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Show The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Saturday, December 26,1998 AQ astert Will Have a Tough TimeBuilding a Consensus on Partisan Capitol Hill Everybody uses the same words to describe Rep. Dennis Hastert, the obscure lawmaker from rural Illinois tapped by Republicans to be the next speaker of the House. Congenial. Consensusbuilder. Conservative but crusader. “He's a wereelected in the GOP sweep of 1994, and one of their spiritual leaders is Rep. Tom DeLay, the House whip wholed the impeach- mentdrive against PresidentClin- COKIE ROBERTS STEVE ROBERTS chiefof staff John Podesta. But the outlook for any sort of bipartisan cooperation in the next Congress is bleak. Gingrich occa- ie and engineered Hastert’s eleva- sionallytried to work with Demo- ion. great listener,” says one GOPstaff- all things, including White House crats and was repeatedly blocked Reflecting the growinginfluence er, “He's a betterlistener thanheis of thereligious right in the GOP, by the perfectionists. They even That makes a sharpcontrast with his predecessor, Newt Gingrich, who loyed the sound of his own the real conflict facing Congress was between “relativism and abso- DeLayarticulated the gospel ofthe perfectionist caucus when he said and the main reason Gingrich quit was because he could no longer a holdover fromhis days teaching high school wrestling. Gingrich wanted to be the star as well as coach, a verydifferent view of the lute truth.” That might be a for a preacher, but ticing legislator. If have a monopoly a talker.” voice. Hastert’s nicknameis Coach, speaker'srole. But Hastert will face the same basic problem that Newt did: a band of hard-core conservatives, the “perfectionist caucus,” in Gingrich’s words, who have nointerest in building a consensus across partyor ideological lines. Many of these conservatives good doctrine not for a pracyou think you on “absolute truth,” compromise becomes a curse, and accommodation,betrayal. Now, we're all for moral stan- dards. Sin and shameare undervalued concepts. And wehave no tolerance for the White House argument that lying about sex is notreally lying. But the one abso- plotted to throwhim outofoffice, control his own troops. UNITED FEATURES lute about legislative life is that there are no absolutes. Compro- mise is essential. And that will be even more true in the next Congress, with Republicans holding a tiny, six-seat margin. Hastert comes in with a good reputation as a leader “who can reach across barriers,” as one Re- publican strategist put it. He even has friends who are Democrats, of At the start of the impeachment hearings, Henry Hyde, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told us that his main task was to corral the “crazies” in his own ranks. He failed and woundup doing what he said he would never do — pass impeachmentona party-line vote Bob Livingston, who was supposed to replace Gingrich as speaker, was viewed as a heretic by many perfectionists because he actually worked with Democrats and described himself as a manager. not a revolutionary. Theywereout to get him, and whenLivingston admitted to a series of extramarital affairs. the perfectionists saw their open- ing and threatenedto defect. Like Gingrich, Livingston realized he could not lead effectively and left The Democrats added to the par. tisan poison by declaring “war” on Gingrich personallyduring thelast campaign. And because they think the Republicans have committed suicide by impeachingClinton, the Democrats havenointerest in giv- ing them a chanceto redeem themselves with legislative victories. These short-term calculations are aggravated by some long-term trends. Each party haslost its ballast. Conservative white Southerners have deserted the Democrats. Republican moderates like New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Gov. Christie Whitman of NewJersey haye steadily lost influence. America seems headed toward a European model, with one party dominatedbyliberals, the other by conservatives, and that makes bipartisan cooperation increasingly difficult. Just as damaging. the Republican class of '94 tends to view Wash- ington as Gomorrah and political life as inherently corrupting That's why most favor term limits — the worstidea in modern Ameri- can politics — andinsist on leaving their families back home. The result is that lawmakers sel- dom socialize awayfrom the Capitol. They don’t go to church together or watch their kids play baseball because they're constantly racing for the airport. “We get to know each other only as instruments of political debate,” says Rep. David Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat. “The restraint is largely missing.” At this season, it is common to wish for peace on Earth. A lot of Americans, including Dennis Has- tert, would settle for peace on Capitol Hill. But that wish is not likely to be granted next year. ImpeachmentTrial in the Senate Is a Whole New Ball Game WASHINGTON — Withthe political fate of President Clinton now shifting to the Senate for trial, somesignificant changeswill occur the deliberations, mostly in his yor. Foremost, obviously,is the fact it two-thirds, or 67 senators, must vote to convict him. With 45 Democrats in the Senate, the prospect, at the outset at least, must be rated slim to none. If the 55 Repub- licans voted as a bloc, 12 Demo- around the president, as seen in last Saturday's post-impeachment pep rally in the Rose Garden Another advantagefor Clintonis the fact that the Senate will sit as a jury, not a debating society as the House was in the impeachment hearings. That meansthat no senators will be permitted to speak, thus eliminating the dreary marathon of repetitive and opinionated haranguing that preceded the against Clinton him from office. If a senator acting as a juror wants to pose a question to either the lawyers defending the presi- The near-solidarity shown against impeachment by House Democrats for a president whose personal actions they readily condemned demonstrated howRepub- lican partisanship had stiffened Democratic resolve. There is no reason to believe that resolve will not carryover to the Senate Democrats, especially as the House votes for two articles of impeachment have been characterizedas a legis- lative coup d'etat The Republican demands that Clinton resign in light of the House votes against him werea political mistake in that they lent credence to that characterization. Theytrig- gered an immediate rallying dent or the prosecutors — the team of “managers” appointed bythe House Republicans from amongits Judiciary Committee members — he must submit it in writing to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, presiding as judge. That procedurealonecan have a moderating effect on the deliberations, eliminating the sort of showboating for the television cameras that occurred on the House side, particularly in the Judiciary impeachmenthearings len Specter, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Dick Lugar might be among this group. Thepotentialof a voteto end the trial would be a strong incentive driving a compromise on a sharply worded censure of the president Senate Judiciary Committee Chair- vot EN ADDUETD Aloe CBN SEMEN man Orrin Hatchhas already indi- cated that the prospect that convic- tion could not be achieved could persuade him to join negotiations House vote of the two articles crats would have to break with their party's president to remove JACK GERMOND JULES WITCOVER oncensure. CHICAGO TRIBUNE SERVICE votes were excessively partisan None of the handful of Democrats who voted for one or both of the articles. alleging perjury before the grand jury and obstruction of justice, was included. The Senate rules on an impeach- Much may depend on the posture taken by the White House and the president's lawyers. Clinton’s stonewalling and contemptuous answers to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde's 81 questions during his committee's inquiryso angered the Republicans that they used the response as a basis for one of the articles of im- Pa Senate as they did in the Houseif theycontinue that tactic. If, however, they concentrate on the narrow menttrial also offer hope for Clinton to slip the noose. At any time a majority vote mayendthetrial. meaning if the Senate Democrats marchin lockstep. they will need jected by the House). Clinton's lawyers, who served Clinton so poorly with their nitpicking over words and meanings actions rose to the level of im- in calling a halt to the proceedings stiffen Republican backs in the phase did was drive hometo the onlysix Republicans to join them The composition of the Senate The fact that all of the House suggests a number who might want managers appointed are Republicans will reinforce the Democrats’ complaint that the impeachment to save the body, and the country. from the ordeal. Moderates like JamesJeffords. John Chafee. Ar- peachment (overwhelmingly re- the run-up to the trial. could question of whether the president's peachable offenses, their chances of getting Clintonoff the hook with censureare likely to be increased One thing the impeachment public the seriousness of the whole matter. Furthermore, the argument used in the House that a vote to impeach was not a vote to re- move Clinton from office will no longer apply in the Senate. 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