Reprinted from The Washington Times, March 6, 1998
Women tell president
that character does count
By Jennifer Harper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Thursday was ladies' day at the federal courthouse in Washington. In crisp pleats and sensible pumps, hundreds of well-dressed, iron-willed women shared their feelings about President Clinton.
It wasn't pretty.
"Hey, hey, ho, ho! Perjury has got to go!"
"Two, four, six, eight! Married people shouldn't date!"
At the "Character Does Count" rally, meant to show feminine dismay over the White House sex-and-lies scandal, the ladies chanted. They sang "God Bless America" and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, hands over hearts and signs in the air.
"We are here to challenge the news that America doesn't care about morality in leadership," said organizer Bonnie Perry, the grandmother who organized the well-attended, media-saturated rally over the last two weeks.
In spotless red blazer and black slacks, Mrs. Perry faced a wall of video cameras and microphones as formidable as those trained on the courthouse. Inside, Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was before the grand jury while the major legal players in the scandal held a high-security powwow.
Outside, the ladies carried on with all the good-natured gusto of a church social. Their intentions, however, were distinct and somber.
"We demand that our leaders be trustworthy," Mrs. Perry declared. "I am here to say it because no one else will."
The others cheered and repeated the mantra "Character does count!" They cheered again, then hooted with glee when Mrs. Perry suggested the White House take a lesson from kindergarten.
"That's where we learn to tell the truth, obey the rules, set a good example, do the right thing and keep our promise," Mrs. Perry said.
"Aw, go home and take care of your man!" heckled one man, who lingered long enough to quibble with several of the husbands who had come along to support their wives.
As if on cue, a man in a rubber Clinton mask and trench coat swayed giddily through the crowd -- a performance artist out to create a stir while the cameras rolled.
"Ah didn't do it," he said in perfect Southern patois. "Ah didn't do it!"
Thursday's rally drew people from as far away as Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, including one self-proclaimed New York Democrat who said he drove all night from Rome, N.Y., to get there.
The event was also buoyed by a national media intrigued with a fresh voice in the scandal. Since The Washington Times first published their story a week ago, Mrs. Perry and her homespun sisterhood have heard from dozens of newspapers, cable and network TV stations and talk radio, including Laura Schlessinger and Rush Limbaugh.
Other women stepped up to the bank of microphones, including co-organizer Penny Nance, who clasped her baby girl to her hip and said, "The moms are rising up today to just say no. We call for accountability."
The Rev. Imagene Stewart, who operates women's shelters in Washington and Maryland, offered lodging for "Sister Monica" Lewinsky just in case the former White House intern was weary of her "prison at the Watergate."
"No one will tape you at the shelter," Mrs. Stewart added.
Ninety minutes later, the nation's first organized women's protest of the scandal was over. A few lone TV reporters completed their standups along the periphery and several camera crews left to join their brethren over by the courthouse doors.
"I haven't had a better time in years," declared Bonnie Perry, scanning the crowd for her husband, who had taken off work to attend the rally.
"We have raised the issue in America, now it's time to raise the consciousness of America," she added. "I think the country is ready."Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
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