Impeach Obama? Yeah, Right. If Anyone Should Be Impeached It's Congressional Republicans

In January of 2009, before Barack Obama was even sworn into office, Republican lawmakers met in secret to map out their strategy for the next four years. As Mitch McConnell boastfully admitted, their number one goal wasn't to work with Obama to move the country forward, but instead to do everything in their power to make him a failed, one-term president.

First, they tried to make the case that Obama was ineligible for office because he was born in Kenya, not America. Bloodthirsty birthers like Donald Trump demanded his birth certificate and refused to accept it as legitimate even when it was presented for all the world to see.

Then, following the sweeping Tea Party election of 2010, Republicans re-took the House and began their all-out assault to obstruct Obama at every turn. They voted nearly 50 times to repeal Obamacare. They filibustered everything. They refused to hand him any kind of legislative victory, even if it benefited the American people. They measured their success by the depth of the political gridlock.

Last summer, House Speaker John Boehner lifted the veil on the GOP obstruction machine, saying in an interview that Congress should be judged not by how many laws they enact, but instead by how many laws they repeal.

By their own standards, Republicans have failed on both accounts. Obama was re-elected to a second term (sorry, McConnell) and GOP lawmakers haven't repealed a single law passed under Obama (sorry, Boehner).

But they aren't letting that stop them.

Now they want to sue Obama. And impeach him.


THE DO NOTHINGS

Simply put, today's GOP is the party of "Do Nothing." They've stolen the infamous moniker from their Truman-era predecessors and taken gridlock to a near unprecedented level, rivaling only the secession-hungry confederates of the 1860s.

And the numbers don't lie.

The 112th Congress, run by the Republicans after the landslide election of 2010, was literally the least productive ever. Instead of passing legislation, they focused almost exclusively on political showdowns. From the Debt Ceiling to the Fiscal Cliff, they came perilously close to destroying the economy for the sole purpose of extracting a pound of Obama's flesh. Overall, they passed just over 200 laws, the lowest number since the data began getting recorded in the 1940s.

But as bad as the 112th Congress was, the 113th is even worse. As of this Spring, they have passed just 23 public laws, setting a new record for legislative futility.

Instead of governing, they have chosen to ignore all the major issues facing our country and focus all their attention on investigating "scandals." And even when the manufactured, phony scandals are debunked, like Benghazi, they simply ignore the facts and retreat to their Fox News bubble where reality goes to die.

This is the Republican legacy in the Age of Obama: pass nothing, block everything. Turn a blind eye to the plight of the American people and blame everything on Obama. Wash, rinse, repeat.


A HOLLOW POLITICAL STUNT

Although Congressional Republicans have decided to abdicate their duty as lawmakers, the problems facing our country have not disappeared. In fact, they've gotten worse as a result of congressional inaction.

Following the Sandy Hook massacre, public support for background checks was at an all-time high. But Republican puppets in the pocket of the NRA defied 92% of Americans and blocked the bill, ensuring it failed.

At a time of unprecedented income inequality, Republicans refuse to hold a vote on raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, despite the fact that nearly 75% of Americans support it.

Today, the humanitarian crisis at the border is spiraling out of control. More than 50,000 parentless-children are toiling in jail-like conditions. Everyone seems to agree that our immigration system is broken, yet Republicans refuse to lift a finger even though 86% of GOPers think congress should take action to fix it.

The same goes for Climate change. A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed that 67% of Americans support Obama's new EPA regulations to limit carbon emissions. Yet many congressional Republicans refuse to even acknowledge the existence of man-made Climate Change or Global Warming, let alone are willing to support laws to curb its effects.

As a result of the Republicans' refusal to work with Obama on anything- even issues that the vast majority of Americans support- Obama has decided to bypass them entirely, focusing on ways to use his executive authority to address the critical issues facing our country.

But in typical GOP fashion, they've decided to ratchet up the obstruction to a whole new level, even for them. Boehner has decided to sue Obama for his use of executive authority even though the case lacks standing and is broadly unpopular with the public.

But if that wasn't enough, now Sarah Palin- the driver of the Tea Party clown car- wants to write up articles of impeachment despite having no particular issue to impeach him over.


PUT OUT THE FIRE

As brilliant as the Founding Fathers were, one situation they may not have foreseen was a Congress that turns a blind eye to the American people and chooses to do nothing in the face of critically important issues that must be addressed.

Sure, the Constitution makes clear that laws must be passed through the Legislative Branch, not the Executive, but what is a President to do when the Legislative Branch abdicates their duties and sits on their hands while the country is in free fall?

If a house is burning down and there is a law that says only firefighters can put it out, does that mean a neighbor is wrong to take matters into his own hands and use his garden hose put out the flames?

Should he just stand there and watch it burn?

While Obama's use of executive authority may be controversial and infuriating for Republicans, one thing most sane-minded Americans can agree with is that when America is faced with big, serious problems that require action, the side that chooses to do nothing is much more at fault than the side that chooses to do something.

And while it may be true that Obama's approval rating is at George W. Bush type-lows, compared to Congress he's as popular as the Beatles in the 1960s. Obama currently rests in the low-to-mid 40s, while Congress is barely above single digits, right there with cockroaches and chlamydia.

Boehner and Palin can cry all they want about lawsuits and impeachment, but if anyone should be booted from office, it's congressional Republicans, not the President.

Obama is holding the hose trying to put out the American house fire. Republican firefighters have turned off the tap and are gleefully watching it burn down.