The GOP Impeachment Pipe Dream

[berni_mccoy]

It ain't gonna happen folks. Even if the GOP takes control of the Senate, they aren't going to have a supermajority. This means that a conviction of impeachment won't happen. They can think this all they want. They can salivate over it. But we'll simply be left with the same gridlock we've had for the last 4 years. Only this time, President Obama will be vetoing every ridiculous piece of crap put forward by the party of insanity. And one thing is for sure, the Senate Democrats better use their Filibuster capabilities to block anything and everything they can.

[jzola]

1. Do you believe the Republicans won't change the filibuster rules? They will I promise.

[Johnyawl]

2. I hope they do. It's time to kill the filibuster for good.

[HereSince1628]

9. The fillibuster is a good thing, currently badly governed

If they made senators actively hold the floor it's an event whose difficulties make it self-limiting.

It still has the potential to provide a minority as small as one senator an opportunity to be taken seriously on an issue...even if the filibuster becomes grandma's book of church recipes

[sharp_stick]

3. I don't think they'll have the guts

at least not for awhile. They're facing some pretty stiff winds in 2 years where they'll be defending a lot of Senate seats that are prime for takeover and they know it.

[berni_mccoy]

4. Impeachment has nothing to do with filibuster

Impeachment requires 2/3 majority votes to convict.

[tritsofme]

12. What makes you think they would?

In fact, if they take the majority, the first thing i expect them to do is reverse the nuclear option for nominees.

It doesn't get them anywhere if the bill dies on Obama's desk instead of the Senate.

The filibuster is safe until the next time one party controls the White House, Senate, and House at the same time, take that to the bank.

[Agnosticsherbet]

5. The Gop has control of the House. You mean the Senate.

They did not have a Supermajority when they impeached President Clinton.

Also, the house doesn't need a Supermajority. The House can Impeach with a simiple majority. The Senate needs a Supermajority to remove the President from office.

If they go that route, it will be done to:
(1) Cast doubt on his legacy.
(2) Feed their slavering constituents who want an impeachment for Benghazzi, Obamacare, Kenya, and for every other made up reason.
(3) It will be used to attack and cast doubt on any Democrat that runs for the next slot.
(4) It can be done without giving any concessions to their right wing cadre's because they can not repeal the AFA or deliver on big ticket items like reforming Medicare.

The leadershp knows that they can not successfully remove him from office, but they can mire the President so deep in a shit fight over impeachment that they can use that as an excuse for doing nothing.

[berni_mccoy]

8. Yes, that's what I meant.

Yes, and I meant that the senate needs 2/3 majority to convict.

[unblock]

6. it's not about removal from office. think they'd be happy with president biden?

it's the modern political equivalent of tarring and feathering.

the idea is simply to distract from the presidents agenda, and to put a stink on his image so that he can't do anything constructive while they wait out the balance of his term.


they know that the only way actual removal could happen is if a real scandal were to emerge, and they understand that their manufactured scandals aren't good enough for that. they don't care. they mean to cripple obama's presidency, not end it.

[sharp_stick]

7. I think Obama is going to be getting a lot of writing practice in

if we lose the Senate.

[YarnAddict]

10. They aren't even going to try

They learned their lesson with Clinton. They aren't stupid.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. I posted this elsewhere

They aren't going to impeach Obama.

The Republicants aren't stupid, just evil. They are about to control all of Congress without being particularly popular.

The last thing they want to do is gin up the African American and Latino vote for 2016.

[YarnAddict]

14. If you've noticed,

it hasn't been the R's talking about it this election season, it's been the D's.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. Because they're parainoid

At least it's not an irrational fear of martial law , cancelled elections, and detainment centers when Bush* was president.

[BeyondGeography]

17. Error prone can lead to stupid

The shutdown proved they are at least error prone.

[muntrv]

13. Try it, GOP! See if it doesn't create blowback in 2016!

[Aristus]

16. I've said this before about President Clinton: they don't need a conviction; just an impeachment.

Once they secure that, nothing else matters. Most Americans can't understand the distinction between impeachment and conviction. There was so much confusion surrounding the Clinton debacle: "He was impeached! Why wasn't he removed from office?!?"

Whether one thinks Bill Clinton was an effective President or not is not really important from an historical perspective; all most people will remember is that he was impeached. That's what republicans want for President Obama - for his legacy to be a huge negative.

Barack Obama, as the first black President, is an historical figure similar to Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point. His fellow officers did everything in their power to malign his service and make him look bad. They succeeded in getting him dismissed from the Army on spurious charges. And the record wasn't set straight for decades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ossian_Flipper

Republicans know they'll never get a conviction from the Senate, even if they attain a simple majority in the midterms today. They just want to bring President Obama up on charges. You've heard of character assassination? This would be a character lynching.

[wandy]

18. It is not the actual impeachment that is important to the GOP...............

It is the process of impeachment(!).
It further obstructs.
It wears down the competition.
Its the Clinton game plan, its "in the book".
It gets them in the news and with the ever helpful corporate media it becomes a running Teapublican campaign add.
And less we for get, the most important reason of all for impeachment.

Its red meat for he rank and file!