Impeachment Math Doesn't Add Up
Impeachment now is just a gimmick; it's no longer the first fearsome step taken to remove a president who committed "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" from office.
It's something leaders of both parties feel they have to support in order to appease their base. And without the consequences of removing a president from office.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi oversaw two impeachments of former President Donald Trump that went nowhere.
They pleased the base, but not the middle.
Now House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is not in an enviable position as Republicans weigh impeaching President Joe Biden.
Even with a slim majority of 222 Republicans, McCarthy was hard-pressed to produce the 218 votes needed to launch an impeachment investigation. He has been wedged between 18 GOP members who represent districts that Biden won in 2020 and a rump of hard-liners like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida, who believe overpromising and underdelivering are smart politics.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo. -- of the Freedom Caucus, so he's no wimp -- told MSNBC's Jen Psaki that evidence linking Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor "doesn't exist now."
Rather than choose a side, McCarthy launched an "impeachment inquiry" into Biden.
The Biden White House distributed quotes from other Republicans also not on the impeachment express train.
It can't be good for the GOP.
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