Rpresentative Steve King (R-IA) yesterday warned that if President Obama "blocked debt payments" he would be impeached.
"The 1st dime of each $1 of revenue services debt," he wrote. "Obama would be impeached if he blocked debt payments."
. . .
With his remarks Monday, King became the second House Republican to suggest the president could be impeached over the debt ceiling debacle. Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) previously claimed that if President Obama simply declared the debt ceiling to be unconstitutional based upon a provision of the 14th Amendment that validates the nation's debts, he'd be impeached for it.
What rank hypocrisy. What an irresponsible threat. This is a last-ditch attempt by a failed political party to brutalize its opposition to get what it wants.
It's also suicidal. Pursuing impeachment against Obama, would destroy the Republican Party, because people trust Obama more than Congresional Republicans on handling the national debt. That, and Republicans would be well advised to remember that the impeachment of President Clinton was a national embarrassment for the Republican Party.
More than that, however, an impeachment, particularly on this basis, would signal to the rest of the world that the US government was seriously unstable, both financially and politically.
I've had my differences with President Obama's handling of the fake debt limit "crisis". But if Congressional Republicans are crazy enough to actually go through with an impeachment vote, for any reason, all that gets put aside, and I've squarely got Obama's back.
Update: Rec list. Thanks, everyone.
2d update: Wow, top of the Rec list - thanks again. I really hope Republicans aren't so batshit crazy they actually go the impeachment route, but I can't put anything past them at this point.