The Treacherous Impeachers Who Got Off Scott Free

Most of the Senate Republicans who attempted a partisan coup by voting to impeach Bill Clinton on February 12, 1999 are dead or otherwise gone from the U.S. Senate. The only senators who voted for impeachment who are up for re-election in November are Thad Cochran (R-MS), Mike Enzi (R-WY), James Inhofe (R-OK), Miss McConnell (R-KY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Gordon Smith (R-OR)... oh, and, of course, fake-moderate John McCain.

Many of the radical right members of the House Judiciary Committee who dragged the country into that needless trauma are also rotting in hell (or otherwise gone from Congress), although the ones still disgracing that body-- and up for re-election-- are James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Howard Coble (R-NC), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Bob Inglis (R-SC), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Steve Buyer (R-IN), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC, now a senator), Mary Bono Mack (R-CA).

The following year three of the worst far right attack dogs, James Rogan (D-CA), Jay Dickey (R-AR), and Brian Bilbray (R-CA), were defeated in their re-election bids. Not realizing he would immediately join the Blue Dogs and then conspire with Bush and Cheney the attack and occupy Iraq, I supported Adam Schiff's successful bid to beat Rogan-- who he beat by 9 points. The year before another vicious, far right Republican maniac, Mike Pappas (R-NJ)-- the Scott Garrett of his day-- was captured on tape singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Kenneth Starr" on the House floor and New Jersey voters woke up and replaced him by a previously unknown Princeton physicist, Rush Holt.

There are a lot of reasons to defeat a lot of Republicans in November: what you pay for gas, the endless war in Iraq, rubber stamping as a form of governance, inflation, unemployment, the mortgage crisis and other deregulation catastrophes, the lack of immigration reform, unfair tax policies... or you can just look at your 401K-- or at a recent appraisal value of your home.

And I want to suggest something else... a little unfinished business. Why should these lunatics who were willing to put their own blood lust ahead of the well-being of the nation still be in Congress? Many are in hopelessly red districts or states where there is little that can be done... but not all of them. Dan Burton (R-IN), one of the worst and most bigoted and stupid reactionaries in the history the House of Representatives, referred to Clinton as "a scumbag," but many voters in his carefully gerrymandered 93% white district in the middle of Indiana, have no problem with that at all. There are, however, some targets of opportunity to consider.

Our best bet in the Senate-- although both James Inhofe and Mitch McConell could be vulnerable-- is Gordon Smith, who deceitfully paints himself as a "moderate" and "bipartisan" while pulling off stunts like this without Oregon voters remembering. This year, though, Smith is in deep trouble with the voters and he's running against one of the best candidates the Democrats have put up anywhere, Jeff Merkley. Bill and Hillary should go to Oregon and campaign with Jeff. Smith deserves it.

In the House, there are dozens of Republicans who are long past being held accountable but could be now: Virgil Goode (R-VA, who was a nominal Democrat when he voted for impeachment), Don Young (R-AK), John Shadegg (R-AZ), Brian Bilbray (R-CA, back in a new district), Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), David Dreier (R-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Tom Latham (R-IA), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Steve Chabot (R-OH), and Frank Wolf (R-VA)-- a dozen vulnerable Republican hypocrites.

Today we launched a new ActBlue page called The Impeachers dedicated to helping raise money for a two Senate candidates and a dozen House candidates running against people who voted to impeach Bill Clinton. What they have in common, is that they are all candidates who can win their races-- and make Congress and America better places. Everyone who donates today (Monday) will be entered into a drawing to win one of six (Georgie's Outta Here) Party-In-A-Box sets.