Perhaps you thought that, surely, partisan posturing by far-right congress critters couldn’t get any nuttier. But now comes the GOP’s claim that all the talk about impeaching President Barack Obama is being led by — guess who? — Barack Obama!
The top Republican leader, John Boehner (having discovered that the larger public is appalled that his party would even consider wasting time on such extremist nonsense) tried to do a political backflip. Impeachment talk, he fumed, is “a scam started by Democrats at the White House.” No Republican lawmakers, he barked to the media, are even discussing it.
Boehner, Boehner, Boehner — did you not hear Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who’s number two on your own GOP leadership team, tell Fox News that he refuses to rule out impeachment? Or Rep. Kerry Bentivolio of Michigan, exult that “it would be a dream come true” to impeach Obama, and that he has pursued advice on how to proceed? Or Iowa’s Steve King, saying flatly, “We need to bring impeachment hearings immediately.” How about Randy Weber of Texas, who put it unequivocally: “The President deserves to be impeached, plain and simple.” And Georgia’s Jack Kingston confirmed that: “Not a day goes by when people don’t talk to us about impeachment.”
Still, Boehner received some back-up on his disclaimer from tea party radio ranter Glenn Beck, who echoed the Speaker’s ridiculous assertion that no one in the GOP has given a moment’s thought to impeachment: “Have you spoken to one person [pushing such an idea],” he demanded in a recent broadcast. “No one” has used the I-word, he snapped. But, in fact, Beck does know one person who has: Himself! Also, Sarah Palin! And at least a dozen others.
Put away all hope for honesty or seriousness, ye who enter the nut house presently known as Boehner’s U.S. House of Representatives.
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This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.
