There's Backwards and there's . . .
BurkeWords
There's Backwards and there's . . .
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." - Sir Walter Scott
The web continues to be spun by the Presidential hit team. Their latest victim: Kathleen Willey. With 20-30 spin doctors, her lawyer concedes that there is no way to compete, so she won't try. But the fact that the President's team has to try so hard says a lot.
Here we have a woman around the President's age, with the same party affiliation, who resisted initial subpoenas. She chose to speak out because lives were being ruined by the President. Now her life is being ruined by the President. Yet his supporters have yet to see any pattern of abuse.
Willey has kept a low profile. She hasn't tried to defend herself again and again like someone trying to sell her story. She came across on 60 Minutes as believable and sincere. She was the victim of a sexual assault.
But now, the latest bombshell -- and I don't mean this month's centerfold. Anita Hill and Gloria Steinem have come out to say that Kathleen Willey wasn't sexually harassed. Other feminists have said that it's time for women to grow up already. The President can't be faulted if she didn't tell him "no", nor if she did and he stopped. The President can grope and grab all he want until told otherwise. That's the American Way.
Not that it was the American Way for Sen. Bob Packwood, a man that was driven out of town by feminist outrage -- ironic, for one of the best friends the feminists ever had in Washington. According to accounts, Packwood stopped when he was told to stop, but the outrage came from the sheer volume of women who came forward, around two dozen. By that standard, maybe the President is okay for a good 10 to 15 feels.
Anita Hill defended the President in part to say that you have to take the bad with the good and the good that he has done is so impressive that it's okay to sell out a couple of handfuls of women for the greater good. Sort of like throwing virgins on the pyre to appease the gods.
Not that these women were virgins. Willey was married. Actually, she was widowed. Maybe Bill knew something that she didn't.
But that doesn't explain Packwood. No one in Congress could rival his record on women's issues. Except maybe Teddy Kennedy, but, please, let's not even go there.
There is another difference between Packwood and the President. Packwood turned over his diaries without lengthy court battles. He handed them over to someone that the Democrats claimed was a fair and impartial judge above reproach: Judge Kenneth Starr.
So, to sum up:
My concluding thought:
What remains to be seen in this political web is whether Bull Clinton in the spider or the fly.
Back in the January 6, 1998 edition of Burkewords, I recounted the details of California lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America to allow gays and atheists into their ranks. There was a followup the following week, January 13, 1998 edition noting shrill feminist attorney Gloria Allwet's attempts to decimate the Girl Scouts of America because her client apparantly hates cookies.
Since those original pieces, courts in New Jersey have ruled that the Boy Scouts are a business and therefore must allow gay scoutmasters. Now, California has ruled that the Boy Scouts of America are an organization and can choose their own membership. Gloria Allwet is outraged (what else is new?) because her sexual discrimination suit was filed in California and not in New Jersey.
No word yet on whether she will counsel her client to move.
Look for the Supreme Court to step in and decide the matter sooner or later.
The following statement was recently issued by four former U.S. attorneys general.
As former attorneys general of the United States, we oppose the Independent Counsel Act. We believed in the past, and we believe now, that the United States Department of Justice is capable of investigating all criminal and civil matters involving the United States government. We also believe that the Independent Counsel Act raises serious constitutional issues involving, among other things, separation of powers and due process. However, we also believe in the rule of law. In Morrison v. Olson, the United S tates Supreme Court ruled that the Independent Counsel Act is constitutional. Moreover, in 1994, after the law had lapsed, Congress reauthorized the Independent Counsel Act, and President Clinton signed it into law. Therefore, the Independent Counsel Act is today the law of the land, and it must be enforced.
As former attorneys general, we are concerned that the severity of the attacks on Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and his office by high government officials and attorneys representing their particular interests, among others, appear to have the improper purpose of influencing and impeding an ongoing criminal investigation and intimidating possible jurors, witnesses and even investigators. We believe it is significant that Mr. Starr's investigative mandate has been sanctioned by the Attorney General of th e United States and the Special Division of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Further, Mr. Starr is effectively prevented from defending himself and his staff because of the legal requirements of confidentiality and the practical limitations necessitated by the ongoing investigations.
As former attorneys general, we know Mr. Starr to be an individual of the highest personal and professional integrity. As a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and Solicitor General of the United States, he exhibited exemplary judgment and commitment to the highest ethical standards and the rule of law.
We believe any independent counsel, including Mr. Starr, should be allowed to carry out his or her duties without harassment by government officials and members of the bar. The counsel's service can then be judged, by those who wish to do so, when the results of the investigation and the facts underlying it can be made public.
Griffin B. Bell, Attorney General for President Jimmy Carter
Edwin Meese III, Attorney General for President Ronald Reagan
Richard L. Thornburgh, Attorney General for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush
William P. Barr, Attorney General for President George Bush
This page is Copyright 1998, Christopher J. Burke. All rights reserved.