only five members of the President�s party. Five members out of nearly 215 Democrats. That partisan impeachment is also wrong.

The Republican party has become such an ideologically-pressed party that it sacrifices practicality over principles. That partisan vote showed the enormous power that Gary Bauer and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family have over our national institutions. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the case of once-Speaker-elect Bob Livingston of Louisiana. Rep. Livingston was respected by both Republicans and Democrats alike for his fair and just chairmanship of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He will soon be gone as a Member of the House. He has been forever tarnished in the political arena because the G.O.P. found it necessary to send a sacrifice up Pennsylvania Avenue to the President. In his speech on the fateful day of the his resignation announcement and the House impeachment vote, Rep. Livingston asked President Clinton to take his cue and to resign as well. This statement could be among the most ludicrous in U.S history. Others, such as Minority Leader Richard Gephardt agree. I envisioned in the following days a domino reaction, as politicians � who are human and do make mistakes like the rest of us � would fall politically "dead" due to the stranglehold of the Religious Right. That appears to have luckily not happened.

That does not, however, mean that the future of our political community has not been forever altered. As a young American dedicated to the improvement of our communities, our nation, and our world, I can see no positives gained through this "politics of personal destruction." I fear that this will force many young people to see our democracy as a place only suitable for angels, not humans. I feel that many young people with grand ideas for much needed improvements to our neighborhoods, our schools, and our welfare system will avoid the public realm for fear of the destruction of his or her family and loved ones. This is just as wrong, if not more so, than any illicit affair hidden by our President or other lawmakers.

In order to continue this great "experiment in democracy" we must, as citizens, stop and look at what it is that we hope to find in our lawmakers. Do we want humans, mistakes and all, to invigorate our government with new and innovative ideas for the improvement of our great nation, or would we rather have those few who, regardless of their mediocre plans for our communities, are able to jump through the hoops of the Religious Right being used in the G.O.P.�s "big tent" circus?

Christopher R. Geidner is living in Austintown, Ohio, is currently involved in health, wellness, education, and civil rights issues, and has been for 10 years. To contact, please e-mail at [email protected].