Statesman Or Politician
Commentary by Phil Valentine  / October 9, 1998

Yesterday in the House of Representatives an opportunity of historic proportions was laid at the feet of the 105th Congress. A vote as to whether or not Congress would launch an inquiry of impeachment of President Clinton was cast. In the end, all of the Republicans and 31 Democrats had joined together to do the right and proper thing. One-hundred seventy-six Democrats had chosen to place partisan politics above Constitutional duty. I am ashamed to say that all four of the Democrats from my home state of Tennessee were in that number.

The excuses were predictable. They labeled the Republican plan a "political witch hunt" and demanded the public know that they had voted for the Democratic alternative which would have limited the time of the inquiry to the end of this year, the same people who urged us not to rush to judgement. Then they pointed the accusatory finger at Ken Starr, ranting about his 4-year, $40 million investigation. "Why should we need more time than that?" they asked. One need only look to Senator Fred Thompson for the answer. Thompson, whose committee was on the trail of illegal Chinese money, was cut short by the White House's "politicus interruptus" after falling in the trap of making the same deadline deal. The Clinton administration's history of stonewalling, hiding and lying is legendary yet the Democrats in Congress proposed that we trust them just one more time. And let's not forget that Ken Starr has only been investigating the Lewinsky matter since January. Not one of the 176 placed the blame of a protracted inquiry on the President. Not one pointed out that at least $5 million of the famous $40 million could have been saved if President Clinton had only been man enough to admit his mistake instead of repeatedly lying and throwing his best friends and colleagues in front of the bus to save his own fanny.

Now back to the vote. After the Democrats' version of the inquiry went down in flames, Congress was left with a choice. At that point the two paths became very clear. Do you want to do your Constitutional duty and pursue the truth or do you want to be politically expedient and try to block justice by turning away? It is historically crucial moments like this which separate the politicians from the statesmen. Sometimes history can be reported and reshaped to suit the historian. Sometimes facts, dates and recollections can become so muddled that everyone involved can claim honor. But as the sun set on this historic day the cold, hard reality of the roll-call vote echoed throughout the House Chamber. Those 176 members will be forever etched in the history books as the politicians who chose politics over principle and turned away from the truth.