BurkeWords

In this issue:

• Open It Up!

During the Senate trial, deliberations were held in secret according to rules put in place 130 years ago. There were calls to change those rules and open the debate to the public (and the awaiting TV cameras). I was firmly against it.

I didn't think that the impeachment process needed 100 senators grandstanding for the cameras, using the totality of their alloted time to speak not to their fellow senators nor the Chief Justice but rather to the evening news anchors and their constituents in the form of blurbs and sound bytes, perfect for pull quotes and re-election commercials.

On the contrary, they needed to talk in private like normal people talking to -- and debating with -- other normal people, without regard to agenda, fame and campaigning. They also needed to move things along, and it's amazing how fast politicians realize that they have nothing to say when they discover that the camera has been turned off.

And, in the end, the votes that end their debates were voice votes held on the record for all to see. All that mattered was knowing that they had gotten there, and what that final vote turned out to be.

But for the final deliberation, the opposite is true.

This will be the time to come forward into the light. This is when all of history will be watching. This is the moment that we cannot allow any senator on either side of the aisle to hide. No man or woman should be allowed to leave that chamber with a simple Aye or Nay. We need reasons, stating in all their grand pomposity. And they will be remembered.

The Democrats also hope that by rebuking this impeached president repeatedly, they can force the issue of censure. They believe they can give themselves a cushion to use when they explain to the voters back home why they chose to leave the president in power.

I welcome their efforts. I welcome 45 Democrat senators rising on the floor of that distinguished chamber to state what a horrible individual Bill Clinton is. I welcome all of America in listening to that repitition ad nauseam, so that when it is over, they will truly understand that our impeached president is a despicable human being.

And then they'll wonder . . .

They'll wonder why this lowlife in still in power. They'll wonder why the Democrats left him there if he is so rotten. They'll wonder why they'll come to his aid and rescue and support for the next two years. They'll wonder why Al Gore would be proud to serve under him. They'll wonder "Do we really want any of these people around?" And they'll answer that question one way or another.

But there's more to it than that.

In private, Republicans are free to wimp out. Free to just go along with the perceived majority opinion. Free to turn their backs and our stomachs. Free to give in without fighting or fear of reprisals. Free to say that they're making the right decision, without backing it up.

Let them back it up. Let them go out on the Senate floor and defend themselves. Let them look upon the House Managers and state unequivocally their support of their efforts and their blatant disregard for the facts before them. Let them give the words of encouragement to the other senators on the floor that they made the right decision. Or let them shame themselves in disgrace so that all will know that their days in that august body are numbered.

Whether the effort to remove this impeachmed president is to fly or fail, let every voice be heard now and forever why it should be so.

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