Impeachment is our job too

By Alan Keyes

In the life of a nation as in that of an individual there are moments of
decision that, for better or worse, determine once and for all their fate. In the days ahead, through our representatives in Congress, we will come to such a moment. In and of themselves, Bill Clinton’s perjuries and his sordid disregard for public conscience and decency constitute an assault on the Constitution and the moral foundations of decent family life. The lawless arguments of his defenders, in and outside of the Congress, however, add to his offenses an additional assault on the concepts of equal justice and the rule of law that are vital to our liberty. Given the gravity of the issues involved, we have the right to expect that our representatives will treat the issue of Clinton’s felonies and misconduct with the utmost gravity. Instead, most

Democrats and even some unprincipled Republicans act as if it can be decided by opinion polls and cowardly calculations of political expediency.

If we care for our nation, if we mean to preserve our Constitution and
our institutions of self-government, we must do all we can to prevent the victory of these corrupt politicos. It may be that we cannot affect the callused consciences of the Clinton Democrats, but we can applaud the steely integrity of the Democrats willing to stand against them. We can especially influence the unprincipled calculus of many Republicans. They lament their losses in the last election. The truth is they remain,

however tenuously, in control of the Congress despite their record of moral retreat and fiscal debauchery, only because some Americans saw them as the only hope for action with integrity on the impeachment issue. We must make it unmistakably clear to them that if they fail now to take such action, we will not forget their cowardice or forgive them for allowing the destruction of the principles of law and decent conscience on which our liberty depends.

It is therefore vitally important that Americans of conscience and integrity bring maximum pressure to bear upon their Congressional representatives as the impeachment process lurches toward its final act.

We must communicate by all available means our insistence that the rule of law be respected, along with the oath each of our representatives has

sworn to uphold, protect and defend the Constitution. Clinton has forsworn his oath. Will they also perjure themselves? We must make it clear that no one who does will ever again win our support, and that we will do all we can to defeat them in the next election and drive them, every one of them, from office.

Over the past week, many, many grass roots Americans have been conveying that message. And over the weekend it began to be clear how effective we have been. Trent Lott began to predict a Senate trial for Bill
Clinton, and other Republican leaders spoke just as firmly of the duty of the House to impeach. I think what we heard from these Republicans was the sound of backbone snapping into place. And the chiropractor that has been working on that backbone to get it to snap back where it belongs has been the grass roots Americans who have been calling, writing, and calling again, to make clear to their representatives that we simply will not accept anything short of performance according to constitutional duty.

But we should not forget for a moment that Republican backbone snapping
into place is the result of the pressure that we have been putting on the Republicans in Congress. In the last two weeks the uprising that has taken place in the grass roots of the Republican Party has had a decisive positive impact.

What does this mean? I think that it means that we need more of the same. This is not the time to stop, but to redouble our efforts. We need to call again and again and again, so that they will know that we are watching, and that we are not going to be satisfied until right is done.

We should be reminded of the critical importance of removing Bill Clinton from office by a disturbing event that took place last week. Right now in the military there is strong sentiment not only of contempt

for Bill Clinton, but also of resentment that those in uniform have been

held to a higher standard than the commander in chief — even though he is the one in the position of passing judgment on their behavior. And several members of the military have spoken out about this painful irony

at the risk of their careers. We should not take this lightly, because in order to speak out these individuals have taken on great personal risk. This week one of them was formally punished for criticizing the president — a career-ending letter of caution was placed in his file.

We can sometimes treat our national time of trouble almost as though it
were an entertainment spectacle. But this is not so. These are extremely important issues, for which individuals of courage and integrity are putting their careers on the line. This is one of the reasons that we need to consider our citizen responsibility with the utmost seriousness as the attempt to impeach Bill Clinton proceeds. Particular men in the military have suffered and will continue to suffer

real consequences because they are standing for truth with integrity. Honorable people, who do accept the discipline of their oaths, are being

asked to obey a commander in chief who is a dishonorable man, and who does not respect his oath. And this is very, very galling to the people of honor and decency in the military ranks. We need to help them.

The least that we can do under these circumstances is to pay attention,
get the information we need, and do our job to put pressure on our representatives to relieve our military people of the burden of this shameful situation. I believe that it is our responsibility to relieve them of this burden — they should not be forced to suffer under this humiliation.

And there is only one way to do that — we must move our representatives
to act with integrity to carry out their constitutional duty and remove this unfit character from the office of President of the United States.

Judging by statements that we have been hearing recently from Republicans in Congress, the influence and articulate pressure of grass roots Republicans across the country appear to have resulted in a Republican majority that is finally beginning to consolidate around the right position. But believe me, they won’t remain consolidated all the way through the vote of the whole House if we don’t stay vigilant and active — making at least two phone calls each day and whatever else we can do to make it clear to our representatives how important we know that this is.

Call the Capitol switchboard and urge your own representative, the members of the Republican leadership, and any Republicans that the press

indicates are wavering, to remember their duty and the consequences of their failure to accomplish it at this critical moment.

We must not underestimate the impact we are having. But if we don’t want our representatives to drop the ball, then we must keep working now. Because we are helping to produce a decision that — while it won’t

save the country — will at least save our opportunity to save it.

We must strive to do our utmost to rally our fellow Americans to the cause of this Republic’s survival in freedom. We must oppose lawlessness and impeach Bill Clinton, so that we can save our national conscience and Constitution. If we are faithful to our true principles and the will of our Creator, we will prevail.

Alan Keyes

Once a high-level Reagan-era diplomat, Alan Keyes is a long-time leader in the conservative movement. He is well-known as a staunch pro-life champion and an eloquent advocate of the constitutional republic, including respect for the moral basis of liberty and self-government. He has worked to promote an approach to politics based on the initiative of citizens of goodwill consonant with the with the principles of God-endowed natural right. Read more of Alan Keyes's articles here.