Charles Krauthammer, who often understands the gestalt of any situation well, misses the point in a column written for The Washington Post.
Noting the articles of impeachment introduced against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, and referencing the recent Benghazi hearing featuring Hillary Clinton, the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the IRS’ Lois Lerner and the hearings revolving around the infamous Planned Parenthood videos, Krauthammer decries the GOP’s efforts, asserting, “In each of these cases, Republicans had the facts and the argument. And yet in every one, they failed. What makes them think that they will fare any better in the next iteration, the impeachment of a minor official in an expiring administration?”
Krauthammer writes of the Koskinen impeachment, “But impeachment is no ordinary move. No agency chief or Cabinet officer has been impeached since 1876. And even proponents admit that there is no chance of Koskinen being removed from office because the Senate will never convict.”
Krauthammer points out that for Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), “the purpose is public education, ‘to demonstrate to the American people’ that ‘executive branch officials who violate the public trust will be held accountable.’” He adds, “Chaffetz says that the purpose is to rein in the IRS. I’m all for that. You know how you do it? Win the presidency. Appoint honest new IRS leadership. And get your own Justice Department to do a real investigation.”
Here’s the essential point Krauthammer either misses or ignores: in order to win the presidency, the GOP will need pull quotes that they can utilize to attack Democrats, a la “What difference does it make?” To think that the GOP will be able to convict anyone in an administration that casually ignores legality for its own purposes is foolhardy; the best the GOP can do is hold Democrats’ feet to the fire in hopes of eliciting a comment useful for TV ads.
To think that the GOP will be able to convict anyone in an administration that casually ignores legality for its own purposes is foolhardy; the best the GOP can do is hold Democrats’ feet to the fire in hopes of eliciting a comment useful for TV ads.
With a media complicit in virtually all of the Obama machine’s machinations, it is a pipe dream to believe that hearings such as the 1970’s Watergate hearings would ever gain enough steam in the media to strip a Democrat from power; the only way to win the presidency and keep the Senate in 2016 will be to mine verbal gems from the testimony of those Democrats under attack.