BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Reflecting Congress as a whole, the Tristate delegation is poised to split along party lines when it comes to voting on impeachment.
Republican Reps. Steve Chabot of Cincinnati and John Boehner of West Chester have firmly announced they support impeachment. Republican Reps. Rob Portman of Terrace Park and Jim Bunning of Southgate have not announced how they will vote, but both have been highly critical of President Clinton.
Democratic Reps. Ted Strickland of Lucasville and Lee Hamilton of Nashville, Ind., have said they will oppose impeachment.
All are aware that their votes will be historic.
Last week, most area members of Congress or their offices responded to questions about key impeachment-related issues. Mr. Bunning and his staff failed to return repeated phone calls on Friday.
One defender of the president, Princeton University professor Sean Wilentz, warned members Tuesday that "history will track you down and condemn you" if they were to vote irresponsibly for impeachment.
But Mr. Chabot and Mr. Boehner feel history would judge them more harshly if they fail to vote for impeachment.
"We all must search our hearts and ask ourselves: What messages are we sending the youth of America if we abdicate our constitutional duty and allow perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power to go unchecked?" Mr. Chabot said.
Mr. Portman agreed it is a solemn responsibility.
"The question is: What is responsible behavior for a member of Congress when presented with these facts?" he said.
Short of war, Mr. Strickland said impeachment is the most "grave and serious matter" any Congress could consider.
"Obviously, a wrong, unwise or partisan decision would be treated with disdain by history and future generations of Americans," Mr. Strickland said.
Perjury is key to the impeachment case, and Cincinnati-area Democrats disagree with Republicans about the seriousness of what the president did.
Mr. Boehner said independent counsel Kenneth Starr presented the Congress in September with "credible evidence" that the president had committed perjury.
"Since that time, the president has presented no reasonable evidence to the contrary," Mr. Boehner said.
But Mr. Strickland said that while prejury is wrong, legal experts say there are different levels of severity and appropriate punishment. "While the president's behavior is wrong and should be condemned, I believe there is reasonable doubt concerning the matter of his having committed impeachable acts."
Mr. Hamilton believes the president's actions "have not risen to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor," aide Holly Feiock said.
Another argument voiced against impeachment is that it would paralyze the federal government throughout 1999, with the president, Congress and Chief Justice William Rehnquist tied down by a Senate trial.
Whatever happens, Republicans said the issues at stake are too important to ignore.
"A much more realistic concern is that our Constitution will be damaged if we fail to hold the president accountable for his crimes in office," Mr. Boehner said.
Mr. Portman said he does not believe it would paralyze the country for a year, but said he called for the president's resignation in September to keep the country from going through this.
But Mr. Strickland said the impact of a trial on the country should be considered.
"Congress must make sure that its decision on impeachment takes into account the cost the process will extract from our institutions and our society," Mr. Strickland.
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