As much as we dislike Obama, there isn't anything of any consequence that can be used to impeach him and it's just as silly an idea as when Democrats were yelling to impeach Bush.
Article II Section 4 of the Constitution reads The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
The ‘other high crimes and misdemeanors’ is a generalization that most legal scholars interpret as whatever the House judges them to be at any particular time. Gerald Ford, when serving as minority leader in the 70s, defined an impeachable offense as ‘whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.’
In the 70s, the fact that Richard Nixon attempted to cover up a political break-in nearly rose to that level before he resigned from office. He was not involved in the planning or the execution of the break-in, but the offense of simply attempting to hide the fact that it occurred was considered worthy of impeachment by many in D.C. in the early 70s.
The following is excerpted from a report written and released by the Judiciary Committee in 1974 in the aftermath of the Watergate crisis:
Thirteen officers have been impeached by the House since 1787: one President, one cabinet officer, one United States Senator, and ten Federal judges. [Of course, this was written before Clinton’s impeachment.]
Each of the thirteen American federal impeachments involved charges of misconduct incompatible with the official position of the officeholder. This conduct falls into three broad categories: (1) exceeding the constitutional bounds of the powers of the office in derogation of the powers of another branch of government; (2) behaving in a manner grossly incompatible with the proper function and purpose of the office; and (3) employing the power of the office for an improper purpose or gain.
I, for one, believe Barack Obama has committed offenses under all three of the above categories. Lying, bribing, political payoffs, subverting election laws, commiserating with the enemy, placing international law and UN dictate above the U.S. Constitution, sending troops into war without Congressional approval, appointing dozens of unconstitutional ‘czars’ and making calculated recess appointments in order to avoid the senate approval process, using public monies to prop up entities owned or run by political supporters, refusal to prosecute gross voter intimidation, and on and on ad infinitum.
If the media and the political left succeeded in hounding Nixon out of office because they convinced much of the American public that the cover-up of a hotel break-in was worthy of an impeachment hearing, then surely one or all of the above atrocities qualify as well. The only fly in the ointment is that few, if any, in positions of leadership have ever been willing to start the ball rolling. Too many repercussions would result from an administration that is unwilling to admit to fault, or allow the unvarnished truth to surface, regarding anything it does. This administration has honed to an art form the demonization of its enemies. Power can be an indescribably evil and ugly thing when it seeks to be answerable to no one. |
