Tuesday, House Democrats passed a resolution calling on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Trump from office, which Pence promptly rejected.
Also, six House Republicans introduced a resolution to censure Trump, but Democrats are intent on impeaching him again, in a process that starts today.
At least five Republicans, including Rep. Liz Cheney, say they will vote to impeach. They blame his challenge of the vote and his rhetoric for inciting last week’s Capitol riot. I also disapproved of his rhetoric, but it’s not treason to challenge a vote (Nancy Pelosi herself spread distrust in the 2016 vote), and nothing Trump said in his speech or on Twitter was an incitement to violence. Of course, that’s a dispute that would normally be hashed out by attorneys in an impeachment proceeding, but this House has no time for trivialities like evidence or due process, so they’re just barreling ahead with a vote to impeach.
Some Republicans in the Senate are reportedly leaning toward voting to impeach (it’s rumored that even Mitch McConnell may be among them), but most other Republicans seem to think it’s just divisive political theater at a time when we need calm and unity. So the chances of a two-thirds vote are virtually nil, even if you could impeach someone who’s already left office. Nobody seems to agree on that point.
Legal analysts disagree, but all admit that the Constitution says nothing about it other than that a President is removed from office after being impeached. I’m not a legal scholar, but I assume the Founders didn’t put anything about impeaching departed Presidents into the Constitution because they never imagined that Americans would elect leaders who were dumb enough to come up with an idea like that.
But what do the American people think about all this late-stage impeachment deja vu? I’ve told you that before you believe any poll, take a look at the sample size and breakdown. Right now, the media are trumpeting a poll claiming that “Americans narrowly back Trump’s impeachment, resignation.” That poll claims that Americans back Congress starting impeachment proceedings by 48-44 percent.
Here’s the part they don’t talk about so much: the poll sample was 813 Democrats to 595 Republicans and 588 independents. Independents were split 50-50, so they had to oversample Democrats by about 30% to get a 4% lead, and the pro-impeachment vote was still less than 50%. That’s with the media giving us a 24/7 pro-impeachment drumbeat and social media and Big Tech trying to silence any opposition.
What I think is a more accurate poll by McLaughlin & Associates, with a sample reflective of the 2020 election, found that 60% of voters think impeachment is a waste of time and money, 74% think it’s politically motivated to keep Trump from running again, 73% think they should be dealing with the coronavirus instead, and 65% think Pelosi and Biden are keeping the country divided. Also, 70% believe Big Tech companies are too powerful and need to be regulated, and 74% agree that if they can take away the President’s free speech, they can take away any American’s right to free speech.
All this proves that despite what the propaganda press is telling us, most Americans are smart enough to know when they’re being bamboozled.
Permalink: https://www.mikehuckabee.com/2021/1/pointless-congressional-theatrics-update
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