SUE THE PREZ? One Main Problem That May Thwart John Boehner

Impeachment Would Only Put Joe Biden in Top Office

July 27, 2014
By: Dave Rogers

John Boehner apparently hasn't thought through the idea of suing the President.

The Alice in Wonderland can of worms he seems ready to open could shake the foundations of an already almost fatally dysfunctional government.

Even a small bore columnist and recovering newspaper editorial writer like me knows that Boehner's audacious political ploy could cause a real problem: imbalance among the three branches of government.

The Founding Fathers set up this government of ours verrrrry carefully, just to avoid the kind of petty disputes over power that Boehner seems intent on pursuing.

Certainly Boehner realizes that if the legislative and judicial branches gang up to overpower the executive branch, our constitution would be compromised and/or seriously weakened, perhaps forever.

A Republican President then would be vulnerable to lawsuits by Democrats -- that is if he or she displeased the leaders of the House or Senate.

The Constitution provides that the vice president becomes President in the event of an opening higher up, so Joe Biden would be the man. Chances are the GOP would not care for anything a President Biden would do, putting them back to square one.

Another little known provision of the Constitution: If the Senate disagrees with the House, the current President could adjourn both houses, as the Constitution provides "to such time as he shall think proper."

As far as my knowledge of history goes, that has never happened. But it could if this power struggle continues.

Now then, turning to the idea of impeachment (haven't we been down this road before?), if Mr. Boehner et. al., decide to throw that monkey wrench into the works, the economy of the nation would most certainly be seriously affected.

The corporate denizens of Wall Street would not be happy, nor would the voters who have elected our leaders to keep the wheels of government oiled and humming.

Chances are the impeachment process would not play out until the end of Mr. Obama's term, now less than two years away. If my recollection is correct, the lengthy and costly impeachment of Mr. Clinton over his sexual peccadilloes did not help the Republican cause in the next election.

Ah yes. Now I remember. In the 1998 elections, the GOP did not gain the 30 seats Speaker Newt Gingrich had predicted, but instead lost five seats. Gingrich's own marital infidelities were revealed and he was forced to resign, ruining his political career.

"The President shall be removed from office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors," the Constitution states.

If, as it seems, all of this is over the Affordable Care Act, that the GOP seems intent on scuttling, wouldn't any court (most likely the Supremes) consider that the whole idea came originally from Republicans.

Yes, that's right -- The basic concepts of the Affordable Care Act were ideas the Democrats stole from the conservatives.

Most of us may have forgotten that, but a shrewd lawyer opposing Mr. Boehner would certainly bring it up.

A judge might then rightfully ask: "You mean, you Republicans are suing to nullify a law that was your idea in the first place?"

But perhaps the ultimate reason Boehner may want to rethink impeachment is that, after he was acquitted, Bill Clinton's approval rating skyrocketed.

A higher approval rating is something Obama could really use right now!

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