Political Parties and Morality

On Saturday, December 19, 1998, President William Jefferson Clinton became only the second President in American history to be impeached. Charged by a majority of the House with the crimes of perjury before a grand jury and the abuse of power, the impeachment vote was lambasted as completely partisan and therefore meaningless, having no moral authority.

Truly, the vote was almost totally partisan; only a handful of Democrats voted for the impeachment of the President; and only a handful of Republicans voted against it. But does the impeachment vote mean less because it was partisan? Or is there, perhaps, a more important reason-a hidden message-underlying this clear division among party lines?

Despite the harsh and demeaning Democratic rhetoric against the impeachment vote, it must not be categorized as only another “partisan” political vote. Instead, it should be considered as being another vote in a long ongoing series of Congressional votes on moral issues. After all, lying under oath, and engaging in illicit sexual relations with a subordinate in the workplace, are indisputably moral concerns.

When the impeachment vote is examined as a moral vote rather than a vote of politics, it is not surprising that it should be partisan. After all, on nearly all Congressional votes on traditional moral issues in recent years, the dividing line has been almost completely partisan.

For example, on the moral issue of protecting innocent human life, it is the Democrats who have caused the continuation of partial-birth abortions and protected and defended this reprehensible moral misbehavior. (Eighty-two percent of Senate Democrats voted to allow partial-birth abortions while only eleven percent of Republicans did so.)

Similarly, votes on the moral issue of sodomy, like the impeachment vote, are usually decided along partisan lines. It is the Democrats who consistently vote for the protection of the homosexuals’ “lifestyle,” seek to reward their sexual misconduct with special benefits, and pursue the extension of this behavior throughout society. (For example, eighty-seven percent of Senate Democrats voted to increase protection for the homosexual lifestyle¹ while only seventeen percent of Republicans did so.)

And on the issue of voluntary school prayer and the public acknowledgment of God, the dividing lines are almost completely partisan-as evidenced by the vote in Congress on the school prayer amendment. (Eighty-seven percent of House Democrats opposed voluntary school prayer while only twelve percent of Republicans did so.)

Similar partisan distinctions could be shown with almost every other moral issue, whether it be preserving parental rights or teaching pre-marital abstinence to young people. Clearly, the Democrats in Congress generally oppose traditional moral values and only rarely demonstrate any desire to hold individuals accountable for violating established mores. Therefore, when the vote on impeachment is considered as just another vote on a moral issue, the partisan results become completely predictable.

There truly is a difference between Congressional Republicans and Democrats, and nowhere is this difference more evident than on traditional moral values. The Democrats’ cry of “partisanship” is simply a smokescreen to divert attention from the lack of a moral compass that permeates their Party.

However, in the wake of the impeachment vote, the Democrats are finally clamoring for something that America actually does need: bi-partisanship. America does need two parties standing up for what is morally right-America does need two parties demanding accountability for the acts of all individuals regardless of their social position-America does need two parties seeking to preserve the moral foundations of the nation. Up to now, the only thing preventing this bi-partisanship is the Democrats.

The current partisanship exists only because the overwhelming majority of Democrats demand on the defense of what is morally indefensible and refuse to join with the overwhelming majority of Republicans who continue to defend what is morally right. It is time for Democrats to heed their own call and become bi-partisan, joining with the Republicans in defending America’s great moral values.

David Barton
December 21, 1998

¹ The vote was recorded on ENDA-the Employment Non-Discrimination Act- which extended special protections and special status for homosexuals.

* This article concerns a historical issue and may not have updated information.