dits every step of the way. Life is simple:rnClinton was railroaded on trumped-uprncharges at the hands of a Republican Partyrnleadership ready for “payback hme” forrnthe attempted impeachment of PresidentrnNixon.rnWhile party leaders on both sides ofrnthe aisle admonished House members tornvote their conscience, the public properlyrndoubted the sincerity of this display ofrnpolitical civility and duty to oaths of office.rnNever mind insignificant itemsrnsuch as the fact that RepresentativernHeather Wilson (R-New Mexico) declaredrnin debate that, far from subjectingrnher to arm-twisting, no one of either part)rneven asked her how she was planningrnto vote. The entire affair was clearlyrnstaged by Republicans, and that was that.rnHouse Judiciary Committee ChairmanrnHenry Hyde declared at the outsetrnthat a bipartisan decision was needed forrna meaningful outcome. When the votesrnwere in, which party seemed more partisan,rnand which party’s members showedrnthe greater tendency to vote their individualrnconsciences?rnSimple arithmetic and common sensernare the only tools needed to reveal thatrnthe dark forces of evil were not as the expertsrnwould have them. There’s no needrnfor “scientific sampling:” Fourth gradernarithmetic reveals the truth.rnWhat follows are the data on thernDemocrahc and Republican votes castrnfor each of the four Articles of Impeachment.rn(The total votes do not add up torn435 because one member was not present,rnand the vote of the one Independentrnmember is not germane to this analysis.)rnOn Article One: Republicans, 22? yearn(51.5 percent of the total vote), five nayrn(1.2 percent); Democrats, five yea (1.2rnpercent), 200 nay (46.2 percent). On ArticlernTwo: Republicans, 200 yea (46.2rnpercent), 28 nay (6.5 percent); Democrats,rnfive yea (1.2 percent), 200 nayrn(46.2 percent). On Ardcle Three: Republicans,rn216 yea (49.9 percent), 12 nayrn(2.8 percent); Democrats, five yea (1.2rnpercent),*200 nay (46.2 percent). On ArticlernFour: Republicans, 147 yea (33.9rnpercent), 81 nay (18.7 percent); Democrats,rnone yea (.2 percent), 204 nay (47.1rnpercent). The total vote on the four articlesrnbreaks down as follows: Republicans,rn786 yea (45.4 percent), 126 nayrn(7.3 percent); Democrats, 16 yea (.9 percent),rn804 nay (46.4 percent).rnThese figures provide a whole lot ofrngrist for the grinding on either side of therndebate. For example. Democrats canrnpoint to the fact that, had the four articlesrnbeen considered as a single item, therernwould have been no impeachment. Butrnit only takes a single article to impeach,rnand the President was impeached on twornof the four.rnHowever, the figures certainly do notrnshow that the Republicans voted as automatons.rnTheir yea votes ranged fromrn147 to 223, a difference of 76, while thernDemocrats’ nay votes ranged from 200 torn204, a difference of four. The Republicanrnnay votes ranged from 5 to 81, butrnthe Democratic yeas ranged only fromrnone to five. In other words, thernDemocrats voted as a solid bloc, whichrnshould prove very embarrassing to thosernwho claim that the Republican leadershiprnheld its members to some oath ofrnobedience. These simple numbers arernthere for everyone to see, even politicalrnanalysts and syndicated columnists. Butrnthose who do not wish to see will, ofrncourse, not bother to look. Who wouldrnwant to be confused by the facts?rnLet’s assume, for a moment, that thernpundits are right, and the Republicanrnleadership did attempt to enforce strictrnparty discipline in the impeachment proceedings.rnHow successfrd were they? Ofrnthe 228 Republican congressmen, 22?rn(or 97.8 percent) voted for Article One;rn200 (87.7 percent) voted for Article Two;rn216 (94.7 percent) voted for ArticlernThree; and 147 (64.5 percent) voted forrnArticle Four. Overall, 786 Republicanrnvotes, or 86.2 percent, were cast for thernfour articles. But what about thernDemocrats, who presumably were free tornvote their consciences? Of the 205rnDemocratic congressmen, 200 (or 97.6rnpercent) voted against Article One; 200rn(97.6 percent) voted against Article Two;rn200 (97.6 percent) voted against ArticlernThree; and 204 (99.5 percent) votedrnagainst Article Four. Overall, 804rnDemocratic votes, or 98 percent, wererncast against the four articles.rnUnder the pundits’ presumption thatrnthe Republican leadership wanted itsrnmembers to vote for impeachment, itrnwould seem that the members followedrnthe party line an average of only 86.2rnpercent of the tiiue, while thernDemocrats averaged an astounding 98rnpercent obedience. Or is it just that thernDemocrats’ consciences are really thatrnconstant?rnThe next time you hear that the Republicansrnvoted as their party leaders dictatedrnand did not vote their consciences,rnremember that Republican votes defeatedrnArticles Two and Four, and that ArticlernThree passed only with help from thernDemocrats. So much for the politicalrnwisdom of the “talking heads.”rn—Robert j . WisnerrnT H E IMPEACHMENT of WilliamrnJefferson Clinton poses a serious threat tornthe prosperity of our economy, the stabilityrnof our government, and the peace ofrnthe entire world. That, more or less, isrnthe line being taken by the Democraticrnleadership. Whatever Messrs. Gephardt,rnDaschle, and Moynihan may think privatelyrnof the President’s fihiess to retainrnhis office, they are resolved, in public atrnleast, to treat the prospect of his removalrnas a constitutional crisis.rnTo salve their conscience and preserverneven a particle of dignity, somernDemocratic senators have made a showrnof condemning Mr. Clinton’s disgustingrnbehavior. There are even suckers outrnhere in Middle America who took SenatorrnLieberman seriously as the liberalrnconscience of his party. Eventually,rnhowever, Lieberman and company resortrnto the same cliches as their less dignifiedrncolleagues: Adultery, sexual harassment,rnkinky sex, lying, perjury,rnobstruction of justice (“and them,” asrnSaphire used to tell the Kingfish, “is yourrngood points”), and whatever else hernmight have done in his entirely despicablerncareer do not constihite grounds forrnexpulsion from office.rnIt is in vain that the House Republicansrnpoint out that any other federal officialrnor military officer would have beenrngiven the boot a long time ago. After all,rnit is the office of the presidency tiiat is atrnstake and not just the future of one careerrnpolitician. Most of these statements canrnbe discounted on the usual “consider thernsource” basis. Dick Gephart has takenrnboth sides of virtually every major issuernthat has come up before Congress, fromrnabortion to taxes, and when the HousernDemocrats gave him a standing ovation,rnit was as if they were all saying “One ofrnus, one of us.” At least they’re not hypocrites:rnModern liberals exult in theirrnshame.rnSenator Moynihan is a different story.rnHe is often pig-headed in a bad cause,rnbut he is also a bleeding-heart liberalrnwho has over the years cauterized somernof the wounds, a two-fisted debater withrnan enormous capacity for argument andrnan Irishman’s thirst for truth. There is atrnMARCH 1999/7rnrnrn