Here We Go Again

THIS is beginning to feel familiar. The anchors are talking about a “constitutional crisis without precedent.” You can’t spit without hitting a lawyer on TV, and you frequently want to. Greg Craig is back. Dubious legal theories are being advanced. Robert Wexler is yelling and Jesse Jackson is marching. (Okay, those things are always true.) The words “illegitimacy” and “rule of law” are being tossed around. There has even been some talk about a right-wing “conspiracy,” albeit this time Floridian rather than vast.

Yes, it’s beginning to feel just like impeachment. The mood in Washington—amazement, barely controlled fury—is the same. Bitterness is a guaranteed outcome, just as it was then. There are, of course, important differences between the two cases. Last time around, Sean Wilentz, the Princeton history professor, was publishing pro-Clinton petitions in newspapers with the likes of C. Vann Woodward and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Now he’s publishing pro-Gore petitions in newspapers with the likes of Rosie O’Donnell. And while in 1998 and 1999 the Democrats accused Republicans of trying to “overturn the election,” this time both sides are making the accusation.

About the Author

Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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THIS is beginning to feel familiar. The anchors are talking about a “constitutional crisis without precedent.” You can’t spit without hitting a lawyer on TV, and you frequently want to. Greg Craig is back. Dubious legal theories are being advanced. Robert Wexler is yelling and Jesse Jackson is marching. (Okay, those things are always true.) The words “illegitimacy” and “rule of law” are being tossed around. There has even been some talk about a right-wing “conspiracy,” albeit this time Floridian rather than vast.

Yes, it’s beginning to feel just like impeachment. The mood in Washington—amazement, barely controlled fury—is the same. Bitterness is a guaranteed outcome, just as it was then. There are, of course, important differences between the two cases. Last time around, Sean Wilentz, the Princeton history professor, was publishing pro-Clinton petitions in newspapers with the likes of C. Vann Woodward and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Now he’s publishing pro-Gore petitions in newspapers with the likes of Rosie O’Donnell. And while in 1998 and 1999 the Democrats accused Republicans of trying to “overturn the election,” this time both sides are making the accusation.