There was a time not too long ago in which congressional Republicans spoke with alarming frequency about impeaching President Obama. They were generally a little vague about why, exactly, the president deserved to be impeached, but more than a few GOP lawmakers seemed quite excited about the idea anyway.
In the run-up to the 2014 elections, however, the talk largely evaporated. Republican leaders reminded their members such chatter might boost Democratic turnout in the midterm elections, and once those elections were decided, many GOP lawmakers turned their attention to impeaching other members of the Obama administration. At least one congressional Republican is eager to impeach Hillary Clinton, and she hasn’t even been elected yet.
But as the political world’s attention shifts to the next presidential race, at least one congressman isn’t done thinking about impeaching the winner of the last presidential race. Right Wing Watch yesterday highlighted Rep. Ted Yoho’s (R-Fla.) appearance on a conservative radio show.
The program’s host, Kevin Scholla, asked Yoho if it is “too late” for Congress to impeach President Obama, which Yoho said it certainly is not.“Man, I tell you what, I can’t thank you for bringing that subject up,” he said. “No, I don’t think it’s too late.”He touted a bill he wrote that would define what constitutes impeachable “high crimes and misdemeanors” in order to “show the borders of the football field so that the executive, the Supreme Court justices and everybody in Washington and government knows where the boundaries are and if you step outside of that you’re going to be penalized.”
Why bother? Because, Yoho added, his constituents are “clamoring” for impeachment.
Just so we’re clear, there’s no credible reason to believe GOP leaders on Capitol Hill are interested in such a gambit. On the contrary, by all appearances, congressional Republicans are focused on a series of other priorities and are ignoring Yoho’s odd preoccupation.
But there’s nevertheless something amazing about the dead-enders who oppose the president with such blinding intensity that, even now, they believe it’s not “too late” for an impeachment push.
And what of his proposed legislation to define what constitutes impeachable “high crimes and misdemeanors”? Yoho’s bill was introduced in April; it picked up two co-sponsors; and has been largely ignored ever since.
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Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."