One Utah

…at least when the President is getting some.

Following are excerpts from statements of House members debating a recommendation by the Judiciary Committee to allow the committee to begin a formal impeachment inquiry into President Clinton’s conduct.

Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT): Senators, we as Americans and legislators have never supported a legal system which has one set of laws for the ruler and another for the ruled. After all, our very Pledge of Allegiance binds us together with the language ”liberty and justice for all.

If that is the case, if we intend to live up to our oaths and pledges we take, then our very own President must be subject to the precedents our national judicial system and this Senate body have heretofore set. Because I love this country and its institutions, I pray for inspiration for each of you as you seek the proper legitimate outcome. May God bless you in this process.

Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.): Today we will vote on an historic resolution to begin an inquiry into whether the president has committed impeachable offenses. … We’re pulled by many competing forces, but mostly we’re moved by our consciences. We must listen to that still small voice that whispers in our ear, “Duty, duty, duty.”

If substantial and credible evidence of other impeachable offenses comes to us, as the independent counsel hinted or suggested in a letter we received only yesterday, the Constitution will demand that we do our duty.

Believe me, nobody wants to end this any sooner than I do. But the Constitution demands that we take the amount of time necessary to do the right thing in the right way.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.):

What’s at stake here is the rule of law. Even the president of the United States has no right to break the law….[If we don't impeach] The result will be a return to the imperial presidency of the Nixon era, where the White House felt that the laws did not apply to them, since they never would be punished. That would be a national tragedy of immense consequences. . . .

Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.): . . . I believe that this nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law.

Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.

Shall we follow the rule of law and do our constitutional duty no matter unpleasant, or shall we follow the path of least resistance, close our eyes to the potential lawbreaking, forgive and forget, move on and tear an unfixable hole in our legal system? No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That’s the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.

The president has many responsibilities and many privileges. His chief responsibility is to uphold the laws of this land. He does not have the privilege to break the law. . .

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.): . . . Our laws promise a remedy against sexual harassment. But if we say that lying about sex in court is acceptable or even expected, then we have made our sexual harassment laws nothing more than a false promise; a fraud upon our society, upon our legal system and upon women. . . .

The president is a citizen with the same duty to follow the laws as all other citizens. The world marvels that our president is not above the law, and my vote today helps assure that this rule continues. With a commitment to the principles of the rule of law which makes this country the beacon of hope for political refugees like myself throughout the world, I cast my vote in favor of the resolution to undertake an impeachment inquiry of the conduct of the president of the United States.

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.): . . . Of course, we do want to move along to important issues facing the country. We do want to restore freedom in health care. We do want to secure the future of Medicare and Social Security, and we do want to continue the progress toward balancing the budget. All of those things we want to do.

But I would ask my colleagues to consider this: Really, this is the crucial business of the country. This is the crucial business. As we go into the next century, the question is does the truth even matter?

Now, some would say just move along. It doesn’t matter. Just move along. But if you move along, what you’re leaving aside is serious allegations of serious crimes. . . .

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.): . . . The global economy is crumbling, and we’re talking about Monica Lewinsky!

Saddam Hussein hides weapons, and we’re talking about Monica Lewinsky!

Genocide wracks Kosovo, and we’re talking about Monica Lewinsky!

Children cram into packed classrooms, and we’re talking about Monica Lewinsky!

Families can’t pay their medical bills, and we’re talking about Monica Lewinsky! . . .

The president betrayed his wife. He did not betray the country. God help this nation if we fail to recognize the difference.

Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.): . . . Earlier today, one of my colleagues said that this would be the most divisive issue since the Vietnam War. While he may believe that to be true, I take strong exception with that, and I’ll tell you why. Men and women were sent overseas like every other war or military conflict since our nation’s birth, to defend the rule of law, the notions of personal freedom and individual liberty.

And in the case before us today, we’re asking a simple question: “Did the president of the United States violate any of those rules of law that we cherish and that so many men and women have died for and are willing to die for at every point around the globe?”

I don’t want to be here today, like so many of my colleagues. But the generations of Americans yet unborn must look back on this day in this matter, in this situation, and see this as our finest hour. . . .

This entry was posted Wednesday, December 13th, 2006 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Chris Cannon, Impeachment, Republicans, The Constitution. Both comments and pings are currently closed.