Olympia last week was the scene of one of those surreal moments that occasionally mark a legislative session – a wholly irrelevant hearing on presidential impeachment. It attracted some press coverage (more on the blogs) and generated some predictable grandstanding.

Of course, the Bush presidency will not be brought to an early end by the actions of the Washington Legislature. Yet, the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee chaired by Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park, spent some time on a measure asking Congress to investigate whether the president and vice president should be impeached. The bill’s prime sponsor is the committee’s vice chair, freshman Sen. Eric Oemig, D-Kirkland.

As hearings go, it wasn’t much. I watched on TVW, struck by the combination of pathos and posturing, weariness and weirdness. Republican committee members skipped it. Only five Democrats showed up. No one testified in opposition.

As a theatrical statement, the hearing was a dud. By ignoring it, opponents deprived the dramatists of the conflict necessary to make such events memorable. With no steel to strike it, the flint failed to spark. While there were whiffs of the old ‘60s smoke, the flame flickered. The hearing had its moments: conspiracy kooks, zealous intellectuals and the graying lifers of the left all again singing from the same secular hymnal. The whole thing had the feel of fringe theater, a cadre of devotees half filling small halls.

Only a few hundred folks showed up for a demonstration earlier in the day, well below expectations. For perspective, consider that in January, pro-life groups drew 2,500 for the annual March for Life.

Certainly, some Democratic lawmakers share the convictions of their more extreme constituents and wanted them to have their day on the Hill. Such indulgences do, however, carry political risk.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, Congressman Jay Inslee and Gov. Chris Gregoire counseled against the hearing. Like U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, they don’t see a win in impeachment talk. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, taking a calculated risk, allowed it.

Republicans called the hearing a distraction from the more important business of state. Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, said Brown should be embarrassed for permitting it on her watch.

“We understand how passionate people are … . But it’s important to remember which Washington we’re in,” Hewitt said in a statement. “We can help these folks by creating a good job climate, making sure their kids have help to pass the math WASL, keeping taxes low, and helping shorten their commute times.”

The governor similarly urged Democrats to concentrate on schools, health care, and economic development.

Such single-minded attention to state business is, however, entirely unsatisfying to the anti-Bush, anti-war left. They would happily put up with more congestion, slower growth and another year of bad WASL scores if that’s what it takes to get the president out of the White House.

Give them this: Providing time for a show trial doesn’t detract from other priorities. The Legislature is inherently a multi-tasking body, quite capable of squeezing a few hours of Bush bashing into the mix. Lawmakers have wasted more time thinking about dogs in bars than they have on impeachment.

Successful politicians frame issues to expand their core. Democrats win with what House Speaker Frank Chopp, Seattle, calls “kitchen-table issues,” things average folks care about. Impeachment doesn’t fit that frame. It sets the party outside the mainstream. And should that frame stick, other ideas championed by the party – tax reform, expanded health care or environmental regulation – become suspect.

The Democratic leaders who wanted to sideline the hearing understood what was at stake. Their very legitimate concern is that such hearings threaten continued Democratic majorities and make it more difficult to generate support for other party priorities. They’re right.

Last week’s hearing, while possibly cathartic, was not cost free. It weakened, at least for the moment, the carefully cultivated centrist image that helped Democrats win in Eastern Washington and suburban Seattle. You don’t hold the center by catering to the fringe.

Smart politicians like Gregoire, Inslee and Murray know that. I think Lisa Brown does, too. We should have seen the end of such stuff.