Impeachment Leads a Fall Political Hodge Podge – “The Sunday Political Brunch”

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™

 

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State of the Union, Feb. 2023

It was another week with political developments all over the map. The Trump legal battles intensified as he gets more entrenched. President Biden is targeted for impeachment. And then, Hunter Biden was indicted. Let’s “brunch” on all that and more, this weekend.

 

“Impeachment… Again!” – As I wrote in this column a few weeks ago, I think the impeachment process is being “weaponized” by both political parties. It is an important and powerful political process that should only be used rarely and with great discernment. Unfortunately, that is not the trend. In the first two hundred years of this nation, the impeachment process was launched only twice and was completed unsuccessfully just once. If impeachment proceedings are started against President Joe Biden, it will mark the fourth time in just 25 years (during five presidencies), that the inquiry was launched. Impeachments are becoming as common as elections, and that was never the intent. It was not designed to be a tit-for-tat political tool.

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“Speaker McCarthy on President Biden” – In authorizing the House Judiciary Committee to launch an impeachment inquiry, speaker Kevin McCarthy called the Biden family business dealings over the years a “culture of corruption.” He accused the younger Biden of leveraging his dad’s power and status as Vice President in the Obama Administration, to craft sweetheart deals for businesses Hunter ran. “These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” said McCarthy, without offering any specific examples or evidence. That will be for the committee to discover.

 

“Hunter Biden Indicted” – On Thursday came word that presidential son Hunter Biden would face three federal gun charges. It’s only going to fan the impeachment accusations. It was just a few weeks ago, when Biden had the opportunity to accept a plea bargain on some IRS tax charges, and the gun issue would go away. Somehow, that plea deal collapsed in open court and was taken off the table. “I’m glad the Department of Justice has reversed their decision to give a sweetheart deal to Hunter Biden,” said Rep. Alex Mooney (R) West Virginia, who promised the House impeachment inquiry would go forward. 

 

“Biden’s Bounce” – President Biden lashed out Wednesday night, saying the impeachment inquiry was a Trojan Horse, for the Republican’s failure – so far – to pass a spending measure to keep the government operating past October 1st. “Well, I tell you what, I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me. And now, the best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government,” Mr. Biden said.

 

“Trump’s Trumpet” -- For the most part, former President Donald Trump has let his supporters lead the charge with a wink and a nod. “President Trump has gone on his social media account and said that we should be impeaching President Biden. Kevin McCarthy said we have an impeachment inquiry. You draw the conclusion,” Rep. Ken Buck (R) Colorado, said on CNN.

 

“The Timelines are Important” – The questions must be asked: Are impeachments timed to create a certain outcome in an upcoming election? In October 1973, the impeachment inquiry against President Richard Nixon was launched, and Democrats made significant gains in the House and Senate, in the 1974 midterm election, which was not a Presidential year. Nixon resigned in August 1975, again not a presidential year. It’s instructive to remember, Nixon quit when his own party turned on him and had the votes, along with Democrats, to remove him from office. That is true in no other impeachment case.

 

“More Recent Times Look More Politicized” - Bill Clinton’s impeachment was launched in 1998, after he was already reelected to a second term in 1996. Republicans lost a key number of seats in the 1998 midterms but still held House and Senate majorities. Trump’s first impeachment was launched in January 2020, the beginning of his reelection year. So, it syncs up with Biden’s looming impeachment inquiry, launching as the reelection bid begins, too. The outlier was Trump’s second impeachment, which happened after he’d already been defeated for a second term. At the time I thought it was akin to Democrats “spiking the football in a Super Bowl win,” and was a mistake. Now it looks like it’s GOP payback time. Be careful what you wish for in politics. Paybacks can be hell.

 

“Romney’s Round-Up” – Sen. Mitt Romney (R) Utah announced Wednesday that he will not run for reelection in 2024. Romney has had an interesting career, serving as Governor of Massachusetts and as U.S. Senator from Utah, in addition to being the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. He is only the third person in U.S. history to be a governor in one state and a senator in another. His dad was former Gov. George Romney (R) Michigan, who also served as Health and Human Services Secretary under President Nixon. His niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel is the current Chair of the Republican National Committee. At age 76, Romney simply said, “Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders."  Utah is a solidly red state, so this seat is likely to stay in the GOP camp. “While he will be missed, the Senate Republicans will, I think, have a great replacement when that time comes. But I wish him the best,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R) West Virginia.

 

“Trump Beer” – It’s my favorite political story of the week (maybe this year, so far). A brewery known as, “Conservative Dad’s Ultra-Right” has released a limited-edition beer labeled, “Conservative Dad’s Revenge!” A six-pack is a pricey $25 bucks but some of the money will be donated to Trump’s defense fund to fight the state charges he faces in Georgia. Trump’s famous scowling mugshot taken at his Fulton Couty arraignment adorns the beer can. That’s ironic since I think the last beer with a political bent was “Billy Beer,” named after President Jimmy Carter’s often inebriated brother, Billy! I am hoping that if the Trump beer has any slight hint of potato-based ingredients, that the advertising slogan will be, “This Spuds for You!” I’ll be here all week!

Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is Chief Political Reporter for the seven Nexstar Media TV stations serving West Virginia, its five neighboring states and the entire Washington, DC media market. He is also a MINDSETTER™ contributing political writer and analyst for www.GoLocalProv.com and its affiliates.


 

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