Committee Republicans said most agreed that such a motion would not be appropriate as the panel weighed articles of impeachment against Clinton. I think there needs to be a fair and open debate. Some GOP leadership sources complained privately of what they described as a leadership vacuum. Democrats maneuvered yesterday to be allowed to bring up a censure motion. The clearest indicator of the weakness of the majority's case against the president is illustrated by the fact that offering a bipartisan alternative would defeat it.
History requires that members be given the opportunity to vote on meaningful censure.
Staff writers Peter Baker, Guy Gugliotta and Roberto Suro contributed to this report.