As the impeachment trial of President Clinton approaches, Republicans have filled the National Mall with a tent city so large that it reminds local residents of the 1963 rally of Martin Luther King, but with catering. Her trial is the final act of a series of trials and legislation which were promised in the 2006 election campaign by Republicans who ran on the slogan “Not In Our Name”.

Promising to restore the rule of law over an out-of-control executive and Justice Department, the Republicans vowed to end extraordinary renditions, secret detentions, illegal wiretapping, torture of prisoners, extra-judicial detention and the blatant politicization of the DOJ. Having been swept into office by an electorate weary of a botched war in Iraq and angry over the lack of oversight by the Democratic majority, Republicans immediately passed a series of laws banning all of the secret programs which President Clinton had first denied, then called “essential” when they were exposed by the New York Times. All reporters who were imprisoned by the Clinton DOJ are out of jail now. Clinton had no choice in signing the “Restoring the Rule of Law Act” after a veto-proof majority rejected the idea of breaking the Geneva conventions and imprisoning U.S. citizens with no habeus corpus.

While many of Clinton’s appointees resigned in shame, her Attorney General, Alberta Gonebraindead Gonelawless, required an impeachment trial and an escort by Capitol Hill police to leave her duties, chief of which seemed to be protecting Mrs Clinton. The case against the AG was best summed up by House Speaker Tom Delay, when he noted that “Anyone who has spent a day in law school knows that the United States does not torture, does not spy on its citizens without a warrant, and that the Geneva Conventions are the law of the land. An Attorney General who advises the President otherwise, and who participates in the coverup of these outrages has violated her sworn oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.”

The President’s impeachment on charges of lying to the public and manipulating intelligence to start an unnecessary and disatrous war with Iraq was a stunning rebuke of her administration as a whole, and of her individually. Her claims that the intelligence was wrong has long been discredited, and won her no friends among the remaining Democrats.

President Clinton seems to be clinging to the hope that the required 2/3 majority will not vote to convict her, having reportedly told her staff that “impeachment is not conviction”. This strategy of hanging on seemed to have a slim possibility of succeeding until Senator Joseph Lieberman of CT switched parties and became a vocal advocate of removal of President Clinton during his regular appearances on Sunday political shows.

Jokingly referred to as the third host of Fox’s Hannity and Colmes show, he has attacked the current administration as being lawless, and as having lost their way. “Fighting terrorists is important, but our Constitution is vital. We cannot defeat evil by giving up our morals and standards. I have sorrowfully come to the conclusion that President Clinton must be removed to restore our freedoms and to restore our standing in the world. Forcing the end of the Iraqi occupation was an important step, but removing the Commander in Chief who attacked their sovereign country is equally important.”

President Clinton’s trial starts Tuesday and is expected to last six to eight weeks. Vice President Kay Bailey Hutchinson, the compromise candidate who replaced disgraced former VP Rahm Emanuel after his impeachment and resignation, has repeatedly said she will not comment on the trial which likely will conclude with her as the new president. Her acceptance by President Clinton and the Senate ended what many observers called an unseemly and embarassing attempt by Speaker Delay to prevent any vice president from being confirmed, opening the door to his presidency.

VP Hutchinson’s replacement, Senator George W Bush is widely expected to vote for conviction, after a fair trial, of course. Senator Bush showed his hand on Meet The Press when he told guest host Robert Novak, “It’s puzzlin’, confusin’ and disappointin’ when our officials don’t follow the law. During my failed campaign for the presidency I promised that we would not just do what was legal, but what was right. That we would restore honor and dignity to the White House. By removing President Clinton, we can start dignityfying and honorating the presidency once again.”