WASHINGTON -- In the end, few lawmakers walked away from the party line.
On the first count -- perjury before a grand jury -- only five House Republicans voted against impeaching President Clinton, and they were offset by a like number of Democrats."If you can think of the most maximum hard decision you would make, mine would be harder," said Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, who voted to impeach his president.
Still, the five Democratic defectors made the difference on the third count -- obstruction of justice -- which passed, 221-212, as 12 Republicans crossed party lines.
Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who had been re-examining his position against impeachment, announced on the House floor Saturday that he would break with his party and vote no.
"I believe the impeachable offenses have not been proven, and the proven offenses are not impeachable," said Shays, who met with Clinton Friday. "But they are close."
While lawmakers who vote against a majority of their colleagues on vital issues could face the loss of major committee positions or find that their pet projects no longer make it into spending bills, House members from both parties said they expect no retaliation against dissenters on impeachment.
"This is a vote of conscience, and everybody better know that," said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., who often finds himself at odds with the House GOP leadership but decided to support impeachment.
Two of Boehlert's Republican colleagues, Peter King and Amo Houghton, were among those opposing impeachment.
Houghton said fellow Republicans, though they disagreed with him, have not made him feel unwelcome.
"They recognize that for one party to walk in lockstep is not right," Houghton said. "Maybe I'm the closet radical they can point to and say, 'See, it's not partisan.' "
Rep. Ralph Hall, D-Texas, said he regretted having to buck fellow Democrats with his vote to impeach.
"I don't enjoy voting against my party," he said. "I'd like to be liked by all the Democrats. It's not a pleasant thing to be going against the grain, but I've done it for a long, long time."
Despite their votes, the dissenting Democrats are still valued members of the party's caucus, said Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass.
"People feel everyone should vote their conscience," Meehan said. "Those members who vote for impeachment will be welcome back to the caucus in January with no hard feelings."