William F. Buckley, Jr. On The Question Of Impeachment

The arguments in favor of impeaching President William Jefferson Clinton (to follow the idiom of the Articles voted by the Judiciary Committee) come down to this.

1) His behavior was disreputable. He deceived the courts and the American people.

2) The gravity of his offense is best measured by the disgusted attention that has been given to what he did.

3) The arguments in his defense have been semantic and legalistic. The argument that the Constitution forbids the process now underway is sheer advocacy based on opportunistic exegesis.

4) The objection that the American people are opposed to impeachment ignores culture lags of historical frequency, including general opposition to the liberation of the slaves, to full participation in the war against Hitler, and to the need to take action against Iraq in 1991.

5) the true test of the stability of the Constitution is in its usefulness in liberating the country from miscast faith in a failed leader.

6) The profiles of courage, in the contemporary scene, will highlight the Republican and Democratic Congressmen who summon the courage to do the right things.

-- Wm. F. Buckley Jr.