I wrote this when the attempt to Impeach Bill Clinton was so hot and heavy…
The Brink of the Abyss
The very catalyst that led to the founding of this great country of ours was the disinterest of the ruling government of the time to implement laws and procedures critical to our well being. Our majority at the time, due to personal interests and/or views, on an individual basis, decided to replace the tyranny with a new government. Two Hundred and twenty years ago, we replaced apathy with a government “Of the People, by the People, and for the People.”
I have always been a registered Republican. I did not vote for President Clinton either time, nor would I if he were able to run again. I did however, accept the majority decision of the American people and agree to support him. The President was selected within our election procedures. This certainly does not place him above the law. He is however, entitled to the same protection from unfair judgments as we are. I did not maliciously decide to get rid of him at all costs like many people did. Regardless of whether each of us believes him to be guilty or innocent, we still supposedly live in a society where an accused individual is innocent until proven guilty. The assumption of innocence protects each of us from undo loss of liberty by placing the burden of proof on our accuser. I for one do not have the education necessary to arrive at a conclusion of his guilt or innocence based on the rule of law. I am also not an expert of the constitution so I cannot arrive at the decision of whether or not his actions are of an impeachable nature. For these reasons, it is fortunate for myself and all involved that I have not been called upon to decide the fate of our President.
We have a government that has worked because “We the people,” have a system where we elect officials to public office that we believe will arrive upon decisions with honor and integrity. Due to the imperfect nature inherent to all humans, we will elect individuals of questionable character from time to time. We have in place in our constitution laws that allow us to rid ourselves of these elected mistakes. When it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that there have been crimes against our Constitution the offending official can be removed from office by a procedure we call impeachment. The impeachable offenses have been wisely outlined in our constitution to protect against arbitrary removal of an elected official based on prejudice, hatred or political bias. The impeachment procedure, regardless of how some wish to turn it into a game of semantics, is akin to a double trial. It is necessary for two verdicts to be decided. The House of Representatives first judges if there are apparent legal grounds for impeachment based on the articles of impeachment proposed to them by the House Judiciary Committee. If the House judges there may be reason, supposedly based on a fair and impartial vote, the issue is then turned over to the Senate for a full trial of the offender. If the Senate finds the offender is in fact guilty of crimes against our constitution the offender is removed from office. At any time during either of these procedures a vote of the deciding body may stop the proceedings if the charges are deemed to be unreasonable.
We are now faced with a President that one had an affair and two, lied about that affair under oath. I don’t think there is much debate anymore about these two allegations. His guilt in these areas are generally accepted as true. We now unfortunately have the responsibility to investigate to see if these offenses are of an impeachable nature. The premise of utilizing the rule of law to arrive at a judgment in this issue has been replaced with bias and coercion. Because of this the issue of guilt or innocence of our President has become a secondary issue foreshadowed by the lack of integrity of his “judges.”
At whatever level of jurisprudence a judge may preside, his/ her decision process demands integrity. If integrity is left out of the equation our system fails. If prejudice or personal gain enter into the equation our system fails — our system has failed! Our current political leaders in the House of Representatives have each made this decision to impeach, not based on facts, even though they are present, not based on well meaning emotion, and certainly not based on honor or truth. This decision was especially not made with the American people in mind. This decision was based solely on each individual’s malicious intention to receive personal gratification by advancing his/her career through submission to their respective parties. Each party, as predicted by their history, is accusing the other of wrongdoing. The Democrats are accusing the Republicans of attempting a coup. The Republicans are accusing the Democrats of not living up to the rule of law. I am accusing you, both the Republicans and Democrats in the House, of Bribery and obstruction of justice! The arrogance you have shown by placing yourselves above our Constitution is unforgivable!
The anger I feel, when trying to describe the lying, the manipulating, or the outright fraud implemented by the members of the House of Representatives, leaves me indescribably frustrated. There are no words in our language that can describe their crimes against America! I submit that more harm has been done to our Republic by these proceedings than President Clinton has done by his actions alone. If President Clinton is guilty of obstruction of justice based on the methods the House has used to arrive at the decision to impeach, so are most of the judges.
At this time I wish to quote the impeachment regimen directly from the Constitution: “The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” —verbatim.
President Clinton’s alleged criminal acts of perjury and obstruction of justice, in order to be deemed impeachable, must fall under High crimes and misdemeanors. This judgment, based on the rule of law, is the House of Representatives sole responsibility to decide. The House of Representatives sent three articles of impeachment against President Clinton to the Senate for a trial. Regardless of the Senates’ verdict, there has been a serious breach of justice. The methods used to determine the President’s eligibility for impeachment made a mockery of our system. One would expect to see a spectacle of this type in a country based on totalitarian rule where the judges would be afraid of reprisal but not in The United States of America!
Plato once said – “Nothing is more disgraceful than for a man who is nothing, to hold himself honored on account of his forefathers.”
House Republicans and Democrats alike refer to the current institution they belong to as “sacred,” I sincerely believe it used to be. Staunch Republicans and those that want to see Clinton expelled at all costs are saying it was the Democrats that breached the system….. “They wanted to protect their own.” The Democrats, and those that want to see Clinton exonerated at all costs, are saying it was the Republicans that let the system down. Both sides are saying they made a decision based on the Rule of Law. … What a joke!
Two hundred and twenty three out of two hundred and twenty eight of the Republicans voted for the articles while two hundred of the two hundred and five Democrats, voted against…. Ninety seven percent of the “judges” voted along their respective party lines! Does this not smell of “playing the game?” If our forefathers had intended a system “of the party, by the party and for the party,” they would have written it that way! Our system demands impartiality to be a major trait of a judge. If you have ever been considered as a juror, even within the lower courts of this nation, you have personally witnessed how anyone with the slightest hint of bias has been dismissed as unsuitable to sit in judgment. We cannot allow the House to get away with letting prejudice, coercion, and bribery rule this issue. If we do, how long do you think it will be before you and I are judged in the same manner?
Each of us have a tendency to go along with any verdict that happens to agree with the way our own emotions sway. We tend to justify the means so long as we agree with the end. Please do not do this! This is wrong! Our country is based on fair and impartial laws. We have a system that again, demands verdicts based on the rule of law! Other systems decide guilt or innocence based on politics. Think of China, or of Russia, or of Sadam. Don’t you think those countries are laughing at us now? Only history will show the damage this has done not only to our credibility, but also to the very stability of our Constitution… I hope we can survive.
Let us return to the regimen for impeachment. The second reason for impeachment in our Constitution is Bribery. (2) Bribery according to Webster is: “The giving, offering, or accepting of a bribe.” – a Bribe is defined as: “Something of value given or offered as an inducement to do anything wrong.”
It is well accepted that the best and fastest way to advance and in many cases just to survive on Capitol Hill is to “not rock the boat and go with the flow.” We are all aware of how “a favor for a favor” rules the process on Capitol Hill. We have all been tolerant and or apathetic of these games in the past because they have not directly effected us as individuals. These “compromises” have never before had such blatant negative consequences. By definition, most of the members of the House are apparently guilty of bribery in this issue. Is not the lure of advancement something of value? Is extortion not wrong?
“We the people” need a group impeachment “trial” against the members of the House of Representatives. I understand there are laws in effect that protect Congress from prosecution for any decision made while performing their official duties. Was this law’s intention to allow free license for abuse of power? I think not!
How can the criminals try the criminal? Will a fair judgment be decided? Throughout our Constitution, there is the underlying tone of the honesty and integrity of our founding fathers. Our Constitution has been handed down to the current leaders. If our leaders cannot implement the same strength of character, then this most sacred of documents has been turned into an exercise in rhetoric.
Mahatma Ghandi said: “I can retain neither respect nor affection for a Government which has been moving from wrong to wrong in order to defend its immorality.” I pray I am right when I come to the conclusion that there are some members of the house that did vote with integrity on this issue. This indictment is not intended for the innocent.
Those of you innocent of these charges, please do not spout mere words of denial. Please do not spout accusations against your fellow members. Words are cheap. Please help the American people and indeed the world, regain respect and affection for this great country of ours. These are very serious times. The American people have already heard enough rhetoric, we need action!
Is it too much to ask for the Senate to show character and admit America has made a mistake? Is it possible for the Senate to censure the House? Could we then send these articles back for a fair judgment? The Constitution ties us to the House for a judgment of Impeachment. Considering the House is comprised of a majority of Republicans that are historically biased against Democrats and visa versa, could there ever be a fair judgment? What leader will ever be safe from such injustices? If we leave this current procedure in place as it stands, we might as well have a three-member committee to decide on impeachment in the future. The committee would be comprised of two from the majority party and one from the minority. After all, the outcome would be the same, pretenses would be gone, and prejudice and bias would be no more obvious than it has been, plus we could save a lot of time and money.
Who is ultimately responsible for this degradation of our constitution? Most are of the belief that our leaders are responsible. I submit the very person reading this essay is responsible. I am responsible. All of our voting, and especially our eligible non-voting fellow Americans are responsible. Our need to complain without action, our apathy, and our defeatist attitude of “I can’t do anything about it,” undermine the very heart of our Constitution. How many times have you called your Representative to voice your opinion? How many times have you written to your Governor, your mayor, or even your legislator? I have heard many times as you have, “I don’t have the time.” I submit to you that we all have the same amount of time. Time is not allotted on an individual basis. We are all given twenty-four hours a day. How we use that time is up to each of us. We always have time to accomplish what is deemed truly important by each of us. Think of this: If we allow Capitol Hill to make decisions based solely on politics. If we allow Capitol Hill to continue ignoring the rule of our Constitution, If we continue allowing our leaders to make decisions based solely on whether their vote will help them personally or not…we will deserve what we get! The problem of our accepting apathy and rhetoric instead of involvement is that our descendants are the ones that will pay the price!
We are indeed on the “Brink of the Abyss.” Democracy in itself is not a right. It is a privilege. Untold thousands of our predecessors have died to protect this privilege from outside sources. Have they all died in vain? Are “we the people” now going to let it slip away due to internal corruption? There are a few hundred politicians on Capitol Hill that work for us. Of course you are right when you say you can’t change things by yourself! If you could this would be a dictatorship with your picture on the dollar bill! You are wrong when you say you can’t make a difference. Whether you realize it or not, you are making a difference now. By making excuses and not voicing your opinion to our elected officials, you are in essence telling them it’s O.K. to do what they will! How do they know otherwise? It is important for us to discuss politics among ourselves. Do any of our Representatives frequent your local pub or beauty shop? If they don’t, you’re just flapping your gums if you think your daily discussions will matter on Capitol Hill.
There are somewhere around three hundred million American citizens—three hundred million! Each of us over the age of eighteen is entitled to a vote. All of us are entitled to voice our opinion! Do you understand the power this gives us in a democracy? Do you really understand what we are on the brink of losing if we refuse to let ourselves be heard? I have been referring to those on the Hill as our “leaders” throughout this essay, have you noticed? This is unfortunate because I suppose it is currently a true label. I don’t know when it happened but by the mere definition of a democracy we are supposed to be the leaders. Our Representatives are supposed to be the servants. Will you be one of those that let us fall into the abyss of tyranny again or will you voice your opinion to support this great experiment we call The United States of America? The choice is yours. The benefits or penalties of your action or inaction will fall upon your children… and mine.
“There can be no democracy unless it is a dynamic democracy. When … people cease to participate … then all of us will wither in the darkness of decadence—Saul David Alinsky
Our expressed opinion is our right! Our voice is our responsibility! “We the People” is only a rhetorical phrase if we allow it to be! If “We the People” continue to exercise rhetoric instead of acting on the wrongs that are currently in place against our Constitution, I believe we will not be judged very kindly at the Pearly Gates.
“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”—Abraham Lincoln
A – Treasonous crimes as defined by our Constitution (Article III, Section 3.): “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”
B – Bribery, according to Webster: “The giving, offering or accepting of a bribe”; bribe: 1 – “Something of value given or offered as an inducement to do anything wrong. 2 – “Anything that seduces or allures.”
C – High Crimes: Specific charges that this phrase would envelop would take some debate due to its vague nature.
D – Misdemeanors: “Any offense less serious than a felony.”
Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 5.: “The House of Representatives shall chuse their speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.”
Foosis