3 ms·

why isn't there more talk of curtailing what the President is allowed to do unilaterally? This is why impeachment exists. We impeached the last idiot-in-chief

why isn't there more talk of curtailing what the President is allowed to do unilaterally? This is why impeachment exists. We impeached the last idiot-in-chief twice. Unfortunately, we get the Congress we deserve (ie, if we elect authoritarian-minded lackwits, we shouldn't be surprised when they refuse to convict).

stronglikedan 5y ago
More like impeachment*, since it was a sad sham both times.
cplusplusfellow 5y ago
And we shouldn’t be surprised when they politically witch hunt and otherwise get nothing accomplished.
CWuestefeld 5y ago
No, this is not why impeachment exists. A president is impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors". If the Prez is acting legally, I can't see how he could be impeached for it. Rather, this is what voting is for.
- kerneloftruth 5y ago
  Impeachment is a political process, not a judicial one. Trump was impeached twice, yet no legal charge was ever filed. All that is required is a willing house of representatives.
  - smaryjerry 5y ago
    The impeachment is a political process but the impeachment proceeding is the legal process and Trump was essentially found not guilty in that process, although it was split among political lines so you could say they brought politics into a legal process.
  - alistairSH 5y ago
    Impeachment IS the process of brining charges against a sitting President. The House acts a very rough equivalent to a grand jury. The Senate trial is the court-room with Senators as jurors. The Senate chose not to convict, but charges were absolutely brought. DOJ regulations pretty much prohibit bringing criminal charges against a sitting President. Whether or not people think the impeachment process is a political sham is a different question/problem. Recently, it largely has been - both with Clinton and with Trump, for very different reasons. Even more so now with GOP members threatening to immediately impeach Biden (for what, I can't quite figure out) should they win back Congress.

stronglikedan 5y ago

More like impeachment*, since it was a sad sham both times.

cplusplusfellow 5y ago

And we shouldn’t be surprised when they politically witch hunt and otherwise get nothing accomplished.

CWuestefeld 5y ago

No, this is not why impeachment exists. A president is impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors". If the Prez is acting legally, I can't see how he could be impeached for it. Rather, this is what voting is for.

kerneloftruth 5y ago
Impeachment is a political process, not a judicial one. Trump was impeached twice, yet no legal charge was ever filed. All that is required is a willing house of representatives.
- smaryjerry 5y ago
  The impeachment is a political process but the impeachment proceeding is the legal process and Trump was essentially found not guilty in that process, although it was split among political lines so you could say they brought politics into a legal process.
- alistairSH 5y ago
  Impeachment IS the process of brining charges against a sitting President. The House acts a very rough equivalent to a grand jury. The Senate trial is the court-room with Senators as jurors. The Senate chose not to convict, but charges were absolutely brought. DOJ regulations pretty much prohibit bringing criminal charges against a sitting President. Whether or not people think the impeachment process is a political sham is a different question/problem. Recently, it largely has been - both with Clinton and with Trump, for very different reasons. Even more so now with GOP members threatening to immediately impeach Biden (for what, I can't quite figure out) should they win back Congress.