Originally published July 31 2014
Over one-third of Americans now believe Obama should be impeached
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) It is a far cry from 2008, the era of "hope and change," when then-Sen. Barack Obama defeated the Democratic Party's heir-apparent, Hillary Clinton, to become the party's presidential nominee.
It's even a far cry from 2012, when a small majority of Americans who went to the polls reelected President Obama in his race against GOP candidate Mitt Romney (more on this in a moment).
These days, a plurality of Americans have become completely disenfranchised with Obama, as reflected in recent polling numbers: Just 39 percent view his job performance favorably, according to the latest Gallup survey.
But more interesting is the number of Americans who now believe that Congress should actually remove Obama from office: The number of Americans who want to see Obama impeached has risen to one in three, or 33 percent, according to a new CNN poll.
'Opened the door' to impeachment?
Once dismissed by the president and his inner circle as little more than partisan politicking, that same inner circle is beginning to take the matter more seriously, especially since one of the right's more vociferous voices, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has openly and publicly called on Obama to be removed from office, a prospect not likely to happen as long as Democrats retain control of the Senate (which would have to vote to convict after the House returned articles of impeachment).
Dan Pfeiffer, a senior Obama aide, said recently House Speaker John Boehner "opened the door for impeachment" with plans to sue the president over his many executive actions that bypass Congress.
Further, Pfeifffer said such calls may increase if Obama goes ahead with additional executive actions aimed at providing new legal status to millions of illegal immigrants, many of whom just recently entered the country as part of a massive wave coming mostly from Central America. Obama is expected to act within weeks, according to some reports.
"It will probably increase the angry action from Republicans," Pfeiffer told a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor.
The CNN poll, which was released July 25, also found that 65 percent of Americans oppose impeaching Obama, meaning that such opposition is liable to preclude any effort by Republicans (and some Democrats) to move forward with articles of impeachment in the House, out of fear that it would appear too partisan.
But in even raising the issue, Pfeiffer may have been attempting some psychology: ramping up anger and anxiety among the Democratic Party base, to inspire them to show up at the polls in November.
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said as much: "It is telling and sad that a senior White House official is focused on political games."
The fall of Obama has been epic
Boehner, for his part, has already said that impeachment is off the table. Shortly after Palin came out with her statement in a widely read column in political circles, he made it clear that wasn't something the House was considering. When he was asked about it earlier this month, he simply replied, "I disagree."
Only two U.S. presidents have been through the impeachment process in our history -- Andrew Johnson during the Reconstruction following the Civil War and Bill Clinton in the midst of a sex scandal during his second term -- though neither was convicted. President Richard Nixon was destined for impeachment before resigning in disgrace in 1974.
Still, the mere mention of "impeachment" in the same sentence as "President Obama," and from such a large segment of the population, is incredible given the massive enthusiasm for Obama from the country and from around the world when he was first elected.
But all of that was before Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the IRS scandal, NSA snooping and, now, the worsening border crisis which many believe is a result of the president's policies.
Sources:
http://politics.suntimes.com
http://www.nydailynews.com
http://i2.cdn.turner.com [PDF]
http://www.breitbart.com
http://www.businessinsider.com
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