The conservative resurgence changed both parties. In 1992 Bill Clinton, governor of Arkansas, ran as a "New Democrat" who would pursue growth and smaller deficits. A three-way race followed: Clinton won 370 electoral votes, President George H. W. Bush 168, and independent Ross Perot none, though Perot won about 19 percent of the popular vote.
Key idea
Why it works
In 1998 an independent counsel's investigation led the House to impeach Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, arising from testimony in a civil lawsuit. In the Senate trial, neither article came close to the two-thirds needed to remove him (45 and 50 votes to convict). Then the 2000 election came down to Florida, where Bush led by a few hundred votes. On December 12, 2000, in Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court stopped the recount: seven justices found that the varying recount standards raised an equal protection problem, and five held that no fair recount could be finished in time. Bush won Florida's electoral votes by 537 votes and became President.
Work it through
Worked example: How impeachment works
- Article I, Section 2: the House has the sole power of impeachment; it voted to impeach in December 1998.
- Article I, Section 3: the Senate tries the case, with the Chief Justice presiding, and two-thirds (67 senators) must vote to convict.
- The Senate voted 45 and 50 to convict on the two articles in February 1999, so Clinton was acquitted.
Answer: Impeached by the House, acquitted by the Senate, like Andrew Johnson in 1868.
Common mistake