Impeach Bill Clinton

The Road Goes Ever On
    By Rob Huelin

I purchased The Boston Globe on Sat., Oct 4, in the grandiose hope of learning if Atlanta had beaten Houston when a more important issue reared its ugly head. There on the front page was Attorney General Janet Reno under a headline announcing the continuing investigation into Al Gore's campaign finance shenanigans. I read the piece with interest, noting with some disgust that President Clinton, LAW '73, was not being investigated further due to a lack of evidence. Why, I wondered, are they still blind to the fact that this man was consciously breaking the law? Or are they all so hopelessly corrupt that they would protect him in spite of the law?

Far from alone in my thoughts, and curious to know the prevailing mood, I have been making an effort to follow the saga of pettiness and stupidity that may come to define the Clinton White House. Imagine my amazement as the commentators try to deflect criticism with talk of how Reagan and Bush did the same thing. Imagine my horror as fellow Democrats use that excuse, along with some vague argument about the Republicans being equally bad, some nonsense about needing to win to save the country, and a whole host of other absurdities to justify the actions of the president.I can't begin to express my dismay at the apathy of the entire nation toward this monumental problem.

No, I don't mean campaign finance reform, although I do think that there is a real need for an overhaul (preferably one that limits campaign spending to a fixed total--the Supreme Court be damned). I'm talking about an attitude that says this is how government works, and we should all stop worrying about it. Well folks, this is not how government is designed to work, and we should all be very afraid.

Our government is based not on a two-party system but on the ideal of local representation. The Constitution makes no provision for parties. While I admit that it is impractical to abolish them, it is also dangerous to give parties too much credence. Laws against using government property to conduct party activities exist not out of some naïve idea of the noble citizen-legislator, uncorrupted and uninfluenced, but as a way to maintain the very necessary division between politial party structures that exist to gain power and fulfill an agenda and a government that is designed to maintain order and protect the populace from invasion. The government would still work without parties, or with an independent president. It would work because it has to, because nowhere in the job description of a senator does it say that he or she is responsible for furthering his or her party's agenda.

All this seems obvious, right? Why don't we all start acting on these ideas? Far too many people think that government is about Democrats and Republicans, not about uniting behind a common interest. Democrats who stick by President Clinton have completely lost sight of what being a Democrat is about. Clinton represents me--my interests and my needs. If he fails to do that, party or not, he should no longer enjoy my support.

Beyond just considering their party over their constituents, some politicians act like they are above the law. We seem to accept now that the Democrats and Republicans need to do certain things, legal or not, to get elected and further party interests, or my interests, or your interests. Well, that is wrong. Politicians are not "special" in any sense. They are average people--civilians all. This means the law they produce should apply to them as much as to the rest of us.

Finally, in addition to creating misplaced loyalty and an odd sense of hero-worship, the devotion to party has blinded too many to real political activism. Politics is not about working for the betterment of a party or trying to guarantee power to one half of the electorate over the other. It is about the free exchange of ideas for the purpose of generating a better society. This requires trust and patience--trust in your fellow man to acheive a common goal and patience to come to an agreement. A party that exists to oppose another party will never acheive this. There can be no compromise with your enemy.

My solution? Impeach President Clinton. The President must embody the ideal of the public servant--someone working for the good of everybody. Instead, Clinton is the ideal of a party hack--someone who made all the connections, refused to acknowledge the role of the opposition (at first), and believes in very little except power. Last year I asked people to vote for Clinton because I felt that the other party was wrong in its ideas and I wanted someone to stand as a check on their influence. Clinton could serve that role, but instead it seems as if he put himself and his power above the law, and sanctioned violations of the law to protect that power. If this is the case, he must be thrown out. I would rather have a government run by people with whom I disagree on every issue than one run by a tyrant of my own choosing.

Our politicians need to understand that they are not members of a party first, second, or third. Winning elections is not about giving power to a party but to an individual. People need to rediscover this truth--to believe that they are a voice of power because the government is dependent on personal action. Once they see that as the case, maybe they will win real representation.

So let's sacrifice Clinton on the altar of power--and let him be a warning. The people of this nation have long prided themselves on having a government of the people and for the people. Let the ruin of the Clinton presidency be a reminder that we, the people, must remain vigilant against complacency if we wish to remain free. So when you see "the Party" trying to defend itself as a victim of the system, remember--the "system" is our right to have truly open elections based on ideas and personalities and the problem is the party's need to fight for power. The only victims are ourselves--to the tyranny of collectivist politics.

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