County’s 2 Congressmen Divided on Senate Trial

By refusing to dismiss President Clinton’s impeachment trial, Senate Republicans “are taking their oath of office very seriously” at their own political peril, says Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley).

But Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) says the GOP senators are moving ahead with questioning witnesses as a way to continue “bashing the president for the next couple of weeks.”

While the Ventura County congressmen were divided on the latest salvo in the impeachment hearings, they also agreed with residents interviewed Thursday who just want the trial to be brought to a speedy end.

At the beach, a cafe and post office, residents said they have tired of the impeachment matter, which was sparked by Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky.

“I’m really sick of hearing about it,” said 22-year-old Shanti LoCelso of Ventura. “It’s nothing but a soap opera with the president in the leading role.”

Said 36-year-old Brenda Acosta of Ventura: “I was burnt out by the congressional hearings and, I’m on the fringes with this one. It’s a horrific waste of time and of taxpayers’ money.”

While Wednesday’s 56-44 vote against dismissal hinted that the two-thirds majority needed to oust Clinton is unobtainable, some residents said Clinton should resign. Others said Senate Republicans should listen to the two-thirds of Americans who are telling pollsters they want it to end.

“We elected our leaders to represent us, and they are not representing us,” said 36-year-old Doug Walker of Ventura. “The senators just don’t want to lose face. They’re too embarrassed to admit that they won’t win.”

Paul Leavens, chairman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee, agreed the matter has become an embarrassment to the GOP.

“Sure, the Republican Party wants to get rid of this as quickly as possible because it’s an embarrassment, but they also want to do an honest and thorough job,” Leavens said. “The Democrats just want to sweep the whole thing under the rug.”

Gallegly agreed.

“Without a question, [Senate Republicans] are taking their oath of office very seriously,” Gallegly said. “They’d like it to stop, but they’re trying not to whitewash or shove something under the rug because of political expediency.

“It’s amusing when people say they are doing this for political reasons,” he said. “If they’re doing it for political reasons, then either they don’t believe the polls or they’re not very smart. You can’t say they are doing it for partisan reasons either, because if Bill Clinton was impeached, Al Gore would become president. The [Senate Republicans] truly believe they are abiding by the U.S. Constitution.”

Gallegly said the Senate should not approve a measure declaring Clinton guilty as charged without removing him from office.

“If a person is guilty of an impeachable offense, the only alternative is to remove him from office.”

Sherman, whose district includes the Conejo Valley, said the Republicans are nurturing the hope that if they can keep the case alive, they can erode Clinton’s support.

“They want to embarrass and weaken the president, and I think that’s a misuse of the Senate’s time,” Sherman said. “I would call it a kangaroo court, but that would be an insult to marsupials everywhere.”

He favors a censure.

“I would hope that the censure would be a censure and not something that looks like a conviction document,” Sherman said. “If they have any kind of document that says the word ‘conviction,’ you come perilously close to a document that says ‘remove the president.’ ”

Hank Lacayo, chairman of the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee, agreed that by continuing the impeachment process, Senate Republicans were trying to further chagrin the president.

“They will milk this for all it’s worth,” Lacayo said.

* TRIAL GOES ON: Senate vote reflects partisan lines. A1