On December 18, 1998, the House of Representatives impeached Bill Clinton on two charges because of his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky. One for perjury and one for obstruction of justice.
But the men behind it and their stories are the perfect examples of a double standard. First, we can start with Newt Gingrich.
Newt Gingrich
Gingrich is the man who led the Clinton impeachment from day one. After a disappointing election in 1998, Gingrich stepped down as speaker and resigned from Congress. But during his push for Clinton’s impeachment, Gingrich himself was having an extramarital affair. Gingrich said the situation was “complex.” The only complex thing was that Gingrich cheated on his wife and thought it was okay, but when Clinton did it he was the enemy.
Bob Livingston
Livingston was selected when Gingrich stepped down and became the speaker. However, on the day of Clinton’s impeachment vote, Livingston resigned citing that he had engaged in an extramarital affair. Research found that Livingston had been with four women for over ten years.
Dennis Hastert
Following Livingston’s resignation, Hastert was the frontrunner to be sown in as the new speaker of the house. He held the position of speaker of the house for eight long years. But like the others, Hastert also engaged in scummy business. On Thursday, Hastert was indicted on charges of setting up an account worth $1.7 million in an attempt to cover up sexual abuse against a former male student.
So what can we learn? That this is a double standard and ethical has never been a Conservative value no matter how much they tell us that Liberals are the unethical ones, but it’s okay — the truth always comes out.
