Malcolm Wallop: “2 weeks ago 40 Republican Senators wrote our leader asking him to convey to the majority leader our deep concern over…”

“2 weeks ago 40 Republican Senators wrote our leader asking him to convey to the majority leader our deep concern over the seeming reluctance of the majority to set up a mechanism for holding Whitewater hearings. It has been nearly 2 months since the Senate passed 98-0 a resolution calling for hearings to be convened in a timely fashion. In the interim, Senators on this side of the aisle have been quite patient while the two leaders negotiated the guidelines and parameters for such an inquiry. Those negotiations appear to have proven fruitless. Perhaps that was to be expected. Perhaps Senators on the other side of the aisle are not eager to schedule or hold Whitewater hearings. Perhaps they would prefer to stall as long as possible in the hope that interest will wane and somehow hearings will no longer be deemed necessary. This Senator believes they are mistaken. Questions have been raised by the press, media analysts, and political pundits about the Whitewater matter. Has the media coverage been overblown from the start? Should it take precedence over other issues of national concern? Has the administration satisfactorily answered the questions, put the matter behind them? This Senator would reply 'No' to each of those questions. This matter has not been overblown, in fact it has been largely ignored by all but a few domestic news outlets. While this issue should not take precedence over all other issues, neither is this an either or proposition.”