The New Conservative Purity Test: Impeaching Obama

The Daily Beast ^ | Friday, July 11, 2014 | David Freedlander

[kristinn]

It’s now the extreme dividing line among the GOP’s base: Do you want to impeach the president or not? Why Republicans with long memories are worried about where all this is headed.

There was a time not long ago when leaders in the Republican Party favored a cap-and-trade system to deal with the threat of global warming. And there was a time when the party coalesced around the idea of immigration reform. There was a time when it seemed suicidal to much of the party to not raise the debt ceiling.

But each of those issues shifted quickly at some point to become dividing lines for the base, one in which being on the wrong side meant talk-radio ridicule and threats of a primary challenge.

The latest out-of-left field litmus test? Do you want to impeach President Obama, or not?

This particular line entered the bloodstream this week thanks to Sarah Palin, who on Tuesday authored an op-ed on Breitbart News in which she wrote that “Enough is enough of the years of abuse from this president. His unsecured border crisis is the last straw that makes the battered wife say, ‘no mas.’”

On Wednesday, the influential talk-radio host Mark Levin, who has previously called for the president’s impeachment, endorsed Palin’s comments. “She stands with the Framers. So, what is [House Speaker John] Boehner’s answer? What are the Republicans going to do? They’re going to wait for the next election? That doesn’t fix it.”

The notion of an impeachment has created such a flurry that it has become a question that seemingly all Republicans must now answer questions about, whether in the halls of Congress or on the campaign trail. A cadre of top Republicans has pushed back on the idea,...

[right way right]

Can't talk about what really needs to happen.
It goes way beyond Obama. He's just a “useful idiot”.
Impeachment would only result in backlash from the
the dependent class.

[rollo tomasi]

In 1996 the Repubs lost 6 seats in the HOR.

In 1998 the Repubs lost 5 seats in the HOR.

Hmm... Also all the major committee meetings for impeachment happened AFTER the mid-term elections with the impeachment vote occurring in December 1998.

Just saying...

[FreeReign]

It goes way beyond Obama. He's just a “useful idiot”.

Yes, the problem is above Obama.

Impeachment would only result in backlash from the the dependent class.

The media will lie and get the dependent class to turn out every election cycle. We need to get the normal people to turn out and we get them to turn out by dong what's right.

[FreeReign]

In 1996 the Repubs lost 6 seats in the HOR. In 1998 the Repubs lost 5 seats in the HOR.

Don't think your first two statements are correct.

Hmm... Also all the major committee meetings for impeachment happened AFTER the mid-term elections with the impeachment vote occurring in December 1998. Just saying...

I think that's correct.

So then in 2000 House Repubs had their third best election since '48 winning 223 seats.

[noinfringers2]

Your comments make me think of Regan and Rockafeller.

[Resettozero]

Now it’s a bunch of angry people who just hate Obama and don’t care why, and now they want to impeach him and they don’t care that such an effort is doomed to failure and would actually set conservatism back at least a decade.

Okay...guess we part company here.

Thanks for the chat.

-30-

[right way right]

Don't get me wrong.
I think he should be impeached but it would not have the result desired by the TEA movement.
I have a preference for something more along the lines of this.

Romanian Dictator Nicolae and Elena ceausescu exe…: http://youtu.be/XsRQP7TifME

But, on a much larger bipartisan scale.

[rollo tomasi]

Sorry in ‘96 Repubs lost 3, two to dems and an Independent.

‘98 dems did gain 5 seats with Repub losing 4.

[right way right]

Oops.
I guess I talked about it.
Jack booted thugs at my door right now.

[right way right]

There I go again.
I just have this vision of millions of people rising up heading for DC.......
burning down the IRS and defunding corruption etc.
People are afraid of the government. It didn’t used to be like this.
To many are dependant now. We let this happen.

[Jewbacca]

“So then you’re not happy that Clinton was impeached?”

There was a chance for Clinton’s removal. Not so here.

[rollo tomasi]

No there wasn't, the Republican lead Senate at the time wanted to quickly end the issue, hence the “trial” which was mainly floor debates. The number of dems needed for a conviction was never going to materialized. However, impeachment stays till the end of our Constitutional rule and although political, serves as a huge embarrassment and a beacon of historic purposes to those who look to the past to gain a better foothold of the future if the impeachment was actually legitimate.

[doug from upland]

Just curious. For whom did you vote in the last election?