I opposed Bill Clinton’s impeachment and I don’t regret it

There are certainly some Democrats who lionized Clinton as a human being, and a somewhat larger number who do so today. I was not among them. The revelation that he put the liberal agenda at risk by having sex with an intern was widely greeted with disgust, as was the insight into his grossness as a man. One of my friends at the time quipped, “I’m against impeachment, but in favor of suicide.” The public gave Clinton high job-approval ratings and low personal favorable ratings, reflecting a broad ability to distinguish between his policies and his character. In 2000, the Democratic nominee, Al Gore, steered clear of Clinton and chose as his running mate Joe Lieberman, the Democrat most known for forcefully denouncing the president’s morality.

Advertisement

I wish we liberals had done more to take seriously the episodes of alleged rape and sexual assault that were not the basis for a national impeachment trauma. For better or worse, though, those episodes were not at issue. It’s hard to change the subject when Congress is conducting proceedings to impeach and remove the president. At issue was the procedural extremism of a Republican Party that was transforming before our eyes into the uncompromising fanatic faction whose character is fully manifest in the party of Donald Trump and Roy Moore. I don’t think we got that wrong at all.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement