Democrooks Already Miss Newt:)

[Red Herring]

December 13, 1998

Speaker-Elect Vows to Block Censure Option

By ERIC SCHMITT

ASHINGTON -- The battle lines over allowing the House to censure President
Clinton rather than impeach him hardened sharply Saturday, as Representative
Robert L. Livingston, the Speaker-designate, vowed to block such a move and
White House allies promised to take the fight to the American public.

Livingston shed his ambiguity on the issue moments after the House Judiciary
Committee rejected censure as an alternative, and the panel's chairman,
Henry J. Hyde, urged House Republican leaders to keep it off the floor,
saying such a move would threaten the separation of powers between the
legislative and executive branches.

In revealing his position, Livingston said that he strongly supported
impeachment and that censure was not envisioned by the Constitution's
founders.

"Censure is out of the realm of responsibility of the House of
Representatives," Livingston said before flying back to Washington from
Louisiana Saturday.

"We have a constitutional responsibility to charge or not charge, impeach or
not impeach."

Nonetheless, President Clinton's supporters mounted a full-scale campaign to
force Livingston to reverse course, aiming to build public support for an
alternative to impeachment and to put a glaring spotlight on Livingston's
ability to cope with his newly won leadership duties.

The Democratic challenge, already facing long odds before Saturday, now
confronts a unified House Republican leadership, bolstered by the arguments
offered by Hyde, which are likely to influence many undecided Republicans.
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