Impeachment and conviction shouldn’t be only about conduct that satisfies a criminal statute. Impeachment and conviction shouldn’t be about strictly a political question. Impeachment and conviction should also involve questions of morality. No, a president shouldn’t be removed from office for committing adultery. Addultrey is wrong, but it’s not immoral enough to rise to the level of removal from office wrong. Questions of morality should impact impeachment when moral failings have taken place around a president’s official duties and responsibilities. to demonstrate this point, let’s discuss Bill Clinton.
Despite what his too numerous defenders want us to believe, Bill Clinton’s impeachment wasn’t about oral sex. Nor was it about adultery. Bill Clinton’s impeachment was about perjury. Testifying before a federal grand jury, Bill Clinton repeatedly lied under oath.
Under the Constitution, the president is charged with faithfully executing the laws of our nation. Many Americans have served time for committing perjury. Bill Clinton was disbarred and lost his ability to practice law. Yet, his perjury, which would have wound up putting many in prison, resulted in millions rushing to his defense.
True, he lied about purely personal, embarrassing things. But he also did many morally wrong, embarrassing things. Bill Clinton didn’t have to abuse an intern less than half his age. When she told the truth, Bill Clinton didn’t have to lie and infer she was mentally unstable.
Bill Clinton was the most powerful man in the world. Bill Clinton was a married man. Bill Clinton targeted someone he thought would be easy to manipulate and control into satisfying him. When the story broke, he lied to the American public, he lied under oath, and he insinuated she was a crazy slut.
Bill Clinton should have been removed from office. Bill Clinton abused his power and broke the laws he was charged to faithfully execute. By failing to remove Clinton from office, Democrats helped establish the sad reality that morality has no place in American politics. By helping establish a politic free of morality and not concerned with honesty, Democrats contributed to a politic that wasn’t as turned off by Donald Trump as it should have been.