I remember 1997, thinking "they can't possibly be serious about impeachment over THIS." They were.
Never underestimate a Republican's capacity to believe their own bullshit. They are serious, they will do this (or try), and they feel they have nothing to lose in the effort. This isn't posturing. This foreplay we're watching is just them working up a head of steam. It doesn't matter to them that the "scandals" du jour are mostly scammed out of distorted nothing incidentals. It doesn't matter that the impeachment will not lead to a successful removal from power. Their success will be measured by how much they are able to clog up the works or government and to what degree they are able to distract the commander in chief from his duties.
The majority of Republicans see Democrats, as a brand, not as political rivals, but as political enemies. A more extreme minority of Republicans see all Democrats not as political enemies, but as enemies of the nation. It's delusional, sure, but the only thing crazier would be for our side to assume that their side was bluffing. They aren't. Their calculus is that even if they lose, they win by gridlocking all activity in Washington. This is what we'll see play out over the next few months.
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He and the woman were both married. Her brother spoke and said that it ruined her sister's marriage. Hyde stated that the statute of limitation had expired on his "youthful" indiscretion. His age at the time of the affair? 47.
Most of the men who pointed fingers at Clinton had done far worse than receive oral sex. They had had full blown affairs and even illegitimate children.
They almost ruined Clinton's presidency over something that was private and none of their business in the first place.
They dragged a first lady to testify in front of a grand jury (the first time in history). They also left the Clintons, the poorest couple to enter the WH in decades, in financial debt.
By the time they left the WH, the Clintons owed 2.5M in legal bills. Their staffers were also left with a large debt. Once he left office and started making some money Bill paid off those debts, to the tune of $14M.
"High Crimes and Misdemeanors" became "lying about receiving oral sex after being entrapped by a special prosecutor who accepted illegally recorded audio tapes".
