"Cyberscene: Impeachment websites enable electorate to speak out"

...Diametrically opposed to Dempsey's view is Scott Lauf, executive officer of the non profit Committee to Impeach the President Project of the Clinton Investigative Commission based in Sterling, Va.

Lauf's organization formed in 1993, then launched their Web page www.impeachclinton.org in January 1997, calling for impeachment "long before Monica Lewinsky," Lauf said.

They focused on Whitewater, Travelgate and the 1996 fund raising scandal. Their site calls for several articles of impeachment, including counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

After the Lewinsky scandal, the site took off in a strong and steady manner, Lauf said. Clinton's testimony before the grand jury infuriated people who then jumped on the impeachment bandwagon.

Since the House voted to impeach, site hits jumped from 50,000 to 80,000 per day, he said.

While it's a serious subject, both sites inject a little humor. The impeach Clinton site offers Christmas carols such as "12 Days of Impeachment."

The impeach Clinton supporters allow visitors to sign a petition asking for Clinton's impeachment. The petition may be submitted electronically or printed out for direct mail.

Lauf said the petitions collected on the Web site are downloaded, with some printed out and sent to Congress on diskettes with instructions.

Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, whose committee addressed the fund raising scandal, received petitions.

CIC plans to focus attention now on the Senate, especially independent Democrats like Sen. Bob Kerrey and Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who might be swayed, he said……

Lauf, who described himself as a "principled guy," said he's been involved in politics since attending George Washington University in 1989. He worked for Pat Buchanan in his presidential bid in 1996.

"What drives me is the fact that this guy is the most corrupt and criminal president we've ever had," Lauf said. "I want to see him out of office."

He predicts a tough battle in the Senate.

"I think Clinton is going to play hardball and do anything to stay in office and push for censure," Lauf said.

"Witnesses target Republican swing votes"

Scott Lauf, director of the Clinton Impeachment Commission, arrived at the House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday with his 22-month-old daughter, hoping to find a big crowd eager to snatch up his fluorescent pink "invitations."

….Lauf's flyers invited the public to "the O.J. Simpson Trial --- Part II," featuring ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.) as Johnny Cochran and Bill Clinton as "the juice."

But Lauf got few takers for his anti-Clinton joke….

….The empty hallways and light crowds clearly disappointed Lauf, whose organization has staged several protests and stunts to demand Clinton's impeachment.

"I was really hoping there was going to be a rush of people," said Lauf, holding a stack of his invitations.

"Supporters of impeachment use web to launch petitions"

…``Our petition drive is really to express the views of the silent majority,'' said Scott Lauf of suburban Washington. Lauf said his ``Committee to Impeach the President'' site - http://www.impeachclinton.org - has been getting an average of 50,000 ``hits'' per day, and accounts for 30 percent of the 1.2 million petition names he has submitted to Congress. Paper mail-in petitions account for the other 70 percent, he said…..

…Lauf also said he encouraged people to ``call or write before they actually e-mail. E-mail is too easy to ignore, and a lot of congressmen have been e-mail-bombed and don't pay attention to it anymore.

``But I think, in time, the Internet is going to have a much greater impact,'' he said.