With the growing possibility that the Republicans MIGHT win control of the US Senate, and keep control of the House of Representatives by a tight margin, the likelihood of President Obama facing impeachment, as Bill Clinton did in 1998, grows.
But there is no case for impeachment, as Barack Obama has NOT committed high crimes and misdemeanors in office!
He has not even had an illicit love affair as Bill Clinton did, and he has not lied under oath, as Bill Clinton sadly did when asked about his love life by a prosecutor under oath, once the Paula Jones accusations came to light.
Obama has been accused of abusing power, but nothing he has done is any different than what George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, or other Presidents did, without the invective that the 44th President has had to deal with.
Obama has faced a constant assault like no one since Richard Nixon, who deserved it, due to his illegal actions. So much of what is said is outrageous, and disrespectful of the office he holds.
But remember that all that is needed for impeachment is a majority of the House of Representatives to vote on one or more articles of impeachment, and the charges need not be substantial or legitimate, as impeachment is a political action, not based on the law, as it was not based on law with Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
The likelihood of an impeachment, therefore, is very high, but as stated at other times by this blogger, it will never lead to the removal of the President, since even if the GOP gains the Senate majority, there will never be a situation where enough Democrats, or in fact, any Democrats, would vote to remove him from office!
The effect of an impeachment will be, simply, to besmirch the record of Barack Obama, making him the fourth President to face impeachment charges, but it will only matter as part of his obituary, since it will certainly be one of the key points always remembered if it ends up happening.
The impeachment battle would also cause a dramatic rise in Obama’s popularity, much like Bill Clinton experienced.
It would also help to undermine, ever further, any legitimacy that the Republican Party has with the American people at large, and it would further insure that a Democratic President will be elected in 2016.
Impeachment would be seen as petty, vindictive, and unfortunately, racist, and it would reflect badly on Republicans who wish to run for President.
No good could come out of such an action, but it would be a high moment for those who wish to divide America ever further, but with no satisfaction of their desire for blood.
And the true beneficiary of all this, if by some miracle, Obama was forced out, would be Vice President Joe Biden, who by becoming President with less than half the term left, would have a step up for the Presidency in 2016 and 2020, thus destroying the last opportunity for Hillary Clinton or any Republican to become President before 2025!
And anyone who thinks Joe Biden is a “joke”, who is not to be taken seriously, will have their comeuppance when they discover they might have created the monster of a President Biden for the next decade!
That’s why it’s important for liberals and progressives to vote in every election, not just presidential elections.
A wise post from the PCTC blog: http://pleasecutthecrap.com/is-kos-insane-apparently-so/
Princess Leia:
I agree. I mentioned to the Professor in an earlier post why I thought Andrew Cuomo would play better in the 2016 campaign than Biden or Clinton.
Fair or not, both of them will be associated with the distorted propaganda of the Koch Brothers and whatever residual leftover carpet bombing the mid term election does to the Senate.
Just as Romney “wrote off” 47% of the people who wouldn’t vote for him, moderate/progressives can’t write off the 47% who didn’t vote Democratic in 2012.
Progressive politics comes with a cost and the economy is still recovering and all can’t be done overnight.
There is a relatively new book out entitled “The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of RIght and Left”.
It is on my “To Read” list, so I have not had a chance to dive into it except some skimming. The gist is that the author says Burke saw politics as citizens of a free society would divide into two broad rivalries, based on their ideas of the common weal: One group would tend to be grateful for the good in society and want to use it to address the bad. The other would tend to be outraged at the bad and eager to uproot it and start over.
Paine, on the other hand thought political parties main function was to distract people from the truth.
Madison in the Federalist papers worried that partisanship would result in permanent factions pursuing private interests instead of the public good.
The goals of turning general principles into particular policies and trying to persuade the public of their wisdom of each party working together toward common goals has fallen by the wayside.
The author says that in the past this meant furthering the national interest and party interests at the same time. Nowadays, it is just trying to get a momentary political advantage, resulting in gridlock.
You are so correct in your assessment, Paul!
I remember reading somewhere that George Washington wasn’t too keen on political parties either.
Granted I was pretty young back when all that Clinton stuff was going on, but I’ve always felt like they had no business prying into his private relationships in the first place. So he had an affair? So have a lot of president’s whether we learned of it or not.
I do agree with you about them creating a monster without thinking about it if they should somehow manage to succeed in forcing Obama out (I wonder if in such a world gummy bears will fall out of the sky instead of raindrops LOL).
I think it would be somewhat similar to the mistake they made in the early 1900’s when they tried to silence Teddy Roosevelt by consigning him to the “useless†post of Vice President only to have tragedy present him as a major pain in their ass for the next decade. I guess Republicans of today have never heard the saying be careful what you wish for!
Rustbelt Democrat, you are correct, that Washington opposed political parties, and warned against them in his Farewell Address.
Ali, the point I have always made against Bill Clinton is that when you are President, not before or after, your affairs could compromise the national security of the nation, and that cannot be permitted to happen.
JFK actually did undermine his administration without us being aware of it, due to his affair with a Mafia woman, when his administration was trying to crack down on the Mob. If it had been known, it would have been grounds for impeachment and resignation!
Exactly right Leia! I’m getting sick and tired of ultra liberals like the Daily Kos bunch trashing conservative Democrats.
@Rustbelt
They act like a mirror image of the Tea Party, in that purity matters more than getting things done.
@Princess Leia,
That’s why I sought out pragmatic progressive blogs, such as The People’s View and Winning Progressive and some of the blogs they mention on their blogrolls.