After spending years attacking President Barack Obama and the Democrats for the Affordable Care Act, Republicans watched in horror as 8 million Americans signed up for health insurance coverage through the exchanges set up by the law. The Republicans’ chief line of attack for the election came undone at the news that the number of uninsured Americans plummeted.
Fear not, ladies and gentlemen. The Republicans have a new election year strategy, and it’s one that will surely break the back of the feckless president: Benghazi.
The shameless attack in Libya that left four Americans dead, including a U.S. ambassador, is once again front-page news as House Republicans scramble to set up a special committee to investigate the White House for its allegedly dirty deeds. Republicans claim they have the ultimate smoking gun: an email that might indicate the White House coached then-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, over the response to Benghazi.
Screw the emails; the Republicans should start impeachment proceedings immediately.
Why, you ask?
It’s the second year of the second term of a Democratic president. The last time Democrats had a two-term president, House Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying under oath about sexual acts in the Oval Office. Obviously, it’s time to find a reason to impeach Obama.
When you fail to connect with a majority of American voters, the next best option is to simply stage a legal coup as allowed by the Constitution. Republicans spent the entirety of Obama’s first term attempting to defeat him in 2012. Despite some — like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R - Ky. — claiming that the Grand Old Party’s top priority was to make Obama a one-term president — they failed miserably. Now, they must find another way to render Obama’s presidency moot, or get rid of him entirely.
Endless hearings on Benghazi will grow boring and tiresome, and ultimately, the political charade will run its course. However, if they choose to forego the banality of Benghazi hearings and skip straight to impeachment, America will watch.
There’s nothing as exhilarating as putting an American president on trial for alleged crimes, no matter how ludicrous the charges may be. In fact, an impeachment trial could be the new prime-time program NBC needs to help garner better ratings. Fox might have “American Idol,” but NBC would have “Law & Order: Impeachment,” coming this fall!
The first half of the season will feature the exciting and nail-biting hearings in the House of Representatives, starring such superstars as Rep. Darrell Issa, R- Calif., and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R- Ohio. For good measure, NBC can hire Rush Limbaugh, Alan West and George W. Bush as comic relief.
Ratings will be through the roof!
The midseason finale will be a two-part episode that will leave viewers breathless: First, the impeachment committee must recommend that Obama be impeached; second, a vote must be taken by the entire House of Representatives.
The midseason finale will conclude with a cliffhanger: Does the House vote to send Obama to trial in the Senate?
Of course it will!
The second half of the season will be Obama’s trial, and it has the potential to be the best season of “Law & Order” in decades. Led by the unflappable Sen. Ted Cruz, R- Texas, and Sen. Rand Paul, R- Ky., the trial of Obama should make for incredible television.
Will the Senate convict Obama and throw him out of office? Tune in next season to “Law & Order: Impeachment”!
Does all of this sound insane to you? It should. Your Congress has turned into a circus, run by mostly maniacal dingbats, constantly searching for ways to derail the president, get a few talking points on Fox News, and in their own demented, twisted and disturbing minds, save America.
Chasing conspiracy theories is no way to run a country — unless you want to run it into the ground.
[Joel Mendelson is a UF graduate student. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 5/15/2014 under the headline "Stop with Benghazi: Impeach Obama"]
