THE AUDACITY OF A DOPE In a post yesterday I suggested that House Speaker John Boehner assumes Americans are stupid. He governs (or refuses to) based on the hope that we are ill-informed and have short memories. Sadly, he is probably right and the proof of it lies in the fact that we let someone like John Boehner be Speaker of the House. Today, Boehner said (out loud and in front of everyone) that all the talk of impeaching President Obama is the work of Democrats themselves. Well, we may be dumb but we aint THAT dumb, Johnny. There is an extensive and well documented history of calls for impeachment coming from the right side of the aisle, as explained succinctly by blogger Steve Benen. I’ve been keeping a close eye on this story in recent years, and I remember reporting back in June 2012 on then-Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the #2 Republican in the chamber at the time, telling a broadcast audience that presidential impeachment was “a possibility” if the Obama administration failed to implement immigration policy to the GOP’s satisfaction. It wasn’t an isolated comment. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) said in April 2013 he wanted to impeach Obama because of ”all of the czars,” while Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) talked in March 2013 about impeaching Obama for no apparent reason. What’s more, Fox News’ Neil Cavuto suggested in 2012 that Obama might be liable to impeachment over recess appointments; Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) raised the prospect of impeaching Obama over DOMA; and Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) talked up the idea of presidential impeachment because “it would tie things up” in Washington for a while, making governing impossible. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) even introduced an impeachment resolution, just in case Obama sends U.S. troops to Syria. We can even go as far back as 2010, when both Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) also raised the specter of impeaching Obama, for reasons that still don’t make any sense, four years later. More recently, of course, the GOP’s interest has intensified, with several U.S. senators, U.S. House members, congressional candidates, and a certain former vice presidential candidate all talking up the impeachment idea as if it were credible. Of course Democrats are justifiably pleased that Republicans are so obsessed with impeachment because it solidifies growing public sentiment that the GOP is singularly disinterested in solving any real problems. But impeachment is something the radical right wing came up with all on its own. Furthemore, mainstream conservatives have been more than willing to embrace the idea. The proverb, as you sow, so shall you reap applies here. And even dummies can figure out that one.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 22:40:32 +0000
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