Only twice in 230 years has Congress decided to impeach a president, but the way some Republicans are talking, it's well past time for a third.
SARAH PALIN: "There's only one remedy for a president who commits high crimes and misdemeanors, and it's impeachment. It's the I-word." (Via MSNBC)
What high crimes and misdemeanors? Well, it's a controversial list. (Via The White House)
"Benghazi and the IRS and AP and 'Fast and Furious' and Solyndra." (Via Comedy Central / "The Colbert Report")
Regardless of the reasons, Sarah Palin isn't alone: A poll released this week shows a third of Americans support impeaching Obama. (Via Time, CNN / ORC International)
And they're joined by a growing chorus of elected Republicans and conservative leaders trying to cut Obama's term short. (Via Raw Story, The Washington Times, Newsmax.com, The Huffington Post, Breitbart)
But not everyone in the Republican party agrees. Speaker of the House John Boehner has ruled out impeachment. (Via Gage Skidmore / CC BY SA 2.0)
"What about the folks in your conference who are calling for — privately talking about — impeachment?"
"I disagree." (Via Speaker of the House John Boehner)
Yet the speaker isn't lying down in the face of what his party considers a lawless president.
"Republicans pressing ahead with their plan to sue the president over his use of executive power, the House Rules Committee authorizing Speaker Boehner to file a lawsuit." (Via CNN)
Boehner's lawsuit focuses on the president's delay of certain Obamacare regulations. The speaker told reporters, "No president should have the power to make laws on his or her own." (Via The Hill)
The lawsuit is seen as a compromise aimed to please conservatives while avoiding the political pitfalls of impeachment. The Washington Post calls it "a political arrow in Boehner's quiver."
"Some people say that in fact Speaker Boehner is specifically, strategically trying to avoid impeachment because there are those who are calling for that." (Via Al Jazeera)
But the White House has a very different take.
Top Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer told reporters that "Speaker Boehner, by going down the path of that lawsuit, opens the door to the possibility of considering impeachment at some point in the future." (Via The Wall Street Journal)
According to Pfeiffer, "Impeachment is a very serious thing that has been bandied about in a very unserious way." (Via BuzzFeed)
Not all Democrats are as upset as Pfeiffer. Politico reports that Democrats have raised millions of dollars from Palin's comments — and plan on raising millions more.
About the Author
