Leading Politicians Fuel the GOP’s Impeachment Fever Dream
By Kevin Howley, July 5, 2023
While the nation celebrates its independence from British tyranny – and some lament the loss of liberty and equal opportunity at the hands of conservative extremists on the U.S. Supreme Court – Republican politicians and their co-conspirators in the right wing echo chamber are spoiling for an impeachment fight.
Who, you might ask, is the GOP gunning for this summer? It depends who you talk to. For some, Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is public enemy number one. For others, it’s Attorney General Merrick Garland. Still others are out to get President Joe Biden – aka the boss of the “Biden crime family.”
Of course, it’s all a grand distraction from the GOP’s reckless disregard for the rule of law.
The awful truth is that the Party of Trump has but a single agenda item ahead of the 2024 election: settling scores for the twice-impeached, twice (and counting) indicted former president.
“The Only Way”
Writing in The Federalist, Robert Henneke laments a corrupt Department of Justice, and a cowardly establishment press, for refusing to investigate Biden’s “abuse of power.” Rehearsing tired false equivalencies between Hillary Clinton’s email and Biden’s mishandling of classified records with Trump’s willful retention and dissemination of national defense information, Henneke comes to a painful conclusion: “a full impeachment of President Joe Biden is the only way to bring accountability to the Biden administration.”
The false equivalencies don’t stop there.
Tired of waiting, Gateway Pundit could scarcely conceal its glee with this headline: “FINALLY: Senator Ted Cruz Urges House to Impeach Biden Over Hunter Investigations Findings.” GP reporter Mike LaChance observes, “Conservatives have been asking why House Speaker McCarthy hasn’t been more aggressive on this issue. How much more evidence does the GOP need that Biden deserves to be impeached? Democrats impeached Trump over a phone call.”
A “perfect call,” as someone once described it.
Nonetheless, when a US Senator – even one with a tenuous understanding of constitutional law, especially when it comes to the peaceful transfer of power – says the time is now, right wing media lap it up. Consider this headline courtesy of Hot Air: “Cruz: Yeah, It’s Time To Talk About Impeaching Biden.” Or this one, from Breitbart: “‘Abusing His Government Power: Ted Cruz Pushes For Biden Impeachment.”
Impeachment Inc.
For the moment, Cruz appears to be a loner on the impeachment question in the U.S. Senate. It’s another story altogether over in the House of Representatives, where the GOP can’t seem to agree on who to investigate. The lead from a recent report in The Hill sums things up this way: “The growing zeal among House Republicans to launch impeachment proceedings has hit an early snag: There’s no agreement on which Biden administration figure to target.”
All told, it’s shaping up to be a summer of herding cats for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who’s thus far been able to put Rep. Lauren Boebert’s resolution to impeach President Biden on ice. But with growing pressure from the Republican caucus, McCarthy’s hand may be forced by the likes of Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who assured Fox News viewers – what’s left of them – that “impeachment was definitely on the table.”
A stickler for details, Jordan hedged his bets: “We’re driven by the facts and the Constitution,” Jordan told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo. “If the facts show there were high crimes, misdemeanors, bribery, treason, whatever – if the facts show there’s a crime there that warrants impeachment, our duty compels us.”
Like the rest of the MAGA faithful, Jordan has a complicated relationship with “the facts,” if not “the law.” All the same, it’s refreshing to see this headline from Daily Caller: “House Republicans Are Pushing To Impeach Mayorkas. Legal Experts Say It’s Not So Simple.” The story may not pour cold war on the GOP’s impeachment fever, but it offers a sobering assessment of the long odds House Republicans face.
Not so, Breitbart’s enthusiastic headline: “Exclusive: Support Mounts Among House Judiciary Republicans For Merrick Garland’s Impeachment.” Or this hopeful sentiment back at Daily Caller, penned by a perennial favorite of Republican ne’er-do-wells: “ALAN DERSHOWITZ: The Case For Impeaching Joe Biden.” A case as flimsy as Dershowitz’s defense of one Donald J. Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial.
Under ordinary circumstances, this right wing media circus would be laughable. But these aren’t ordinary times. The “authoritarian creep” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described in her own call for impeaching conservative members of the High Court is kicking into high gear, with Republicans positioning themselves as the final arbiters of all that is good and true, and, well, American.
Kevin Howley is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in “Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism,” “Social Movement Studies,” and “Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture.” He is the author and editor of several books including “Media Interventions” and “Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination.”
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Who is the GOP gunning for this summer? It depends who you talk to. For some, Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is public enemy number one. For others, it’s Attorney General Merrick Garland. Still others are out to get President Joe Biden – aka the boss of the “Biden crime family.” (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
