Chapter Sixteen:
The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton

"The Partisan Mauling of the Constitution-- Caught on Film"

I had assumed, as do most Conservatives, that the downfall of America's civilization began in the 60's with the rise of the Counterculture youth that had suddenly emerged and laid siege to the nation.

That was a definite factor, as was the conflict ensuing over the VietNam war, but our government held those who had long been waiting for an opportunity to attempt to see to fruition the idea of the Great Society and it was those adults, from WITHIN the government that took advantage of the emergance of the Counterculture sentiment to set in place their own siege of the federal government.

Presented as a struggle between the Established Power vs the Individual Freedom of the nation's citizens, it was difficult to side or argue for the status quo.

I'm not sure the adult Liberals were quite prepared to concede to some of the off-the-wall freedoms their young rebels would insist upon. But they had no choice. These young warriors would not succumb to any leadership other than their own and if the Adult Liberals were to use the youth's energy to mobilize the new America, they would have to acquiesce to the youth's demands.

Ultimately, the youth asked for the right to forsake the boundaries society had in place regarding the roles of the individual members of a family unit and the unregulated use of substances. They also wanted to have the freedom to analyze and discard any other conventional notions they felt would incumber their search for total freedom.

Woodstock was a representation of what the youth had in mind in so far as being free to pursue whatever pleased them. Caught on film, hoards of young Americans expressed exhilaration towards thier newfound freedom by discarding their clothes, drugging thier minds and mindlessly dancing in a muddy farm field. Not quite what Martin Luther King had envisioned when he stated "free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we're free at last".

Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton were both leaders from within the youth Liberals of the 60's, with Bill attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and Hillary attending Wellesley. They both actively fought to be free of all social boundaries and conventional expectations, something they carried with them into their marriage, parenting and their carriage of the Governorship of Arkansas and the Presidency of the United States.

Thier definition of freedom flies against the concept the Founding Father's set forth in sentiment as being that we, as Americans should be free to the point that our actions infringe on the freedoms of others.

In an unrestrained pursuit of happiness, Bill Clinton was willing to:

--actively seek to Dodge the VietNam draft by petitioning to anyone and everyone he could using the argument that he was "too educated" to be drafted.

--actively protest and instigate protest against the American government during a time of war on a foreign soil at Oxford and also in Russia.

--actively choose to participate in the use of illegal subtances-- even though he claims he did not inhale. The Christopher Anderson biography: "Bill and Hillary: The Marriage", reports that several sources indicated that Bill Clinton was involved in drug use-- in their presense-- even to the extend of attending fundraisers while Governor of Arkansas where it was notoriusly known that hash, marijuana and other substances were standard fare.

--marry a woman who would serve his political purposes though he knew he would incapable of being faithful to her in a conventional sense of marriage.

--"date" outside of his marriage and was willing to use countless women's bodies for the fulfillment of what seems to be an unending sexual need.

--rape Juanita Broaderick and allowed Hillary to use intimidation to keep Mrs. Broaderick quiet.

--purchase sexual favors from prostituutes. Bobbi Ann Williams was sure for thirteen years that her son was Bill Clinton's child because she had serviced him at the time of her inception. She claims to this day that he was the only white man she had sex with during that time period. Her son does bear a resemblance to Bill Clinton. Allegedly, Star Magazine ran a DNA test and concluded that they were not a match. DNA results were not released. This is suspiciously similar to the section in the Primary Colors book where Clinton was asked to provide for a DNA sample and he purposely send an aide's blood sample. This is likely what lead Judge Kenneth Starr to send his men to witness the drawing of the blood from the President to test against the DNA on the Lewinsky GAP dress.

--carry on a twelve year affair with Gennifer Flowers and advised her to lie along with him regarding the affair and no one would question them.

--sexually proposition Paula Jones.

--carry on an affair in the Oval Officce of the White House with Monica Lewinsky, a federal employee.

--use, for political gain, the deaths of the two gaurds, Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson, who heroically gave their lives in an attempt to keep the People's House secure from the onslaught of a mad man. As soon a news broke of the slaying of these two great men, Clinton announced that he had been subpeonaed by Starr. He had been subpeonaed TWO WEEKS before. It was a calculated and crass choice made to diminish the impact of the fact that William Jefferson Clinton would be the first sitting President to be subpeonaed. Instead, the news of the historic subpeona diminished the sacrifice of the two American heroes and Bill Clinton managed to steal a moment of what should have been a basking of collective pride and a collective grieving for a nation who should have marveled at our two slain sons, both a calibre of man who believed that some things were worth a struggle, a battle and the laying down of their own lives for.

--lie under oath in Susan Webber Wrighht's court.

--lie to the American people about thee Lewinsky affair and utilize the massive power of the Office of the Presidency of the United States to attempt to conceal his lies. He went so far as to use his cabinet to send out false messages and to malign his detractors.

--go before the American public with a non-apology that made it clear to all that he was a victim of a political atmosphere that was overly intolerant and a press that hated him. He claimed that Jack Kennedy would have gotten away with it!

--diminish the Office of the Presidency by sending weak argument after weak arguement for concealment of his "sin" before the Supremes. He squandered away many of the inferred rights of the Office by now having the Supremes define that that they are no longer subject to inference. Case in point: the Assigned Secret Service Agents will from henceforth be subject to testifying against a President.

These are all choices made by Bill Clinton. What was bizzare to observe were the choices that the upper echelons of the Democratic Party made and carried out in wanting to protect thier elected head. They diminished the entire party by wholeheartedly aligning themselves behind a man who was consummately determined to self destruct. He and they took the party down with scandal after scandal.

It seemed that there was nothing the Party Big Guys and Gals were not willing to forgive Bill Clinton for and they went before the American public night after night to defend even what they, themselves labeled as "indefensible".

We saw rational, intelligent people turn into fanatical zealots for the protection of Bill Clinton against Hillary's conception of a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. We also saw the New York Ultra Liberal delegation of Congressmen and Senators. They seemed to sincerely believe all the spin they were propagating about the Lewinsky matter being only a private affair and that it had no bearing of the Office of the Presidency. They put forth that the President's actions were indefensible, but not illegal.

Most memorable for their staunch support of the President during the Lewinsky year were Gerrold Nadler (NY) and Shiela Jackson(TX). There were, of course, many others who played "Puck" roles in this D.C. version of Shakespeare's, 'A MidSummer Night's Dream', but I have chosen two that best represented them all.

Gerrold Nadler chose to constantly categorize and attributed whatever any debate opponent said as a negative against the President as being due to the FACT, as he set it forth, that the opponent just did not like Bill Clinton, the man. He chose to remind his opponent that Bill Clinton was President of the United States and was due all the respect and decorum of the office. Congressman Nadler never swayed from his support of the President and never swayed from publically proclaiming that the clearly naked President did indeed, have some very fine clothes on. It was a "who are you gonna trust-- me or your own eyes" scanario.

Nearing the end of the Monica year, we saw his opponents simply stop debating or refuting Nadler's stance. It stood on its own and spoke volumes about how far the Democrats had been willing to stoop to defend the indefensible Democratic President.

Congresswoman Shiela Jackson took a higher road than that of her fellow congressman, but they did, as was intended, arrive at the same place. She opted to beat a legal drum. She constantly stated points of law as if they were meant to be devoid of ethics and meant to be implimented in strict adherence to the written form of the law.

Congresswoman Jackson not only defended Clinton publicly, but vehemently defended him before Congressional Committees also televised.

Ultimately the zealots lost out. Their President was found Impeachable by the House of Representatives and a censure was issued for the President's perjuries.

And so to continue in the defense of the indefensible, the Democratic Party echelons rallied behind the President right after the House Impeached the Indefensible President. Caught on film, the many who had opted to censure the man and/or vote to impeach him, stood by him, in full support in a Pep-Rally type event that clearly indicated that the Democrats were not publically willing to admit their mistake in aligning with the Clintons. They chose, instead to continue with the mistake. Vice President Al Gore went so far as to declare that Bill Clinton would be noted in history as the best President ever to serve. Words that would later haunt his own aspirations for the the Office of the Presidency.

We had caught on film for the first time in the history of our Republic, the Bi-Partisan mangling of our Constitution as both sides of the political aisle chose to promote or ignore certain legal or political facts about the case against William Jefferson Clinton.

It was supposed to be the People of the United States vs William Jefferson Clinton, but they never seemed to get to that. There were party loyalies to be played out and the long-term consequences had to factored in: how would they ever be able to work with a President they had tried to impeach? They needed to play at Impeachment with kid gloves on just in case one or the other side lost.

Most aggregious was the Democratic party that ceased to be American for the sake of Party lock-stepping. For the first time in history, we will not have to rely on the interpretation of historians and their propensity to spin a story according to their own prejudices. The Clinton legacy has all been caught on film.

@Jenni Vinson , November 15, 1999