With the recent efforts of the House Speaker to sue President Obama over his use of executive orders and the power of the presidency, talk also turned to impeachment. Many republican lawmakers have been throwing this idea around for years and they believe there is traction based on Obama’s actions as president. From fast and furious, the economy, Benghazi and the IRS, Republicans believe popular sentiment is with them. However ultra conservative and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan has basically said, impeachment is out of line.
In a recent WND editorial Buchanan calls impeachment “a bridge too far” and “throwing away a winning hand for a losing one.” Buchanan points out several arguments as to why impeachment is a losing proposition but most surprising is his talk of race. Buchanan wrote “The effect would be to enrage and energize the Democratic base, bring out the African American vote in force and cause the major media to charge the GOP with a racist scheme to discredit and destroy our first black president.”
These are raw words from a political powerhouse regarding the realities of race, Obama and his effectiveness as president. But it also is a caution to the efforts of Congress trying to limit and redefine the power of the Presidency in the 21st century. It is a fact that has been well repeated that President Obama’s use of executive orders is the lowest of all. In fact, Obama has issued 182 executive orders between 2009 and 2014. Newsweek magazine in a recent article notes that “Obama’s yearly average of 33.58 executive orders is lower than any president in 130 years, going back to Chester Arthur, who averaged 27.7 executive orders a year. “
At issue is control of the U.S. Senate as well as the House of Representatives for the Republican Party. The hope is that there will be enough Republican votes to impeach. But Buchanan points out that Obama’s use of executive decisions does not rise to the level of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Boehner’s latest attack is nothing more than a distraction from serious issues such as war, immigration and economy as well as a misuse of tax payer dollars.
