The Culture of an Empire: The Structure of a Republic

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1999

Publication Title

St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary

Keywords

politics, Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Bill Clinton

Abstract

Whatever the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal's constitutional implications, implications that this piece shall soon explore in some depth, the episode will endure as an excessively graphic metaphor for the squalid nature of America's political culture at the end of the Twentieth Century. Clinton is certainly neither the first nor the last American politician to use the status and power of his office to satisfy his sexual lust. Nor is Kenneth Starr the only prosecutor who attempted to grind someone to bits for political glory, even though he did turn out to be quite a crybaby when he wanted to impeach Clinton for conducting an overly zealous defense against his overly zealous prosecution. The Democratic Party has been as willing to compromise its moral integrity by standing by its shameless President as it had been eager to desert its ideological legitimacy by betraying American workers to NAFTA/GATT. Alan Greenspan is permitted to fight "wage inflation" among regular workers but never needs to worry about the disproportionate wage increases that have accrued to the well to do over the past two decades.Or perhaps the postmodern Democrats, besotted with notions of "consent," merely have decided that business and political leaders can turn their operations into harems so long as everyone is agreeable.

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