By Mary Mostert, Analyst, Original Sources (www.originalsources.com)
February 11, 1999
Majority Leader Trent Lott said he hopes to have a vote on the two Articles of Impeachment, perjury and obstruction of Justice, against President Clinton today. Three Republicans, Senators Arlen Spector, of Pennsylvania, Sen.James Jeffords, of Vermont, and Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island, have said they will vote in favor of acquittal.
Sen. Chafee said that "circumstantial evidence is rebutted by direct evidence or confusion." He will vote to acquit Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice rising out of the sexual harassment case filed by Paula Jones. After years of denial and the wholesale trashing of Paula Jones by Clinton attorneys and spin doctors, Clinton paid Paula Jones $850,000 to settle the case out of court. However, in the sequel to the Paula Jones suit Clinton lied to the grand jury and obstructed justice.
In the Senate vote on confirming Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court, Sen. Chafee voted "Yes," thereby rejecting the charges of Anita Hill who made claims, refuted by numerous witnesses, that Thomas had "talked dirty" to her which she claimed was "harassment." Anita Hill's charges prompted the reopening of hearings on the Thomas nomination. While the Democrats have demanded that no live witnesses be called to testify on charges relating to Bill Clinton, to "protect the dignity" of the Senate, when the accused was a conservative, they INSISTED upon Thomas' answers, in person, to sexual harassment charges made by Hill.
In 1991, Senator Jeffords voted "No" on confirming Judge Thomas, after Anita Hills accusations. However, Senator Spector voted "Yes" to confirm Judge Thomas. And, the fourth Republican who voted "No" to the Clarence Thomas confirmation, because of sexual harassment charges, was Sen. Bob Packwood, who was later driven from the Senate himself because of sexual harassment charges that were far less objectionable than the sexual harassment Paula Jones accused Clinton of in his deposition.
When first made, the story of Monica Lewinsky and the President of the United States engaging in oral sex, the charges were simply unbelievable to most people. Then Clinton's expensive attorney, Bob Bennett, and the White House spin doctors started a series of stories to destroy Paula Jones' credibility. And, that was largely a successful ploy. However, in retrospect, after Clinton hurriedly paid $850,000 to settle the case, after the FBI Lab confirmed that the stain of Monica Lewinsky's blue dress was the president's semen, after hearing the testimony of Monica Lewinsky and especially of the president's own aides, Vernon Jordan and Sidney Blumenthal, the story told by Paula Jones is very credible, even to those who dismissed it at the time.
In the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, in which totally unsubstantiated stories wrecked Clarence Thomas's previously impeccable record as a man of integrity, there were nine Democrats who rejected the obviously politically motivated trashing to a black conservative who had been confirmed four time already by the Senate. In one of those four times, Anita Hill had helped with the paperwork needed to GET him approved!
In 1991 the Democrats controlled the Senate and House. The nine Democrats who voted to confirm Clarence Thomas were: Sen. Richard Shelby, (D-AL), then a Democrat, now a Republican; Charles Robb (D-VA) Sam Nunn (D-GA), Ernest Hollings (D-SC), J.J. Exon, (D-NE); Alan Dixon (D-IL); Dennis DeConcinni
Two Democrats the media has watched for signs of a "break" with the Democrats' partisan vote are Sen. Moynihan and Sen. Byrd - both of whom voted against confirmation for Judge Thomas. It will be interesting to see how the Democrats vote on THIS manifestation of liberal doctrine. While claiming to be "friend" to blacks, the Democrats set out to deliberately destroy a dedicated black man who had already been confirmed by Democrat senates five times. Now let us see how well they vote for the rule of law and for Paula Jones' right to not be harassed. It appears the Democrats' record is to say one thing and do another - and they seem to get away with doing that because of a very protective, very deceptive media. To comment:mmostert@originalsources.com
Tuesday, October 15, 1991 Final Vote, Confirmation of Clarence Thomas for Supreme Court:
* YES 52
* NO 48
* Brock Adams, D-WA NO
* Daniel Akaka, D-HI NO
* Max Baucus, D-MT NO
* Lloyd Bentsen, D-TX NO
*
Joseph Biden, D-DE NO
*
Jeff Bingaman, D-NM NO
*
Christopher Bond, R-MO YES
* David Boren, D-OK YES
*
Bill Bradley, D-NJ NO
*
John Breaux, D-LA YES
*
Hank Brown, R-CO YES
*
Richard Bryan, D-NV NO
*
Dale Bumpers, D-AR NO
*
Quentin Burdick, D-ND NO
*
Conrad Burns, R-MT YES
*
Robert Byrd, D-WV NO
*
John Chafee, R-RI YES
*
Dan Coats, R-IN YES
*
Thad Cochran, R-MS YES
*
William Cohen, R-ME YES
*
Kent Conrad, D-ND NO
* Larry Craig, R-ID YES
* Alan Cranston, D-CA NO
* Alfonse D'Amato, R-NY YES
* John Danforth, R-MO YES
* Thomas Daschle, D-SD NO
* Dennis DeConcini, D-AZ YES
* Alan Dixon, D-IL YES
* Christopher Dodd, D-CT NO
* Robert Dole, R-KS YES
* Pete Domenici, R-NM YES
* Dave Durenberger, R-MN YES
* J. J. Exon, D-NE YES
* Wendell Ford, D-KY NO
* Wyche Fowler, D-GA YES
* Jake Garn, R-UT YES
* John Glenn, D-OH NO
* Al Gore, D-TN NO
* Slade Gorton, R-WA YE
S
* Bob Graham, D-FL NO
* Phil Gramm, R-TX YES
* Charles Grassley, R-IA YES
* Tom Harkin, D-IA NO
* Orrin Hatch, R-UT YES
* Mark Hatfield, R-OR YES
* Howell Heflin, D-AL NO
* Jesse Helms, R-NC YES
* Ernest Hollings, D-SC YES
* Daniel Inouye, D-SC NO
* James Jeffords, R-VT NO
* J Bennett Johnston, D-LA YES
* Nancy Kassebaum, R-KS YES
* Robert Kasten, R-WI YES
* Ted Kennedy, D-MA NO
* Robert Kerrey, D-NE NO
* John Kerry, D-MA NO
* Herb Kohl, D-WI NO
* Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ NO
* Patrick Leahy, D-VT NO
* Carl Levin, D-MI NO
* Joseph Lieberman, D-CT NO
* Trent Lott, R-MS YES
* Richard Lugar, R-IN YES
* Connie Mack, R-FL YES
* John McCain, R-AZ YES
* Mitch McConnell, R-KY YES
* Howard Metzenbaum, D-OH NO
* Barbara Mikulski, D-MD NO
* George Mitchell, D-ME NO
* Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-NY NO
* Frank Murkowski, R-AK YES
* Don Nickles, R-OK YES
* Sam Nunn, D-GA YES
* Bob Packwood, R-OR NO
* Claiborne Pell, D-RI NO
* Larry Pressler, R-SD YES
* David Pryor, D-AR NO
* Harry Reid, D-NV NO
* Donald Riegle, D-MI NO
* Charles Robb, D-VA YES
* Jay Rockefeller, D-WV NO
* William Roth, R-DE YES
* Warren Rudman, R-NH YES
* Terry Sanford, D-NC NO
* Paul Sarbanes, D-MD NO
* Jim Sasser, D-TN NO
* John Seymour, R-CA YES
* Richard Shelby, D-AL YES
* Paul Simon, D-IL NO
* Alan Simpson, R-WY YES
* Bob Smith, R-NH YES
* Arlen Specter, R-PA YES
* Ted Stevens, R-AK YES
* Steve Symms, R-ID YES
* Strom Thurmond, R-SC YES
* Malcolm Wallop, R-WY YES
* John Warner, R-VA YES
* Paul Wellstone, D-MN NO
* Timothy Wirth, D-CO NO
* Harris Wofford, D-PA NO
TOTAL Yes 52
No 48