Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Uncategorized

Maxine Waters: “Impeachment Is . . . Whatever The Congress Says It Is”

1024px-Congresswoman_Waters_official_photoRep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has become an icon for the left in her unrelenting calls for impeachment of President Donald Trump and tapping into the blind rage across the country.  That appeal to the base however took a worrisome turn this week as Waters rallied supporters around the assurance that impeachment is anything they want to say it is.  As I stated recently to the Rolling Stones, this view was made popular by Gerald Ford and has been uniformly condemned by constitutional experts.  Waters is dismissing the constitutional obligation to find “high crimes and misdemeanors” in assuring supporters that they can simply get rid of Trump on a muscle vote.  Political convenience has long been the enemy of constitutional principle, but this effort is highly dangerous for our country as a whole.  We are living in an age of rage and Waters’ approach would create an channel to direct that lethal rage into the heart of our political system.

Gerald_Ford_-_NARA_-_530680.tifIn 1970, when Gerald Ford was still a member of the House of Representatives, he  said, “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be.”  It was a reckless and inaccurate statement.  On a very superficial level it is a political decision in the sense that it’s a decision that is ultimately made by politicians. However, that does not make the basis for decision purely political.  It is akin to saying that, since a priest can grant absolution on his own authority, sin is a discretionary pastoral question.  The Framers struggled to establish a standard and process to make impeachment both difficult and substantive.  They did not want a parliamentary system where impeachment was just a variation of a vote of no confidence as I discussed recently in a column.

Waters is advocating precisely this type of dangerous approach to impeachment.  She told the Congressional Black Caucus Town Hall on Civil Rights:

“Don’t come here and tell me, ‘Maxine, you keep on doing what you do.’ But when you gonna give me some support? How many of you in your organizations have said, ‘Impeach 45’ ? . . . Impeachment is about whatever the Congress says it is. There is no law that dictates impeachment. What the Constitution says is ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ and we define that.”

 

It is precisely the same constitutional short selling that has characterized the Democratic leadership for a decade — trashing constitutional values to achieve short-term gains.  During the eight years of Obama, Democrats supported the unilateral actions taken by the president in circumventing Congress. That resulting uber presidency was then handed to Trump — only to have Democrats denounce the very unilateral powers that they endorsed previously.

Waters and her supporters would unravel the delicate balance struck by the Framers and remove any real limitations on political impeachments for future presidents.  Trump will not be our last president, but Waters would create precedent for future members to discard their obligations and simply vote their political agendas.  It is a system that few should relish and most would come to regret.

203 thoughts on “Maxine Waters: “Impeachment Is . . . Whatever The Congress Says It Is””

  1. Maxine Waters (D–Los Angeles)
    Ethnicity

    15.1% White (Trash) (not to put too fine a point on it)
    23.6% Black
    12.6% Asian
    46.0% Hispanic
    2.7[1]% other

    Los Angeles, Carson, Gardena, Torrance, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood and Lomita.

    Just think, this area, not far from the beach, used to be populated by Americans.

    “At the time of his sixteenth birthday on June 20, 1958, Brian Wilson shared a bedroom with his brothers,

    Dennis and Carl – aged thirteen and eleven, respectively – in their family home in Hawthorne.”

    – Wiki

  2. Pingback: Waters: “Impeachment Is . . . Whatever The Congress Says It Is” – Maine Woman ORDERED To Take Down Trump Sign | Reclaim Our Republic

  3. OMG – this woman is SO, SO, STUPID. How the hell doe she get elected???? Amazing to me.

  4. How come she doesn’t have to live in the district she supposedly represents? Does her new found celeb status actually help the people she represents?

    1. Vote for Omar Navarro! (If for no other reason than the Mariachi band he had playing in Maxine’s yard). Latinos for Trump! Kick Maxine out!

  5. I despise Trump and everything he stands for. He’s the original deplorable and his only principles are feeding his infinite narcissism and enriching himself and his family.

    But she is an idiot.

        2. I thought he was all about collusion. Of course, you have no evidence to support collusion or corruption as an argument against DJT because Ken, you are uninformed.

  6. For about a year now “impeesh fodie fie” has rattled around in our ears the way nails on a chalkboard would if there were still chalkboards. My question: does the left know what happens AFTER impeachment?

    I know what happens. You know what happens. But do the snaggletoothed weirdos that dress up like ISIS and burn stuff in the streets have a clue? I doubt it.

    I don’t doubt that a great many of them think that if we impeesh fodie fie (for the longest time I thought she was saying “Barney Fife” and struggled to connect Trump with Fife) and Pence (the left wants to take Pence down too), that under the law 2016’s #2 becomes POTUS. Is that what they believe? That in 2021 we’ll see “What Happened Part Two” which details her assumption of Presidential duties and the damage wrought as a result of her limited tenure finishing fodie fie’s first term?

    1. I’ll give Autine Maxine credit…she isn’t as annoying as that Cash Me Ou”side, how ’bout da girl. Oh how our culture has sunk. I wonder if in ancient Rome, as the Dreamers were streaming in, if the philosophy and art of that once resplendent nation was reduced to someone in toga saying cash me ouside how bout da.

  8. Whenever I search the bottom of the barrel I always see Maxine Waters on top of Johnson, you know Guam will tip over and capsize, Johnson. The two of them are loons and belong together.

  10. Jon. Your priestly absolution line struck a sad nerve. A valid analogy that is sadly quite truthful. In many churches and denominations it seems that absolution is quite discretionary. One wonders if, say, an objecting member of Congress in response to a vote of impeachment could petition SCOTUS on grounds of insufficient crime.

  11. Alexander Hamilton –

    “In the composition of society, the harmony of the ingredients is all-important, and whatever tends to a discordant intermixture must have an injurious tendency.”

  12. Let’s see, now: Jon is complaining about Democrats “…trashing constitutional values to achieve short-term gains” because a Democrat member of Congress quoted a Republican former President. Yet we have an Electoral College President, popular vote loser who colluded with a foreign government to cheat his way into our White House, who has taken lying to a whole new level, who is emotionally immature, totally unfit to govern, who is addicted to praise, and whose immaturity and lack of fitness for office might get millions of people killed. He has accomplished nothing in 9 months in office other than to alienate most of the US’s allies, spent more money on Secret Service protection for himself and family than Pres. Obama did in all 8 years in office, shamed the Office of President with his lying and collusion and created an unstable administration by failing to fill key positions with qualified people and firing career people who could help the government succeed. Yet, the story today is Maxine Waters quoting Gerald Ford.

    I am thoroughly sick of the Fox News pivot to trash Democrats and constantly harp on HRC, now echoed by Jon, as a diversion to the serious crimes being investigated by a Special Prosecutor and Congress. It’s the Kellyanne Pivot, and it won’t work.

    1. Hey Natacha – wake up!! it’s not just Fox and the Repubs – we independents – many of whom are former Dims –are consistently sickened by the Dims. There is a reason that the coffers of the DNC are growing thin.

      1. No resolution to impeach Trump has been laid on the table.
        No impeachment hearings against Trump have been undertaken.
        No Articles of Impeachment have been brought against Trump.

        Natacha is right. Turley’s OP on this thread is nothing but distraction and diversion. Moreover, the only connection between Maxine Waters and Gerald Ford’s failed attempt to impeach Douglas are the words they chose to describe their views on impeachment. Ford actually got as far as holding hearings on a resolution to impeach Douglas. Ms. Waters is nowhere near that far along in her drive against Trump.

    3. Natcha,

      You may want to give your brain a good washing out. It’s filled to overflowing with propaganda.

  13. I confess to finding Maxine endearing. At the same time, it’s certainly true that Trump isn’t the only “dotard” running around Washington!

    Just this week Trump used powers that were given to him by Democrats to use EO’s unlawfully. Thanks Democrats!

    I look at this as all part of the process in making America safe for dictatorship. These people only want power. They really don’t care what they do to get it. It’s become a shoving match to see which dotard will be in power. That’s what we’ve come to. It would be a lot more funny if people weren’t hurt by these buffoons with benefits but no principles.

    Autumn, I thought your video encapsulated the complete bankruptcy of Maxine’s vision for the US.!

    1. Jill – seriously ?you find Mad Max “endearing”? She is one of the poster chillen who have used being black to get power and leaves her folks in the dust. Yep, you are right – Trump is using the precedents set by the Dims. And on and on it goes.

      This is an oldie but goodie IMO

      1. I do.

        You just don’t get to see that kind of crazy every day like we do in the US. So many of our politicians are loose as a goose! My feeling is we should use some strong gun control laws with these people and take away their power to use weapons of any kind as they do not pass the mental status test.

        I think USA might be number 1 in this regard, (although we do face very stiff competition!).

        1. Jill – I think Maxine gets armed protection because of her position. However, I do not think she could pass a mental stability test to get a gun.

          1. I wouldn’t think she’d get Secret Service protection based on what we learned in the DC ballpark shooting when Republicans in Congress were attacked. Only the leadership gets a Secret Service detail.

            Despite the criticism of her statement regarding Impeachment. Is there anything untruthful about it? She was aware of the standard being “High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Doesn’t Congress indeed determine what that means? In the same way that the Supreme Court decides what’s Unconstitutional.

            1. enigma – I think she has an armed bodyguard. Have seen him a couple of times in video of her when she is pressing the flesh.

              I agree with you and stated further upthread or downtread that Congress decides. It can be jaywalking or littering if she gets the votes.

                1. enigma – I doubt anyone on here would attack Maxine, but if she keeps this up she is going to upset people. She is going to have to be careful which neighborhoods she walks in. 😉 Although Turley seems to take her seriously, I know a lot of people who don’t and would just let her blather into senility.

                  1. Whether it would/could lead to an actual attack, I don’t know. If you read some of the comments, “on here” there is a level of hatred that may only be anonymous Internet bluster, but it exists.
                    I don’t think Turley takes her seriously as being able to lead an Impeachment charge. In this partisan environment. There may well be no level of proof possible to get the House to Impeach Trump and the Senate to vote him out. Turley, in my opinion, keeps throwing raw meat to the wolves and never stays to see the carnage.
                    Those that believe everything Russia is fake news certainly haven’t been following the travails of Manafort and Flynn. I’m willing to wait for actual evidence to make any call for Impeachment but for some, no evidence from any source will suffice.

                  1. I can only speculate as to why she has generated the level of vitriol she has in some minds. In the comments today she’s been called a “POS wench,” a “monkey” and more. Perhaps you can offer a rationale?

                    2. bam bam – I have listened to her during several House hearings and often her questions don’t make sense or are so convoluted that they are impossible to answer. She is a shill for the DNC and doing the best she can. She is the blunt point of a short spear.

                    4. Be careful Bam Bam, while not yet an actual trend, some people actually called out someone for calling Waters a monkey (although the previous use of “n*ggers” remains unchallenged).

            2. Even you must admit, if we are going to allow Congress that degree of latitude in defining high crimes and misdemeanors we upset checks and balances. I mean, let’s say Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris becomes President in 2021. Could a GOP Congress throw them out on the most spurious charges?

              1. I don’t think it’s a matter of allowing them that kind of latitude, I think that’s the exact amount of latitude they have always had. There is no definition in the Constitution, it always has been Congress who decides when and how to apply it.
                Make no mistake there have been numerous what we may view as frivolous calls for Impeachment, all it takes is a majority in both houses and that reasoning was sufficient.

        2. Jill, love “loose as a goose” description!! Do you ever tune into Judicial Watch? They have been battling both the Obama admin, Clinton and Trump

          1. I follow what they are accomplishing but I haven’t watched this video. Thanks for the link to it!

            Paul, I don’t think any of our politicians should have a water pistol let alone access to the world’s largest array of weapons ever in history.

          2. Autumn, nice post.

            All roads lead to Obama.

            Res ipsa loquitur. Obama used Hillary’s illegal e-mail and server. The act is proof.

            The shadow government cannot allow Hillary to be prosecuted because that prosecution will bring down Obama. Similar prosecutions of individual high level officials will bring down much of the Western world.

            These luminaries are “Too Big To Jail.”

            The Swamp rules.

            1. Thanks George. yep, I thought it was bad under Dubya but Obama’s peeps truly take the cake! Eric Holder being one of them. too big to fail, too big to jail.

      2. Caught your drift…….Black lady Maxine Waters is bad. White sexual predator Bill O’Reilly is cool.

        1. Absolutely ridiculous.

          Now you liberal freaks are incoherently and hysterically attacking nature itself.

          How about those folks in India: 1.324 billion products of “male predation.”

          Or China: 1.379 billion products of “male predation.”

          There’s a whole lot of “sexual predators” in those countries, huh?

          Every man on earth is a sexual predator – God ordered it.

          What do you grab, by the way?

      3. Don’t fond sexual predator Bill O”Reilly a good source regarding any woman or her hair style.

    2. What precisely about Maxine Waters is endearing? Was it when she referred to the LA riots as the rebellion or insurrection? Or was it when she said she wanted to “socialize” the oil and gas industry? Or still, is it her mansion in an opulent part of LA miles and miles away from the district she allegedly represents?

      More importanty, let’s say her vision is realized. Trump and Pence are impeached. Do you know what happens next?

    3. By the way, to claim that we are near or under a dictatorship is a slap in the face of everyone on this planet that lives under real dictatorships. You’ve just insulted everyone imprisoned in North Korean prison camps, Cuban gulags, Sudanese prisons, and all the rest.

    2. Autumn – well, we know what Maxine’s agenda is. Now the big question is, who is paying for it?

  15. Democrats are scum at this point. To hell with all of them. They are so full of hate that they are making the country full of hate. .

  16. Maxine is working it. She’s a celebrity favorite now. She gets standing ovations. And her signature ‘talk’ is leading chants of “Impeach 45” and shouting “he’s not my president!” and “he’s not your president!” God bless America.

  17. “It is akin to saying that, since a priest can grant absolution on his own authority, sin is a discretionary pastoral question.”

    Yes, I suppose it is. I must be missing something, since this seems to confirm that Waters is correct.

    1. I think that you ARE missing the point here. What the author is saying is that Waters’ statement would be akin to a priest saying that ‘sin is what I say is sin,’ just because he has the pastoral ability to forgive it. This is not so; sin is defined by the teachings of God and Church, not by the individual priest, and the definition of ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ is defined by legal and moral tradition, not by the utterances of individual members of the House of Representatives.

      1. the definition of ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ is defined by legal and moral tradition,

        Except it really isn’t.

      2. So if Waters only thought that they are whatever Congress decides they are it, but didn’t say this out loud, then it would be exactly the same as the example of the priest.

    2. First of all, is there separation of church and state or not? Asking since you invoked Catholicism as a basis for interpretation of the Constitution.

      So let’s take this concept to say, LBJ shall we? One of his hobbies as a POTUS was to go to his ranch in Texas and drink whiskey while driving a car around on his back 40 with Secret Service in tow pouring his alcohol In oher words, he was not only in violation of DUI laws, he was using federal law enforcement agents to help him do it.

      Impeachable offense?

  19. Maxine Waters is exactly what the African-American professor and CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill called Jim Brown and Martin Luther King III. There was no outcry. No outrage. Imagine if a FNC commentator had said the same thing. Ms. Maddow’s head would have exploded on the air.

      1. After Jim Brown, MLK III and Steve Harvey visited Trump Tower after the election, he referred to them during an on-air panel discussion as “mediocre negroes.”

    1. Max–Here’s a better suggestion: As you know, the incompetent and deranged Maxine Waters has been involved in corruption and ethics violations. She should be thrown out of Congress and Crooked Hillary should be indicted for repeatedly lying and violating the law!

    3. The penalty for treason, such as yours, in England until 1870 was for the traitor to have been “Drawn and Quartered.” It’s great to be in America, isn’t it?

      The “Framers” were in the nascent stages of abolition when they wrote the Constitution. George Washington intended to and freed his slaves in his will. The problem for colored people is that, up to and including the date of issuance of the wholly unconstitutional “Emancipation Proclamation,” the Naturalization Act of 1802 was in full force and effect requiring citizens to be “…free white person(s)…” causing the legal status of slaves to change from that of “property” to “illegal alien” compelling deportation, which bears currently on their descendants, understanding that no individual may benefit from the commission of a crime.

      Now, as we know, Lincoln had the definitive resolution in his initial contemplation of the problem:

      “If all earthly power were given me,” said Lincoln in a speech delivered in Peoria, Illinois, on October 16, 1854, “I should not know what to do, as to the existing institution [of slavery]. My first impulse would be to free all the slaves, and send them to Liberia, to their own native land.” After acknowledging that this plan’s “sudden execution is impossible,” he asked whether freed blacks should be made “politically and socially our equals?” “My own feelings will not admit of this,” he said, “and [even] if mine would, we well know that those of the great mass of white people will not … We can not, then, make them equals.”5

      As Alexander Hamilton said that multiculturalism is mortal:

      Alexander Hamilton –

      “In the composition of society, the harmony of the ingredients is all-important, and whatever tends to a discordant intermixture must have an injurious tendency.”

      Maxine may find eminent happiness and self-esteem in emigration and repatriation.

    4. Max has never heard of manumission have you Max.

      Do tell, once we get rid of all those nasty statues honoring “the framers”, who shall we erect monuments to? Che?

    5. Maxine is a modern day slave master. She supports bringing illegals into America to work for the lowest wages. She has done nothing to alleviate the crime rate and social conditions in a congressional district she’s too scared to even live in.

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