Here’s a list of the high-profile Republicans
who want to kick the president out of office:
Sarah Palin
Who
Is She: 2008 Republican vice
presidential nominee, former governor of Alaska, sometime reality show host.
What
She Said: “Enough is enough of
the years of abuse from this president. His unsecured border crisis is the last
straw that makes the battered wife say, ‘No mas.’ Opening our borders to a
flood of illegal immigrants is deliberate. It’s time to impeach.” (via Breitbert)
When
She Said It: July 8, 2014
What Else You Should
Know: This isn’t the first
time Palin has alluded to impeachment. In 2013, she called Obama’s handling of
the debt an “impeachable offense.” Her 2008 running mate, Sen. John McCain,
isn’t quite so incendiary. In response to her comments, McCain said, according
to today's Washington Post, “I respect always Sarah Palin’s views, but my
particular view is that we should devote our energies to regaining the majority
in the Senate. I saw the impeachment scenario with former President Clinton and
it was not a good thing to do. The American people didn’t like it. The American
people wanted us to do their work and that was overall opinion at the time. It
did not sit well with the American people.” he respects “other people’s
opinions."
Tom Tancredo
Who
Is He: Former candidate for
Colorado governor, 2008 Republican presidential hopeful, former congressman
representing Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.
What
He Said: “The case for impeaching
and removing President Obama grows stronger each week, as the president
continues to violate the constitutional limits on his executive powers. It is
time for the Republican leadership to conduct an ‘intervention’ for a president
who has become addicted to dictatorial behavior. Let’s stop being the enablers
through silence for unconstitutional acts.” (viaWND)
When
He Said It: Valentine’s Day 2014
What Else You Should
Know: Tancredo also advocated
for impeachment in 2010, calling Obama “a more serious threat to America than
al Qaeda,”
Allen West
Who
Is He: Former congressman
representing Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, retired U.S. Army
lieutenant colonel.
What
He Said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I
submit that Barack Hussein Obama’s unilateral negotiations with terrorists and
the ensuing release of their key leadership without consult — mandated by law —
with the U.S. Congress represents high crimes and misdemeanors, an impeachable
offense” (via the Washington Post)
When
He Said It: June 4, 2014
What Else You Should
Know: West’s military record
isn’t entirely blemish-free. In 2003, he was fined for inappropriate
interrogation tactics, including a simulated execution.
Joni Ernst
Who
Is She: GOP Senate nominee in
Iowa, Iowa state senator, Iowa Army National Guard lieutenant colonel
What
She Said: “[President Obama] is
absolutely overstepping his bounds. And I do think that he should face those
repercussions. Whether that’s removal from office, whether that’s impeachment.”
Ernst also said that Obama has “become a dictator” and “is not following our
constitution.”
When
She Said It: January 15, 2014
What Else You Should
Know: Having won the primary,
Ernst recently attempted to walk back her initial remarks, telling Yahoo News that she no longer believes Obama is a dictator. She said that
“his repeated use of unilateral action sure makes him look like one … To be
clear, I have not seen any evidence that the president should be impeached.”
Tom Coburn
Who
Is He: Republican senator from
Oklahoma, and physician.
What
He Said: “What you have to do is
you have to establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against
the president, and that’s called impeachment.”… I think there’s some intended
violation of the law in this administration, but I also think there’s a ton of
incompetence, of people who are making decisions. … I don’t have the legal
background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanor, but I think they’re
getting perilously close.”
When
He Said It: August 21, 2013
What Else You Should
Know: Coburn is known as a
rather conservative senator. Repeatedly advocating for cuts to budgetary
spending, Coburn has earned the nickname “Dr. No” for his obstruction to
legislation.
The South Dakota Republican Party
Who
Are They: 191 state party
delegates, who voted to pass an official resolution.
What
They Said: “WHEREAS, The president
has violated his oath of office in numerous ways with the latest being the
release of five terrorists in exchange for a soldier without consulting
Congress as required by law … the president of the United States has willfully
and wantonly lied to the American people telling them they can keep their
insurance company, and they can keep their doctor under Obama Care, prior to an
election … THEREFORE, be it resolved that the South Dakota Republican Party
calls on our U.S. Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against
the president of the United States.”
When
They Said It: June 21, 2014
What Else You Should
Know: Not all the group’s 367
delegates voted for the measure (in fact, 176 did not) – and they don’t’
necessarily speak for their elected representatives. The resolution’s effect is
largely symbolic.
No comments:
Post a Comment