Palin the Preposterous

This week, Breitbart News published statements by Sarah Palin who said “the illegal immigration issue was the tipping point for her in deciding that “Obama”, as Mrs Palin terms him, not “Mr. Obama” or “President Obama”, needed to be impeached for a pattern of lawlessness.” This shows a lack of respect for both the President and the presidency. Palin added that “illegal immigration hurts American workers of all backgrounds” and “he [the President] is not an imperial president.” She is also quoted as declaring that Mr Obama has already committed at least twenty five impeachable offences, including lying to the American people and fraud, especially on policies like Obamacare and the federal debt. Unsurprisingly, Fox News gave Mrs Palin airtime.

Breitbart is a conservative news and opinion website which seems to delight in controversy. I must assume this is their reason for making Mrs Palin’s comments public, however nonsensical her views may be. Let us remember this is the woman who once said she knows how to handle the Russians because she can see their country from her house.

I will not go into the numerous Palin gaffes since 2008 when John McCain chose her to join his ticket for the presidential race. Mrs Palin is to political nous what Richard Nixon was to selling used cars. Remember the 1968 slogan: “Tricky Dicky, would you buy a used car from him?”

In her diatribe, Palin fails to give any details of the alleged offences committed by the President. In 1974, when the House of Representatives voted on Bills of Impeachment against President Nixon, there was a wealth of detail, supported by evidence. Mrs Palin makes empty charges.

Does La Palin know the provisions of the Constitution? Has she read the relevant articles concerning the removal of the chief executive? Does she not understand that the benchmark set by the Framers for proof of crimes is high? Furthermore, has she got any sort of understanding that impeachment is more a political process than a legal one? Let us remember that the President has to charged of offences by a majority in the House and to be found guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours by a two thirds majority plus one of the Senate.

I also want to know details of the lies the President has supposedly told. If this charge relates to the Affordable Care Act, surely those lies would have been exposed in the Act’s passage through Congress and the microscopic scrutiny it received in the hearings before the Supreme Court. And how has the President lied about the federal debt? Surely, what he did was to tell it exactly as it was both to Congress and the electorate, as the Republican legislators in DC played “chicken” with raising the debt ceiling.

Mrs Palin, if you want to make such a serious allegation against President Obama, put some beef into it or shut up. You need to specify exactly what Mr Obama has done. Then you have to seek support from your Party in Congress. The Republicans have a majority in the House but the Speaker is against you. Even if the House votes for impeachment, would you get a bill of impeachment passed in the Senate? No, you silly woman, of course you would not. I have to question whether you have any political sense at all. Let’s be frank. You are merely making cheap shots for the publicity.
The essential difference between you and the President is that he is a sensible politician and you are just hot air. The sooner publications like Breitart stop giving you space, the better for us all. Going Rogue? I think you are Going Doolalley!