Impeachment Debate Spills Into O.C. Streets

It was before daylight Thursday morning when Orange County Democratic Party chairwoman Jeanne Costales and 30 others gathered on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach to greet morning commuters with signs reading: “Support the President” and “Stop the Impeachment.”

Two hours later, Laguna Beach resident Trish Chatlin was phoning more than 200 members of the community inviting them to a candlelight vigil in support of President Clinton. Scheduled to take place on the Laguna Beach’s main beach, the vigil was to feature attendees carrying placards, praying and listening to a folk singer.

It was a last-ditch effort to rally around Clinton before today’s impeachment proceedings resume. There were also rallies demanding Clinton’s removal, including one held at Santa Ana City Hall and another at City Hall in Los Angeles.

Chatlin said she was pleased by the reaction as she asked friends and neighbors to attend the pro-Clinton vigil. “I’m hoping people realize they can do something,” she said. “I think they’re relieved there’s a forum for them.”

Both she and Costales decided to take their message to the streets after becoming frustrated at their inability to reach members of the House Judiciary Committee by telephone so they could voice their opposition to the impeachment hearings.

“We wanted to tell them to stop this,” Costales said. “The American people are not behind it. It’s unconscionable.”

Costales said she counted more than 100 cars honking in support of Clinton but the reaction was not universal. At least one motorist offered a rude gesture and a surfer voiced his objections.