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By Richard Fernandez

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Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic

March 5, 2009 - 11:45 pm - by Richard Fernandez
bogie wheel
2009-03-06 13:28:21

There’s the beginnings of impeachment talk out there. I suspect that within six months there will be some support for it in Congress. If wiser heads push it along, they might even manage to force him out during his first term. I say that would be a disaster.

“Impeachment talk?” So what?

The Constitution delineates what are impeachable offenses. They are:
“treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Meaning – he has to break an established law, or commit treason as defined in Article III.

Disliking a president, even vehemently disagreeing with his policies, even suspecting that he is a narcissistic megalomaniac bent on permanently changing the balance of power between government and the private sector in this country, are not grounds for impeachment.

Inflating policy differences into criminal offenses is what the other side does.

It would be a good idea for us to follow the Constitution, because I’m pretty sure that if we don’t, nobody will.

If he’s “merely” a screaming disaster of a policy jackass, then we turn him out in the next election. However, if he goes beyond bad policy into illegal/treasonous acts, then there are provisions for dealing with that.

But he has to play his hand first. Reactionary and preemptive opposition does no one any good.

So on that note I agree with you — things must “play out” a lot further — but for long-term, constitutional reasons, not political ones.