Salon Newsreal | Endgame?

A L S O+T O D A Y

Impeachment notebook
By Joshua Micah Marshall
Jesse Helms snores, Al Franken gets tossed, House managers look overmatched

Witness for the prosecution?
By Nicholas Confessore
Dick Morris, conspiracy theorist, could find a way to hurt the president again

T A B L E+T A L K
Why do we need a death penalty? Discuss the reasoning behind capital punishment in the Social Issues area of Table Talk
___________________
Visit barnesandnoble.com for politics books on both sides of the aisle
___________________

R E C E N T L Y
Months of sleaze
By Jeff Stein
In an interview, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle says that's what Monica Lewinsky's return to Washington could herald
(01/25/99)
Unequal rights for haters
By Ishmael Reed
White hate groups and their friends get a free pass from the media, while black haters are routinely savaged
(01/23/99)
Black like me
By Joan Walsh
The smearing of White House lawyer Cheryl Mills raised my nationalist ire -- but I'm white
(01/23/99)
Ask Pat Robertson
By James Poniewozik
The reverend says his call to halt impeachment was just "political analysis." A look at Pat Robertson's worldly wisdom
(01/23/99)
Stalking the president
By Mollie Dickenson
Linda Tripp could help Julie Hiatt Steele -- and President Clinton -- refute Kathleen Willey's charges
(01/22/99)
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ENDGAME? | PAGE 1, 2
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But the House managers came back on Saturday with a bold new sortie: They had gotten independent counsel Kenneth Starr to invoke her immunity agreement in order to compel Monica Lewinsky to be interviewed by them. (More than one pundit called it a Hail Mary pass.) In private, of course, Democrats concede that they're quick to depict Republican moves as partisan or shady. But the attempt to bring in Starr to lean on Lewinsky, just as the possibility of witnesses seemed to be fading, caused genuine surprise and even some real outrage on the part of Senate Democrats. Senators who had kept their comments measured and cool let go with words reminiscent of last year's fight in the House.
On Saturday, Tom Daschle told Salon, "They don't get it. They can't help themselves. They have so much venomous hatred towards the president that they're on this path of self-destruction that will lead them ultimately, I think, to an extraordinary demise." Daschle's comments echo a frustration that is heard often on the Democratic side of the aisle. With polls showing the Republicans taking a terrible beating for prolonging the impeachment trial, Democrats are thinking to themselves: How long and how hard do we have to beg them not to adopt a course that will do them immense political damage?
Of course, some Senate Republicans are looking for a way out. Sen. Trent Lott had floated a proposal to skip over the divisive motions to dismiss and to call witnesses, in order to cut straight to a vote on the two articles of impeachment, but he was attacked by his own caucus. On Monday Lott decided to take a different tack, joining with nine other Republican senators to send Clinton 10 questions about the matters at hand, but no one was expecting the president to reply.
Lott also made it clear that the Republicans had the votes to defeat the Byrd motion to dismiss, and that they intended to do so. "We have the votes, I believe, not to dismiss it at this point," Lott told the Associated Press Monday. "I think that is a short-circuiting of the process that would not be fair. The American people would not agree with that." (Actually, given the state of the public opinion polls, if the Democrats could get Lott to say that under oath, they could probably get him for perjury.)
By Monday morning, it was clear that efforts to reach a compromise that would let the Senate forego both a vote on dismissal and on witnesses had failed. The Senate took up Byrd's resolution to dismiss the charges against the president and bring the trial to a halt. White House lawyers and House managers made their respective cases for and against the resolution; but even while they were doing so, attention was shifting toward the upcoming vote on whether to depose witnesses -- the decision that is quickly shaping up to be the decisive vote of the trial. Over the weekend, four to six Senate Republicans indicated they would vote against calling witnesses; Democrats only need a half-dozen defections to put that issue behind them.
Monday ended with a vote, not on the resolution to dismiss, but on whether to set aside the Senate impeachment rules dictating that deliberations be held in closed sessions. After this resolution went down, 57-43, the Senate reconvened in executive session to debate Byrd's motion to dismiss the charges.
The behind-closed-doors discussion was appropriate, symbolically at least, because that's where all meaningful discussions about how to end the trial are now taking place. There is still a possibility that the trial could conclude by the week's end. But this scandal has always moved by its own distinct logic. As the pressures inside the Republican camp grow more intense, expect a long week of confusing, erratic decisions on both sides of the aisle, with more plot twists to come.
SALON | Jan. 26, 1999
Joshua Micah Marshall, associate editor of the American Prospect, is covering the impeachment trial for Salon.

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A L S O+T O D A Y Impeachment notebook By Joshua Micah Marshall Jesse Helms snores, Al Franken gets tossed, House managers look overmatched Witness for the prosecution? By Nicholas Confessore Dick Morris, conspiracy theorist, could find a way to hurt the president again T A B L E+T A L K Why do we need a death penalty? Discuss the reasoning behind capital punishment in the Social Issues area of Table Talk ___________________ Visit barnesandnoble.com for politics books on both sides of the aisle ___________________ R E C E N T L Y Months of sleaze By Jeff Stein In an interview, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle says that's what Monica Lewinsky's return to Washington could herald (01/25/99) Unequal rights for haters By Ishmael Reed White hate groups and their friends get a free pass from the media, while black haters are routinely savaged (01/23/99) Black like me By Joan Walsh The smearing of White House lawyer Cheryl Mills raised my nationalist ire -- but I'm white (01/23/99) Ask Pat Robertson By James Poniewozik The reverend says his call to halt impeachment was just "political analysis." A look at Pat Robertson's worldly wisdom (01/23/99) Stalking the president By Mollie Dickenson Linda Tripp could help Julie Hiatt Steele -- and President Clinton -- refute Kathleen Willey's charges (01/22/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		ENDGAME? \| PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - But the House managers came back on Saturday with a bold new sortie: They had gotten independent counsel Kenneth Starr to invoke her immunity agreement in order to compel Monica Lewinsky to be interviewed by them. (More than one pundit called it a Hail Mary pass.) In private, of course, Democrats concede that they're quick to depict Republican moves as partisan or shady. But the attempt to bring in Starr to lean on Lewinsky, just as the possibility of witnesses seemed to be fading, caused genuine surprise and even some real outrage on the part of Senate Democrats. Senators who had kept their comments measured and cool let go with words reminiscent of last year's fight in the House. On Saturday, Tom Daschle told Salon, "They don't get it. They can't help themselves. They have so much venomous hatred towards the president that they're on this path of self-destruction that will lead them ultimately, I think, to an extraordinary demise." Daschle's comments echo a frustration that is heard often on the Democratic side of the aisle. With polls showing the Republicans taking a terrible beating for prolonging the impeachment trial, Democrats are thinking to themselves: How long and how hard do we have to beg them not to adopt a course that will do them immense political damage? Of course, some Senate Republicans are looking for a way out. Sen. Trent Lott had floated a proposal to skip over the divisive motions to dismiss and to call witnesses, in order to cut straight to a vote on the two articles of impeachment, but he was attacked by his own caucus. On Monday Lott decided to take a different tack, joining with nine other Republican senators to send Clinton 10 questions about the matters at hand, but no one was expecting the president to reply. Lott also made it clear that the Republicans had the votes to defeat the Byrd motion to dismiss, and that they intended to do so. "We have the votes, I believe, not to dismiss it at this point," Lott told the Associated Press Monday. "I think that is a short-circuiting of the process that would not be fair. The American people would not agree with that." (Actually, given the state of the public opinion polls, if the Democrats could get Lott to say that under oath, they could probably get him for perjury.) By Monday morning, it was clear that efforts to reach a compromise that would let the Senate forego both a vote on dismissal and on witnesses had failed. The Senate took up Byrd's resolution to dismiss the charges against the president and bring the trial to a halt. White House lawyers and House managers made their respective cases for and against the resolution; but even while they were doing so, attention was shifting toward the upcoming vote on whether to depose witnesses -- the decision that is quickly shaping up to be the decisive vote of the trial. Over the weekend, four to six Senate Republicans indicated they would vote against calling witnesses; Democrats only need a half-dozen defections to put that issue behind them. Monday ended with a vote, not on the resolution to dismiss, but on whether to set aside the Senate impeachment rules dictating that deliberations be held in closed sessions. After this resolution went down, 57-43, the Senate reconvened in executive session to debate Byrd's motion to dismiss the charges. The behind-closed-doors discussion was appropriate, symbolically at least, because that's where all meaningful discussions about how to end the trial are now taking place. There is still a possibility that the trial could conclude by the week's end. But this scandal has always moved by its own distinct logic. As the pressures inside the Republican camp grow more intense, expect a long week of confusing, erratic decisions on both sides of the aisle, with more plot twists to come. SALON \| Jan. 26, 1999 Joshua Micah Marshall, associate editor of the American Prospect, is covering the impeachment trial for Salon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Become a Salon member. Click here.