By then, it was too late for the Senate and the people of Rome. It is a measure of Gingrich's limited political understanding of the world that he would fail to see the justice in prosecuting the nation's highest ranking official as an example that no one is above the law. It was the Founders' hope that no matter how powerful, every man would be subject to the rule of law. To fail to prosecute political wrongdoers, the Founders believed, was to beg disaster. The Founders believed that the loss of liberty was the inevitable result of the illegitimate use of power.
Early abuses become the precedent for brazen action and greater encroachments.
The classics-educated Founders wouldn't just view Gingrich's arguments as historically inaccurate. They would see the failure to punish a high official for wrongdoing as an invitation to further malfeasance from office holders who believe they are above the law, as long as their poll ratings are high and the people are asleep dreaming of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Matthew Robinson is a 1999 Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellow and an adjunct fellow of the Claremont Institute. Subscribe to the Claremont Institute's Precepts to r eceive the latest news and information about national politics and other topics via e-mail.