He thinks the Dems are just using it to raise money for the midterms. He claims the very idea that the GOP has a plan to impeach the President in the next term is foolish.
"About the same time White House press secretary Josh Earnest said "senior members" and "prominent voices" in the GOP were calling for impeachment. Asked about Mr. Boehner's Tuesday declaration that impeachment was off the table, Mr. Earnest suggested that the speaker was lying."
"On Sunday House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi joined the chorus in a CNN appearance. Without prompting, she declared that Republicans were "on a path to impeach the president."
Quite rightly, then, Rove starts his argument not with 'The Republican party has restraint and would not degrade our entire system of government for cheap, short term partisan gain'-as they've made it clear time and again that there are no limits to which they won't sink for short term partisan gain. He argues more plausibly that they can't do it as they won't have the votes even if they win back the Senate.
"The House would need to launch an impeachment effort, yet Mr. Boehner said this week that the House has "no plans to impeach the president" and "no future plans" either. On Tuesday he called it "a scam started by Democrats at the White House." No sane person believes that even after the midterms there will be the necessary 67 votes in the Senate to remove Mr. Obama, even if the House voted to impeach him."
Well where is the evidence that the GOP Congress is sane? It's not a rhetorical question-I'm waiting for an answer. I mean everything the GOP Congress does is nuts. The fact that they don't have the votes to impeach in the Senate doesn't mean they can't try and grind up the gears of government in another impeachment farce a la Ken Starr and Monica Lewinsky. Not having the votes didn't stop them then. Why should it stop them now?
Boehner is going through with the absurd lawsuit to sue the President just like the GOP in the 90s. No they won't be able to knock him out of office anymore than they did to Clinton. Yet that didn't stop them then and I don't see why it would stop them now. After all, it would tie him up for the last few years and bring the hated government to a standstill.
So already the Democratic claim doesn't sound so absurd-we know they have no restraint and they don't care about the numbers that show they can't be successful as it didn't stop them in the 90s eiither.
Ok, what else does Rove have to make the impeachment talk not just wrong but absurd on its face?
"Second, impeachment talk motivates a lethargic Democratic base, worn-out and embarrassed by Mr. Obama's incompetence and lack of leadership. Mr. Israel admitted impeachment talk is "energizing our base."
I don't think there's any embarassment-certainly I feel nothing but pride for my President and how he's governed through what has been many ways the most challenging of terms in office in many years speaking as one member of his base.
As for firing up the base it's hard to see how this is proof of truth much less proof of absurdity. I mean it's a double edged sword. Impeach Obama talk surely does fire up the Dem base but then it fires up the GOP base as well.
"Third, impeachment threats hurt Republicans with independents, a group critical to victory this fall. Today, independents are inclined to favor Republicans by an 11-point margin, according to a July 22 Fox News Poll, and 59% disapprove of Mr. Obama's performance. Yet in a July 20 CNN/ORC poll, 63% of independents oppose impeachment."
It certainly does hurt Republicans with independents but if you know the GOP it does plenty of things that harm it-sure, Rove is right that it hurts with indies but then he was right that the GOP needed to get immigration reform done and that didn't stop the crazies in the party-today this is called the Tea party, in the 90s it was called the Religious Right-from spitting into the wind.
What's absurd is that the party does so many things that are clearly against its own interests like the government shutdown late last year. However this didnd't stop them then even though Rove-and Boehner for that matter-told them it was foolish-in the end Boehner knew it was absurd but did it anyway. similarly it can at least be imagined that he'd go along with at least going through the motions of impeachment theater-just like he did with shutting down the government. He didn't think it really would happen but it did and he allowed it too.
What's absurd is that the GOP does such absurd things. The claim that the GOP will go for impeachment if they win the Senate is not absurd whether or not it happens or not. It will be absurd if they do it but-they do absurd things.
In fact, Rove himself gives it away by complaining that GOPers are helping Obama and his Democratic minions by-talking about impeachment.
"Mr. Obama is counting on Republican allies to help gin up the specter of impeachment. It would be nice if Republican backbenchers desperate to appear on cable TV shows, and conservative celebrities seeking website hits, would resist the temptation to become useful stooges for the president by insisting that impeachment is a real possibility."
Ok, now I'm confused. I thought the Democrats made up a phony threat. How phony can it be when Republicans themselves are talking about it?
"About the same time White House press secretary Josh Earnest said "senior members" and "prominent voices" in the GOP were calling for impeachment. Asked about Mr. Boehner's Tuesday declaration that impeachment was off the table, Mr. Earnest suggested that the speaker was lying."
"On Sunday House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi joined the chorus in a CNN appearance. Without prompting, she declared that Republicans were "on a path to impeach the president."
"On Tuesday, at breakfast with reporters, the Democratic Congressional Committee chairman, Rep. Steve Israel of New York, said the Republican election message was "impeach, impeach, impeach."
"All this is complete and utter nonsense."
http://online.wsj.com/articles/karl-rove-democrats-try-the-impeachment-ploy-1406761062
"Yet what makes it not just false but absurd? I mean why is this a silly idea-is it because of the deep proponesity for restraint of the current GOP? Just asking the question with a straight face is a challenge-if the impeachment concern is nonsense it's not a bigger bunch of nonsense than the idea that the GOP is capable of any restraint."http://online.wsj.com/articles/karl-rove-democrats-try-the-impeachment-ploy-1406761062
Quite rightly, then, Rove starts his argument not with 'The Republican party has restraint and would not degrade our entire system of government for cheap, short term partisan gain'-as they've made it clear time and again that there are no limits to which they won't sink for short term partisan gain. He argues more plausibly that they can't do it as they won't have the votes even if they win back the Senate.
"The House would need to launch an impeachment effort, yet Mr. Boehner said this week that the House has "no plans to impeach the president" and "no future plans" either. On Tuesday he called it "a scam started by Democrats at the White House." No sane person believes that even after the midterms there will be the necessary 67 votes in the Senate to remove Mr. Obama, even if the House voted to impeach him."
Well where is the evidence that the GOP Congress is sane? It's not a rhetorical question-I'm waiting for an answer. I mean everything the GOP Congress does is nuts. The fact that they don't have the votes to impeach in the Senate doesn't mean they can't try and grind up the gears of government in another impeachment farce a la Ken Starr and Monica Lewinsky. Not having the votes didn't stop them then. Why should it stop them now?
Boehner is going through with the absurd lawsuit to sue the President just like the GOP in the 90s. No they won't be able to knock him out of office anymore than they did to Clinton. Yet that didn't stop them then and I don't see why it would stop them now. After all, it would tie him up for the last few years and bring the hated government to a standstill.
So already the Democratic claim doesn't sound so absurd-we know they have no restraint and they don't care about the numbers that show they can't be successful as it didn't stop them in the 90s eiither.
Ok, what else does Rove have to make the impeachment talk not just wrong but absurd on its face?
"Second, impeachment talk motivates a lethargic Democratic base, worn-out and embarrassed by Mr. Obama's incompetence and lack of leadership. Mr. Israel admitted impeachment talk is "energizing our base."
I don't think there's any embarassment-certainly I feel nothing but pride for my President and how he's governed through what has been many ways the most challenging of terms in office in many years speaking as one member of his base.
As for firing up the base it's hard to see how this is proof of truth much less proof of absurdity. I mean it's a double edged sword. Impeach Obama talk surely does fire up the Dem base but then it fires up the GOP base as well.
"Third, impeachment threats hurt Republicans with independents, a group critical to victory this fall. Today, independents are inclined to favor Republicans by an 11-point margin, according to a July 22 Fox News Poll, and 59% disapprove of Mr. Obama's performance. Yet in a July 20 CNN/ORC poll, 63% of independents oppose impeachment."
It certainly does hurt Republicans with independents but if you know the GOP it does plenty of things that harm it-sure, Rove is right that it hurts with indies but then he was right that the GOP needed to get immigration reform done and that didn't stop the crazies in the party-today this is called the Tea party, in the 90s it was called the Religious Right-from spitting into the wind.
What's absurd is that the party does so many things that are clearly against its own interests like the government shutdown late last year. However this didnd't stop them then even though Rove-and Boehner for that matter-told them it was foolish-in the end Boehner knew it was absurd but did it anyway. similarly it can at least be imagined that he'd go along with at least going through the motions of impeachment theater-just like he did with shutting down the government. He didn't think it really would happen but it did and he allowed it too.
What's absurd is that the GOP does such absurd things. The claim that the GOP will go for impeachment if they win the Senate is not absurd whether or not it happens or not. It will be absurd if they do it but-they do absurd things.
In fact, Rove himself gives it away by complaining that GOPers are helping Obama and his Democratic minions by-talking about impeachment.
"Mr. Obama is counting on Republican allies to help gin up the specter of impeachment. It would be nice if Republican backbenchers desperate to appear on cable TV shows, and conservative celebrities seeking website hits, would resist the temptation to become useful stooges for the president by insisting that impeachment is a real possibility."
Ok, now I'm confused. I thought the Democrats made up a phony threat. How phony can it be when Republicans themselves are talking about it?
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