I recently wrote on the issue of impeachment that has been reportedly so widely in the media. As I noted in the column and in prior interviews, there is no serious move toward impeachment by the Republicans and most of the impeachment talk has come from the White House and Democrats, including in fund-raising campaigns. Indeed, I was critical of the Washington Post column after one of the hearings in which I testified on executive over-reach. While the issue of impeachment was mentioned only a handful of times and usually to dismiss it as an option, the column was entitled “Republicans see One Remedy for Obama — Impeachment.” It seems that even denying impeachment as an option still constitutes discussing impeachment. Now The Hill newspaper has looked at the congressional record to see who is raising impeachment more often. The result was that Democrats raised the issue 20 times more often than Republicans, who barely uttered the “I” word.
The Hill found just 4 references to impeachment on the House and Senate floors by Republicans while finding 86 such references by Democrats.
Of course, the issue remains a cash cow for Democrats with millions being raised to fight off impeachment when the money could be just as well spent on chupacabra repellant. As of yet, President Obama has not committed an impeachable act and Speaker Boehner has steadfastly ruled out such an effort in the House.
The top three House Democratic leaders — Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (S.C.) also have all been flogging the impeachment horse. The black caucus has also been active in raising the issue, including Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee who raised it 18 times. She is followed by Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson (six times), New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (nine times), CBC Chairwoman and Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge (once), California Rep. Barbara Lee (twice), New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne (once), North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield (twice) and Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards (once). Other members discussing impeachment are Reps. Kurt Schrader (Ore.), Bill Pascrell (N.J.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Luis Gutierrez (Ill.), Louise Slaughter (N.Y.), Jackie Speier (Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
Source: The Hill
Sheila Jackson Lee has raised the impeachment of Obama 18 times and stated she never spoke of impeaching W. Her signature on an official document calling for the impeachment of Bush showed her to be a liar.
Elaine, You comments have been bereft of substance. You seem to have given up your obsessive links, which is good. But, if you aren’t linking you are snarking. What do you think about this post? Do you think Dems are flopping on this? Are Republicans racist. You need to step up your game.
Very misleading post. Raising impeachment for whom? Bush should have been impeached for a ton more valid reasons, i.e. Lying to get us into an unjust war, Torture. War crimes, etc., but Pelosi and the corporate dumocrats did not even raise the investigation card, when they won the Congress.
Chaban on August 8, 2014 at 7:37 am
“There is a moral confusion in America about Gaza. We swept it under the rug in this blog.”
Yes. Others have noticed, as well. Americans, in general, are very good at turning a blind-eye, going with the flow, not bucking the system, playing nice, not challenging the status quo, etc.
But if it’s about being inconvenienced by an airline, you’ll hear about it.
Above all most Americans like their relatively comfortable lives.
Professor, maybe you should include how many times Republicans have said Obama is a Muslim, Obama is not president because he was born in Kenya, Obama is the antichrist, Obama is a socialist/communist/dictator. Come on. I lived through (it wasn’t easy) the GWB years and while he was called, rightfully so, incompetent, he wasn’t characterized with such racial, religious or ethnic hatred.
I like to present this review of GOP v. Democrat from two highly respected political observers:
‘We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.
The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html
I don’t like much of what Obama has done, especially regarding the spy state and his treatment of whistleblowers, I never voted for him. But I have never seen a president treated with so much hostility from the opposing party.
And it is a fact that Obama has issued fewer Executive Orders than two term presidents GWB, WJC, RWR, RMN, etc. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/orders.php
GOP offers a few things to the political debate; hyperbole, anger, falsehoods, and fear, but they are unable to properly govern. How else can you explain the GOP suing the president for overreach and then demand that he act on his own about immigration?
There is a moral confusion in America about Gaza. We swept it under the rug in this blog.
Charlton,
Shame on you–you duopoly-loving cultist! Better get thee to a medical supply store. There’s going to be a bloodbath!
Notice how the cultists bring up Clinton. The plan is obvious is you think for yourself. For the first time in over 60 years, the President’s party gained seats in Congress in an off year election, in 1998. That was a reaction to the Clinton impeachment. The WH sees a bloodbath coming this Fall. This is for fundraising. I think some of the Dems here have already sent their checks!
SWM is going to spit out her coffee when she reads this post.
The duopoly has descended to the lowest rung of hell. For decades the meme from BOTH sides has been, “Yea, we may suck, but we don’t suck as bad as those other guys, so vote for us.” But, the Chicago Way politician in the WH has taken it to the lowest level. “They want to impeach me” and w/ a wink imply, “It’s because they’re racist.”
You can just bide your time when you know people only have two choices. You may be out of power for a bit, but just keep people divided and angry and they’ll come back to your camp in due time. Time for a new paradigm w/ more choices.
The number of times the word impeachment comes up on the floor of the house is an irrelevant argument. Especially when those bandying around the arguments are, collectively, a bunch of ideologues.
There have been two actual impeachments, both by radical Republicans. Andrew Johnson was impeached primarily because he wanted his own cabinet members, and fired incumbent cabinet members from the previous administration. Bill Clinton was impeached for allegedly getting a BJ and lying about it. Show me somebody who has never lied about sex. Harder to find than the honest man Diogenes of Sinope looked for.
Impeachment is an easy bit of political rhetoric. As for the lawsuit, all the lawyers on this forum know that when you go into a Court of Equity, you must have clean hands. When a suit is filed accusing the Chief Executive of not doing his job, after throwing up roadblock after roadblock, plus lawsuits right and left to keep him from implementing the law, I don’t think they can claim clean hands.
Well, of course they will claim it, but the poop is still dripping off their elbows, and like all poop, it stinks.
JT, you really do not believe that this president has obstructed justice? Is that not an impeachable act? He has even obstructed justice in other countries , and you yourself have written about how the US prevented trials for war crimes in other countries. Help me understand, I will appreciate it.
This is the dumbest blog post I’ve read in a long time.
I started following this blog a year or so ago and enjoyed the legal notes and commentary, the political stuff I didn’t always agree with but it was thoughtful.
Lately, we’ve been getting posts about “crippling” debt (whatever the effect of the debt, I can’t imagine that the US is currently crippled because of it), and the over the top comments on executive action (explain how something violates the Constitution, don’t just fear monger).
This blog has gone seriously downhill.
The story only compares how many times each side used the word “impeachment” on the floors of Congress…no mention of the myriad campaign events and public media shows where elected Republicans, Republican candidates and Rightwing media darlings have pushed it for the benefit of their base. Honestly Mr. turley, I thought you had more professional integrity than that. The Right has hinted and teased their base by flirting with the idea of impeaching the President throughout his tenure. Their base is so ripe for it that Boehner is forced to bring a lawsuit that he knows will fail for the sole purpose of appeasing those in the base (and those who are actual members of the House) who have been pushing for impeachment, an act that Boehner knows would be very politically dangerous. The Dems would be stupid not to propose to their base the probability of a Republican Senate and House majority undertaking such an act. To use it for fundraising by the Dems is somehow low in Mr. Turley’s opinion while Republicans using it is fine? Now it comes down to how many times the word has been used on the floor? Give me a break…politics is politics. If the Republicans didn’t want the Dems to use it to their advantage they shouldn’t have opened that can of worms in the first place. Just because Boehner says it’s not on the table you actually believe him?
How much is Boehner’s lawsuit going to cost taxpayers?
The House has a constitutional duty which it has been derelict and negligent in performing.
America is now a lawless society.
Nancy Pelosi failed to vet presidential candidates for eligibility.
The judicial and executive overreach and exceed their limits.
Congress watches and does nothing.
LAWLESS.
Well, you do realize it’s all about fundraising, right? The more often the word “impeachment” is mentioned the more money is raised by Democrats to fend of impeachment, so of course the Democrats are screeching nonstop about impeachment. Everyone knows it is not going to happen, except the people who are throwing money at the Democratic Party to prevent impeachment.
Thanks, Professor Turley. I did not know this. Nice to see where money gets spent.
Regardless of whether Obama has, or will, commit an impeachable act, who wants Joe Biden as President?
I wonder how the Democrats will spin this one. I guess, like their criticism of the Republican’s issue with the executive orders by President Obama, numbers don’t matter.
It shows the total lack of regard for governing by both sides…tragic is the only word I could muster 🙁