-Caveat Lector- >From Int'l Herald Tribune Paris, Saturday, January 2, 1999 Republican on Impeachment Tightrope Lott Presses for Speed, Angering Right Wing ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Thomas B. Edsall Washington Post Service ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WASHINGTON - In floating a trial balloon aimed at bringing a swift conclusion to impeachment proceedings, the leader of the Senate Republican majority, Trent Lott of Mississippi, has embarked on a risky political path that has already provoked the Republican right. Mr. Lott is gambling that it is worth angering hard-line House members, his party's conservative wing and Republican activists in his home state to protect vulnerable Republican senators facing tough re-election fights in 2000, according to Republicans and Democrats involved in the process. The majority leader has consulted with more than two dozen Republican senators in recent days as part of an outreach campaign that has had his ''phone lines burning,'' in the words of an aide, but not yet produced a workable consensus on how Republicans will proceed with the politically incendiary impeachment issue when they return to Washington on Wednesday. Adapting a bipartisan proposal crafted by Senators Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and Slade Gorton, Republican of Washington, Mr. Lott hopes to encourage a speedy end to an impeachment drama that polls say the public long ago grew weary of by dividing the trial into two distinct phases. In the first phase, the Senate would hear the equivalent of opening arguments from House prosecutors and President Bill Clinton's defense team, then cast votes on whether the alleged offenses - even if true - warrant the president's removal from office. Only if two-thirds of the Senate voted ''yes,'' which most vote-counters regard as unlikely, would the trial enter a second phase with a presentation of evidence. The most likely option, senators say, would be a motion to end the case with a resolution of censure against Mr. Clinton. Critics of Mr. Lott's still tentative decision said it would allow Mr. Clinton to avoid a lengthy Senate trial and the embarrassment of direct testimony by Monica Lewinsky and others, preventing an opportunity to make a more convincing case to the public of Mr. Clinton's culpability and the legitimacy of removing him from office. Mr. Lott remains in seclusion from the press and his aides have little to say about the rationale of his impeachment strategy. Others, however, were not so reticent. ''This is very discouraging,'' said Clark Reed, a driving force in build-ing the Mississippi Republican Party over the past three and a half decades and who is a close associate of Mr. Lott's. ''Frankly, I'm torn my own self as to which way to raise hell.'' Connie Cochran, executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party, said many voters had called headquarters to complain that because of Mr. Lott there may be no full-scale examination of the charges against Mr. Clinton. Gary Bauer, head of the conservative Family Research Council, simultaneously criticized Mr. Lott while giving an indirect boost to his own prospective Republican presidential bid: ''I've been concerned overall about a lack of leadership in the party for some time now. I think the vacuum left by Ronald Reagan has never been filled both in commitment to ideas and in courage in pushing against the tide.'' In Mr. Lott's political calculus, however, the irritation of Mr. Bauer and Mr. Reed are far outweighed by the need to protect the re-election prospects of such Republican senators as Rod Grams of Minnesota, John Ashcroft of Missouri, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Spencer Abraham of Michigan and James Jeffords of Vermont. Partisans on both sides of the aisle pointed out that these and a number of other Republican senators up in 2000 face re-election in states where Democratic challengers could capitalize on impeachment proceedings. ''He is acting in behalf of his most immediate constituency, his 55 Republican senators. He is acting as leader of his own party,'' a senior Democratic Senate aide said. In the states likely to have close races for Republican incumbents, impeachment ''is not a popular position with general election voters.'' The aide contended that conservatives and strong Republican partisans ''can't hold a grudge when at the end of the day you have some vote that a member will be accountable for.'' Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, incoming chairman of the Rules Committee, defended Mr. Lott. ''He views his role here as majority leader of the whole Senate,'' Mr. McConnell said. ''Almost no one is viewing this as a partisan exercise.'' In fact, one Senate source close to the negotiations over impeachment proceedings contended that one of Mr. Lott's goals was to prevent a repetition of the kind of battle that turned impeachment into a partisan war in the House: ''He looked back on the House and said, 'There but for the grace of God go we.' We have other business to conduct and the Senate is a very personal place. If a bitter partisan divide is implanted in the Senate, it's very tough to dislodge and no business can get done.'' Not all impeachment hawks were critical of Mr. Lott. One Republican poll taker, Bill McInturff, said: ''It's simple. In the Senate, it takes a two-thirds vote. If there is never going to be a two-thirds vote, then there is a calculation just how long do you want to pursue'' a trial to remove Mr. Clinton from office. ''If it was just a majority vote in the Senate,'' he added, ''we would be having a very different conversation.'' When Mr. Lott became majority leader in March 1996, he signaled the start of a sober, nonconfrontational period. ''In '95, we were new, we were exuberant, we were excited, maybe a little out of control,'' he said. ''Now, everything is different.'' He added: ''We are not going to look for a reason to fight. We're going to look for a way to get things done.'' This kind of thinking has continued, influencing his current posture on the impeachment proceedings in the view of a number of people. One Democrat noted, ''Lott has been the one who had to deal with the catastrophes wrought by the House, beginning with the government shutdowns. His solution was to make deals and pass legislation.'' In this assessment, Mr. Lott's emphasis on passing legislation in 1996 to counter the image of the Republicans generated by the 1995-96 government shutdowns was crucial to Republicans' success in holding their House majority. A Republican familiar with Mr. Lott's thinking said: ''He is not inclined to blow up the place'' over impeachment. ''It's not in the Senate's interest or in the party's interest to do that.'' For Mr. Lott, the crucial political test will be working out the details of an impeachment proceedings strategy that can win majority support from the Republican caucus. Few believe he would try to impose rules governing the trial with just a minority of Republicans allied with the 45 Democrats. But a number of sources noted that prospects for getting a majority of Republican senators to agree to his plan look reasonably good. They pointed out that only a small number of senators have staked out hard-line positions demanding a full-scale trial, suggesting that Mr. Lott may not encounter intractable opposition. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
