QOTD -- The Politics Of Impeachment

 

"...[T]he former president depends on congressional Republicans. He always has, and I think this impeachment inquiry is being demanded, being sought, in part to muddy the waters, to make the accusations through Congress, through impeachment about President Biden. And so I think there is a lot of pressure on Speaker Johnson. But frankly, I think Speaker Johnson is happy to go along. He is part of the cohort that has been very eager to get this going...

"...But, look, this still is very much more like the 1990s, right, than the last impeachment we went through. That was when Republicans went to impeach a former President Clinton, in the Monica Lewinsky story. Here, though, we don't even know what the accusations are. There's no evidence of anything at this point. And this is quite a contrast with Speaker Pelosi, in 2019, really didn't want to move forward with impeachment. Here they are moving forward fast without anything there. So that tells you the politics of the impeachment is much more important now than the actual substance behind what they are pursuing..." (our emphasis) -- Princeton professor Julian Zelizer, on CNN this morning, accurately describing the on-going coup being planned by Christofascists in the House, led by January 6 coup plotter Speaker Mike Johnson.  It's not clear that Johnson has the votes at this time to actually pass an impeachment resolution, should it emerge from the fever swamps of a Republican- controlled committee. But, the point is as Zelizer notes -- to muddy the waters for easily manipulated, credulous voters and media.  There is evidence, though, that many voters will see right through the gambit as retaliation for the Malignant Loser's deserved two impeachments.  They'll hopefully be reminded of the chaos, extremism, and incompetence of Republicans in the House not doing the people's business while they engage in transparent revenge politics.  Zelizer's comparison to the Clinton impeachment, and how that likely caused Republicans to lose seats in the House in the 1998 off- year election when they should have picked some up, should (but won't) be a caution to Johnson, et al.

 

Fetterman Calls B.S. On Biden Impeachment

Of any U.S. Senator in modern times, perhaps the most authentic and free of pretension is Pennsylvania's freshman Senator John Fetterman. Here he is addressing the latest hobby horse of the fascist MAGA cult in the House of Representatives:

"Asked by reporters about the potential impeachment inquiry, Fetterman repeatedly suggested that it would only hurt Republicans politically, sarcastically putting his hands up and saying 'oooh, no, please, don't.'

'Go ahead and do it, I dare you,' he said. 'If you're gonna keep threatening it, then go ahead, just do it.'

'It would just be like a big circlejerk on the fringe right,' Fetterman later said of a potential impeachment.

He then pointed out the multiple criminal indictments against former President Donald Trump.

'Your man has what, three or four indictments now?' he said. 'Sometimes you just gotta, you know, call their bullshit.'" (our emphasis)

The MAGA cult doesn't care that there are no grounds to impeach. This is a performance for them, food for their angry, delusional, low-information voters. They take the law and governing so lightly that they elect monsters like the Malignant Loser, and presume the opposition is as frivolously corrupt as they are.

(photo: Mariam Zuhaib / AP)