posted
What infuriates me more is they are so so so so so so dysfunctional, and yet nothing is happening to Congress. It's like there's no better evidence for how divorced the American people are from the business of their representatives.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Elison R. Salazar: I just can't wait until they try impeachment, preferably in time for the midterms but they're smart enough to not do that sadly.
I actually doubt he'll still be in office by the time that lawsuit resolves.
Democrats are way more obsessed with impeachment than Republicans. The idea that the Congress is going to impeach the President is an outright fantasy, one fed by right-wing talk radio and Democratic caricatures of rank-and-file Republicans. In reality, no Republican with anything resembling a position of political authority has expressed interest in impeachment. It's a fiction, one that's helped Democrats and their aligned SuperPACs raise millions of dollars.
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
Yeah, that's certainly the new Republican line. I think they were taken aback by how willing people are to give money to Congressional Democrats to avoid the possibility. But way to buy into it, Peter!
quote:Originally posted by Elison R. Salazar: I just can't wait until they try impeachment, preferably in time for the midterms but they're smart enough to not do that sadly.
I actually doubt he'll still be in office by the time that lawsuit resolves.
Democrats are way more obsessed with impeachment than Republicans. The idea that the Congress is going to impeach the President is an outright fantasy, one fed by right-wing talk radio and Democratic caricatures of rank-and-file Republicans. In reality, no Republican with anything resembling a position of political authority has expressed interest in impeachment. It's a fiction, one that's helped Democrats and their aligned SuperPACs raise millions of dollars.
Peter, I respect the hell out of you, but I don't know where you've been the past six years if you're going to suggest serious political hay hasn't been made my serious conservative Republicans out of impeachment, and talk like it.
They don't say it Sunday on Meet the Press, that's true. But then that is hardly the only bar for what a party or a subset of a party takes seriously, either.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Elison R. Salazar: I just can't wait until they try impeachment, preferably in time for the midterms but they're smart enough to not do that sadly.
I actually doubt he'll still be in office by the time that lawsuit resolves.
Democrats are way more obsessed with impeachment than Republicans. The idea that the Congress is going to impeach the President is an outright fantasy, one fed by right-wing talk radio and Democratic caricatures of rank-and-file Republicans. In reality, no Republican with anything resembling a position of political authority has expressed interest in impeachment. It's a fiction, one that's helped Democrats and their aligned SuperPACs raise millions of dollars.
Peter, I respect the hell out of you, but I don't know where you've been the past six years if you're going to suggest serious political hay hasn't been made my serious conservative Republicans out of impeachment, and talk like it.
They don't say it Sunday on Meet the Press, that's true. But then that is hardly the only bar for what a party or a subset of a party takes seriously, either.
Who are these republicans you are speaking of? Sarah Palin? She has no power in the party. Both house and senate members have said they aren't even considering an attempt to impeach. Those are the only ones that have the power to do that. Meanwhile in the house and senate, they are getting up and talking about how the republicans are getting ready to impeach the president.
It all comes down to fundraising and the mid-terms. The democrats are worried, and they are using this impeachment talk to fundraise. It worked miracles during the Clinton impeachment, and they are trying the same thing now.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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posted
The Tea Party is significant in the Republican Party right now. Sarah Palin is significant with the Tea Party. It's absurd to suggest she has no power in the Tea Party, man, c'mon.
I'm not saying she's a kingmaker or anything, but 'no power'? I think you're speaking your wish due to her being a laughingstock to responsible people, GOP as otherwise.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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If you want to talk Palin-esque calls for impeachment, I think the 538 article I linked to earlier is informative. You're much more likely to hear discussions of impeachment coming from Ed Schultz or Chris Matthews than from Palin and co.
I'm not disputing there haven't been Republicans, both in and out of Congress, who's rhetoric over the past several years have given Democrats something to react to, and some of those Republicans (like Palin) may even have some sway over Republican hearts and minds or something. But none of the Republicans whose support would be necessary to actually impeach the President have expressed any interest in doing so, and Democrats' insinuations to the contrary are strictly fear-mongering (or wishful thinking, depending on your context).
I think, and 538's data supports the idea, that the level of interest in the issue is being driven almost exclusively by Democratic efforts to use the issue to their advantage in the mid-term election. It's something that rallies their base and increases their fund-raising.
<edit>I'd seen Weigel's article on Slate about the issue, so I knew what it said, but I hadn't seen the one from politicsusa.com. First off, that site gives off Townhall-esque levels of respectable objectivity. Second, their quote round-up of actual congress people calling for impeachment is...two. The rest said mealy-mouthed things like "it's debatable" or "we shouldn't rule it out". If the best ammo a hyper-partisan site like that can dig up amounts to two isolated statements from minor Congressmen at rallies, I feel pretty good about saying the support for impeachment in Congress is negligible. The closest to an influential congressional Republican saying something positive about it is the quote from Steve Scalise who "refused to rule it out" during a visit to Fox News Sunday. That's extremely weak tea.</edit>
posted
how do they have time to sue the president inbetween their busy schedule of repealing obamacare 1000 times and blocking all governance otherwise
purposefully failing the electorate is hard work people
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:The rest said mealy-mouthed things like "it's debatable" or "we shouldn't rule it out".
Man, will Republicans never figure out that dog whistles do not in fact provide plausible deniability?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I kind of think that this whole suing/impeachement nonce is really coming up as a perfunctory distraction campaign. that may be related to how it looks pretty fairly positive that republicans intend to obstruct any meaningful response for the current immigration crisis to the extent of torpedoing even their own bill.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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If that's the way you feel, I guess I'm not going to dissuade you.
Personally, my problem with not taking people at their word is that it's very easy to then let "my-side bias" color your perceptions of what a non-denial denial is meant to convey. And then you end up in Weasel Zipper land, claiming that because Obama refuses to condemn Bob Filner he's a misogynist.
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
it is true that the republican dogwhistles in this case could very easily be said to pertain less to the idea that they sincerely want to open up an impeachment case against obama, and more to the fact that they are wet-their-pants terrified of the repercussions of directly addressing their own tea party lunacy in a way which makes them a target
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posted
The whole thing's ridiculous political theatre is so obvious when you realize the courts will just rule they lack standing anyways and say they should attempt impeachment instead.
Posts: 12931 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Elison R. Salazar: I just can't wait until they try impeachment, preferably in time for the midterms but they're smart enough to not do that sadly.
I actually doubt he'll still be in office by the time that lawsuit resolves.
Democrats are way more obsessed with impeachment than Republicans. The idea that the Congress is going to impeach the President is an outright fantasy, one fed by right-wing talk radio and Democratic caricatures of rank-and-file Republicans. In reality, no Republican with anything resembling a position of political authority has expressed interest in impeachment. It's a fiction, one that's helped Democrats and their aligned SuperPACs raise millions of dollars.
quote:Originally posted by Elison R. Salazar: I just can't wait until they try impeachment, preferably in time for the midterms but they're smart enough to not do that sadly.
I actually doubt he'll still be in office by the time that lawsuit resolves.
Democrats are way more obsessed with impeachment than Republicans. The idea that the Congress is going to impeach the President is an outright fantasy, one fed by right-wing talk radio and Democratic caricatures of rank-and-file Republicans. In reality, no Republican with anything resembling a position of political authority has expressed interest in impeachment. It's a fiction, one that's helped Democrats and their aligned SuperPACs raise millions of dollars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdmmYNuCXYs
That's just the video round-up of the quotes from Tom's politicsusa.com article. Again, two actual calls for impeachment from minor congressmen at political rallies, and a lot of threats and bluster about 'if the President does this' or 'I think we're getting close' or 'we could probably do it if we wanted to', with none coming from people in actual political roles of responsibility (like the Speaker, the Majority leader, or the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee).
Furthermore, many of the examples from the video come from appearances on Fox or other news shows, and the words are more or less put in the congress(wo)men's mouths. However, as the data from 538 show, if we want to start bean-counting those appearances, those mentions of impeachment, it's much more frequently Chris Matthews prompting Nancy Pelosi to talk with horror about the idea than Megan Kelly prompting Steve King to talk with relish about the idea.
Personally I find the statements from the Republican congresspeople compiled in the video sad, in the sense of how empty and devoid of meaning they are. They are rhetorical tics to curry favor with firebrand base conservatives, but are worded to avoid any sort of commitment or stand. They are idle and empty threats, and I think any real political observer would see them as such. This whole discussion really brings the whole Kabuki theater concept of politics to mind; the provocation, the reaction, the whole of it all seems so scripted and small. It's just kind of sad.
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Elison R. Salazar: I just can't wait until they try impeachment, preferably in time for the midterms but they're smart enough to not do that sadly.
I actually doubt he'll still be in office by the time that lawsuit resolves.
Democrats are way more obsessed with impeachment than Republicans. The idea that the Congress is going to impeach the President is an outright fantasy, one fed by right-wing talk radio and Democratic caricatures of rank-and-file Republicans. In reality, no Republican with anything resembling a position of political authority has expressed interest in impeachment. It's a fiction, one that's helped Democrats and their aligned SuperPACs raise millions of dollars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdmmYNuCXYs
That's just the video round-up of the quotes from Tom's politicsusa.com article. Again, two actual calls for impeachment from minor congressmen at political rallies, and a lot of threats and bluster about 'if the President does this' or 'I think we're getting close' or 'we could probably do it if we wanted to', with none coming from people in actual political roles of responsibility (like the Speaker, the Majority leader, or the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee).
Furthermore, many of the examples from the video come from appearances on Fox or other news shows, and the words are more or less put in the congress(wo)men's mouths. However, as the data from 538 show, if we want to start bean-counting those appearances, those mentions of impeachment, it's much more frequently Chris Matthews prompting Nancy Pelosi to talk with horror about the idea than Megan Kelly prompting Steve King to talk with relish about the idea.
Personally I find the statements from the Republican congresspeople compiled in the video sad, in the sense of how empty and devoid of meaning they are. They are rhetorical tics to curry favor with firebrand base conservatives, but are worded to avoid any sort of commitment or stand. They are idle and empty threats, and I think any real political observer would see them as such. This whole discussion really brings the whole Kabuki theater concept of politics to mind; the provocation, the reaction, the whole of it all seems so scripted and small. It's just kind of sad.
You pretty much summed up my feelings on the video.
And I admit I chuckled when I saw the video name.
"inpeach"
Yep, the poster totally nailed that one!
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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