A Telling Vote

The House will vote today for only the third time in its history on a motion to open a formal impeachment inquiry, and the outcome is not in doubt. The Republican proposal adopted Monday by the Judiciary Committee for an open-ended inquiry into whether President Clinton committed impeachable offenses will whistle through. The only question--and it is one of great political significance--is how many Democrats will ignore the White House appeal for party unity and opt instead to support the GOP plan.

Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri has told his colleagues they are free to vote however their personal electoral interests require. Though the polls show Clinton still commanding strong public approval for his job performance and though Democratic and liberal organizations have become increasingly vocal in opposing impeachment, Democratic House members are likely to be swayed most by how they gauge sentiment within their individual districts. A fair number of close races are projected for the Nov. 3 general elections, and it’s expected that many of those who turn out to vote will have been energized by the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In this atmosphere a lot of House Democrats would prefer not to be seen as too supportive of Clinton in his hour of crisis.

It doesn’t help Clinton that his relations with congressional Democrats are not very good, and not just because he looked many of them in the eye and lied about his affair with Lewinsky. He has also long been regarded as someone insufficiently sensitive to their political needs. Some in Congress have been openly resentful of White House efforts this week to pressure House Democrats into opposing the impeachment inquiry.

Republicans, maybe trying to start a stampede, predict that 80 to 100 Democrats will back their impeachment inquiry proposal. A defection of that magnitude would go far to deflate White House claims that the impeachment inquiry is almost wholly a product of partisan bias. Worse, it could signal trouble ahead for Clinton in the Senate, which would sit as the jury if the House votes impeachment and where Democratic votes would be needed to convict.

However the vote today breaks down, compelling national interest still demands that Congress get through the impeachment inquiry as expeditiously and as fairly as possible. Republicans, who will dominate the Judiciary Committee process, would be wise to keep that in mind.