The Gortons and Slades - Washington Secretary of State

322 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Gorton told reporters.
Their first conversations had been practically “telepathic.” 12
On February 12, 1999, the Senate acquitted the president on both
counts. The perjury allegation was defeated 55 to 45, with Gorton among
the 10 Republicans who voted “not guilty.” The obstruction of justice
charge failed on a 50-50 tie. Gorton and 49 other Republicans voted to
convict Clinton; 45 Democrats and five Republicans were opposed. Lieberman,
a religious man deeply disappointed by Clinton’s “immoral and
disgraceful behavior,” nevertheless voted “not guilty” on both counts, as
did Patty Murray. 13
Gorton’s rationale for voting as he did was this: “The first count was
lying about sex, and there’s no question that he did. But an impeachment
trial is different than any other trial, and the punishment was so disproportionate
to the crime that I couldn’t bring myself to say he should be
thrown out of office for that offense. The second count was lying under
oath to a grand jury—obstruction of justice. And that seemed to me to be
a much more serious offense. My split vote created all kinds of problems
for me with my Republican constituency—Clinton haters who were outraged
that I voted ‘not guilty’ on even one count. They didn’t pay any attention
to the second vote. And of course I got no credit from any Democrat
for being reasonable by voting ‘guilty’ on only one of the charges. So
from a political standpoint it was a terrible choice, although I don’t think
my votes had any impact on my race for re-election in 2000.”
In the heat of the impeachment battle, the Washington State wing of
the ultraconservative American Heritage Party announced it would probably
field a candidate against Gorton. “I don’t think he understands the
critical nature of our Constitution and his duty toward it,” said the state
chairman. 14
A Libertarian would prove more problematic.
“When the history of this is finally written, I think Gorton will turn
out to be one of the heroes . . .,” said Stephen Hess, a veteran political analyst
at the Brookings Institution. Joni Balter, a Seattle Times columnist
and seasoned Gorton-watcher, pronounced his performance “somewhere
between cunningly brilliant and all over the map.” 15
soMe coMic ReLief in the midst of the impeachment crisis was provided
by Senator McCain, who was often at odds with Gorton and Lott. Gorton
thought the Arizonan too mercurial to be president. Accompanied by
Tony Williams, J. Vander Stoep and Veda Jellen, his state director, Gorton
went to Austin in December of 1998 to meet with Bush and Karl Rove, the