Rachel Maddow's Blog, page 3345
August 23, 2013
GOP 'getting perilously close' to impeachment madness
Associated Press
When fringe figures like Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.) talk about impeaching President Obama without cause, it's a mild curiosity. When U.S. senators push the same idea, it's more alarming.
"I think those are serious things, but we're in serious times," said Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn during a town hall in his home state. "And I don't have the legal background to know if that rises to 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' but I think you're getting perilously close."
The remark came after an attendee called the Obama administration "lawless" and asked, "who is responsible for enforcing [Obama's] constitutional responsibilities?"
Coburn apparently has given this a fair amount of thought, telling constituents, "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. That's not something you take lightly, and you have to use a historical precedent of what that means." He added that he believes "there's some intended violation of the law in this administration."
The senator went on to say that he and the president became "personal friends" during their tenure on Capitol Hill, "but that does not mean that I agree in any way with what he's doing or how he's doing it.... And if it continues, I think we're going to have another constitutional crisis in terms of the presidency."
And what, pray tell, has the president done that Coburn perceives as possible "high crimes"? In keeping with the recent trend, the Oklahoma Republican never got around to explaining what the grounds for impeachment would be. Coburn mentioned that he'd heard a rumor about the Department of Homeland Security choosing to "ignore" background checks for immigrants, but he did not elaborate.
So let's pause for a moment to take stock of where things stand when it comes to Impeachment Madness.
First, the number of right-wing lawmakers talking up this ridiculous idea in public continues to grow. The group now includes a handful of U.S. Senators -- Sens. Coburn, Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) -- and plenty of U.S. House members -- Reps. Bentivolio, Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). There may be others, but these are the examples that crossed my radar recently.
Second, while Republicans have traditionally relied on trumped-up pretenses to justify this unhinged rhetoric, lately GOP lawmakers have talked up impeachment for no particular reason. Maybe the party believes the grounds for impeachment are so obvious that they don't need to elaborate; maybe the party no longer cares whether they have a coherent rationale or not.
Third, in nearly every instance I'm aware of, the impeachment comments came in response to questions from far-right activists. Politicians get questions from nutty voters all the time, and usually become adept at handling them, but it's quite possible that today's Republican lawmakers are so afraid of disappointing extremists in the GOP base, they feel the need to treat presidential impeachment as a serious issue.
And finally, for every Beltway pundit who proclaims with a tear in their eye, "Washington would be more effective if Obama showed leadership by reaching out to Republicans, schmoozing them, and offering to work cooperatively with his critics," I hope they're paying very close attention to current events. It is, as a practical matter, awfully difficult for a president to work constructively with radicalized lawmakers who refuse to compromise and cherish the idea of impeachment without cause.
Just so we're clear, I don't really expect Republicans to pursue this in a serious way, and my coverage on the issue is intended more as a "look how silly this is" than a "look at this threat to our constitutional system of government." If for no other reason, GOP lawmakers wouldn't try impeaching the president because they'd risk motivating the Democratic base to show up in the 2014 midterms.
That said, the recent talk about impeachment is nevertheless unnerving.
Morning Maddow: August 23
'Dreamers' stop a bus that is deporting undocumented immigrants.
Republican Rep. wants an investigation into claims of asylum by Mexican nationals.
Outgoing FBI director: NSA surveillance could have "prevented at least part of 9/11."
Groundhog Day: House Speaker Boehner proposes a short-term budget fix to avoid a government shutdown.
Also Groundhog Day: 80 House Republicans want a government shutdown to prevent implementation of Obamacare.
ACLU sues Indiana over abortion clinic law.
Las Vegas police announce bust of a 'sovereign citizen' plot.
August 22, 2013
Links for the 8/22 TRMS
Citations for Thursday's special North Carolina broadcast are listed after the jump.
Republican election surge hits U.S. state houses
Outside Spending Impacts 2010 Elections in N.C.
Pat McCrory wins NC governor race
Pat McCrory sworn in as North Carolina governor
North Carolina Lawmakers Introduce Law To Establish An Official State Religion
NC Senate passes 'Sharia law' bill
North Carolina passes sweeping abortion restrictions planted in motorcycle safety bill
Silencers are now legal for hunting in North Carolina
North Carolina GOP Dubs Millions in Education Cuts as 'Opportunity Scholarships'
North Carolina GOP targets four Democrats in redistricting proposal
North Carolina lawmakers approve sweeping voter ID bill
Obama Incites Republicans With New North Carolina Black Voters
Decision 2012: Pasquotank GOP chair challenges four voters
Voter challenge hearings to start Thursday
Suit threatened over voters' removal
Republicans will take control of boards of election in North Carolina in 2013
Board: ECSU student cannot run
NC elections boards move to curtail student voting
North Carolina voter ID law (pdf)
Justice Department to File New Lawsuit Against State of Texas Over Voter I.D. Law
Boards of elections under scrutiny statewide
Ahead on the 8/22 Maddow show
Tonight's guests include:
John Hawley, reporter, The Daily Advance
Congressman G.K. Butterfield, (D), North Carolina, representing Elizabeth City, also a former voting rights attorney and former justice of the North Carolina State Supreme Court
Montravias King, student and activist
(I know Rachel talked with a lot of people in North Carolina today and I don't know the full list of people who will be included in the show.)
Here's executive producer Bill Wolff with a preview the show the TRMS team is straining de brains over:
Powell says what McCrory doesn't want to hear
Getty Images
It's been about 10 days since North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) approved the most sweeping voter-suppression law seen in the United States in a generation, and as Rachel explained on the show last night, the consequences are already affecting students, most notably at historically black colleges.
But as North Carolina Republicans' pernicious attacks on voting rights grow in notoriety, condemnations of these efforts are becoming more common. Today, for example, former Secretary of State Colin Powell was in North Carolina, where he criticized the state's voting restrictions as bad for the public -- and the Republican Party.
"I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote," said Powell, a Republican, at the CEO Forum in Raleigh
"It immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs," Powell continued. "These kinds of actions do not build on the base. It just turns people away."
Responding directly to the sole talking point pushed by far-right proponents of the voter-suppression law, Powell added, "You can say what you like, but there is no voter fraud. How can it be widespread and undetected?"
As a prominent national figure and a Republican eager to see his party move away from the radical fringe, Powell's condemnation of North Carolina's voting restrictions is noteworthy, but this morning's remarks were especially interesting given who else was in attendance -- Powell criticized Gov. McCrory's attack on voting rights with McCrory in attendance.
Indeed, McCrory addressed the audience immediately before Powell did, and no doubt noticed the comments.
We'll have more on this and other important developments in North Carolina a little later.
San Diego's Filner to resign
Associated Press
It took six weeks, a legion of accusers, two recall campaign initiatives, and one big nightmare, but Bob Filner has reportedly agreed to give up his office.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has agreed to resign as part of a deal reached this week with city officials, NBC 7 News has learned.
Filner, spotted leaving City Hall with packing boxes Wednesday night, will formally vacate the office following a closed session of City Council Friday, according to several sources.
City officials announced just before 7 p.m. Wednesday a proposed solution had been reached in the scandal that has consumed the city of San Diego since it first broke July 10.
It appeared that Filner held on as long as he did as part of a specific strategy -- the outgoing mayor needed to reach a settlement agreement with his accusers. Once that was resolved -- a deal was reportedly reached last night -- Filner, a 70-year-old former Democratic congressman, was willing to quit.
Obviously, the sexual misconduct allegations made Filner a national pariah, but his brief, scandal-plagued tenure was also marred by misuse of public funds and alleged "pay to play" schemes with local developers.
As for what's next for San Diego, the local NBC affiliate reports that City Council President Todd Gloria will become the acting mayor and the city will hold a special election in the fall to fill out the remainder of Filner's term.
Good riddance.
Thursday's campaign round-up
Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* American Bridge this morning released a new video slamming New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) for boasting this week that he and right-wing Senate candidate Steve Lonegan (R) believe "so many of the same things."
Watch on YouTube* On a related note, the good news for Christie is that he still has a significant lead over Barbara Buono (D) in his re-election bid. The bad news for the governor is that his margin has gone from 30 points to 20 points since June.
* In Virginia, Republican Boyd Marcus is well known for a powerful client list including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R) and former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R). In a bit of a surprise, Marcus is endorsing Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe.
* On a related note, the Democratic Governors Association's super PAC is investing $1.2 million in support of McAuliffe. The election is less than three months away.
* In Kentucky, sparks are flying between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and primary challenger Matt Bevin over whether Bevin lied about his education on his LinkedIn page.
* Former Sen. Scott Brown (R) announced last night that he won't run for governor in Massachusetts next year, but he has not yet said whether he'll run for the Senate in New Hampshire next year or run for president of the United States in 2016.
* And on a related note, Juliette Kayyem, a former Homeland Security adviser, Harvard lecturer, and Boston Globe columnist announced yesterday she will run for governor in Massachusetts in 2014 as a Democrat. She'll be part of a crowded Democratic primary field.
Holder: Wall Street offenders not 'out of the woods'
Associated Press
The extent to which Wall Street negligence, mismanagement, and corruption crashed the global economy in 2008 is well documented. But the number of financial industry insiders responsible for the international calamity who ended up behind bars remains the same: zero.
When asked about this, Obama administration officials tend to rely on a relatively persuasive argument: Wall Street's recklessness was not actually illegal, which is why it was necessary for Democrats to approve sweeping new financial-industry reforms in 2010.
But this week, one Obama administration official addressed the same topic, and said something slightly different.
Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday put Wall Street on notice with a vague threat, saying that the Justice Department may be gearing up for civil or criminal prosecutions against those responsible for the 2008 financial meltdown.
"My message is, anybody who's inflicted damage on our financial markets should not be of the belief that they are out of the woods because of the passage of time," Holder said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Holder didn't expound on the nature of the charges or whom the DOJ might have in its crosshairs.
Though the Attorney General did not get into specifics, Alan Pyke added that the DOJ's Criminal Division "is poised to get a new chief prosecutor, Leslie Caldwell, six months after the departure of longtime Wall Street defender Lanny Breuer.... Caldwell headed the government's Enron Task Force from 2002 to 2004 and was a prosecutor specializing in white collar crime prior to that."
The clock is ticking -- the misdeeds occurred in 2008 and the statute of limitations in this area is five years.
DeMint touts emergency rooms over insurance
Associated Press
Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), now the head of the Heritage Foundation, continues to help lead a far-right crusade against the Affordable Care Act for reasons that aren't altogether clear. Yesterday, DeMint brought his traveling circus to Tampa, where he made his pitch to a few hundred supporters (and more than a few opponents).
DeMint said opponents don't have much time to try to make changes to the law before a March 2014 deadline for people to enroll. Benefits will kick in Jan. 1 for those who enroll earlier.
"This might be that last off-ramp to stop Obamacare before it becomes more enmeshed in our culture," he said. "This is not about getting better health care."
DeMint said uninsured Americans "will get better health care just going to the emergency room."
Ah yes, the emergency-room argument. You don't need basic coverage for you and your family -- forget insurance and rely on the folks at your local E.R. This pops up from time to time -- Mitt Romney was using it less than a month before the 2012 election -- but in case anyone's forgotten, let's set the record straight again.
It's true that under the preferred Republican system -- the U.S. system before the Affordable Care Act became law -- if you were uninsured and get sick, you could probably find public hospitals that would provide treatment.
It is, however, extremely expensive to treat patients this way. It's far cheaper -- and more medically effective -- to pay for preventative care so that people don't have to wait for a medical emergency to seek treatment.
For that matter, when sick people with no insurance go to the E.R. for care, they often can't afford to pay their bills. Those costs are ultimately spread around to everyone else -- effectively creating the most inefficient system of socialized medicine ever devised.
Indeed, since hospitals can't treat sick patients for free, the bills can bankrupt those who get sick, and the costs are still passed on to everyone else.
But wait, there's more.
For those with chronic ailments, DeMint's position is laughable -- is anyone going to stop by the emergency room for chemotherapy or diabetes treatments?
The reality is plain for anyone who cares: Americans die because they lack basic coverage. The Republican plan to deal with this national scourge doesn't exist -- the plan is to destroy what took generations to approve, and then hope for the best.
Obamacare's critics are offering a cruel joke, and little else.
'A bridge too far'
We talked the other day about Clint Murphy, a long-time Republican campaign staffer who supports the Affordable Care Act for a pretty simple reason: he wants health insurance, but as a cancer survivor, his pre-existing conditions make that impossible.
But there was something about this story that I found hard to understand. Murphy, who tries to explain to other Republicans that their crusade against "Obamacare" is literally bad for his health, also said he's supporting right-wing U.S. Senate candidate Karen Handel in Georgia next year, despite her intention to destroy the federal health care law and take away his insurance opportunities.
Following up, MSNBC's Chris Hayes talked to Murphy on the air last night, and Murphy was quite articulate in taking his party to task: "At the risk of destroying this country, it seems like the Republican Party is really obsessed with being against anything that Barack Obama is for.... At some point, we need to set aside our partisanship and focus on what's good for the people of this country."
And what of reports that he's supporting Handel next year?
"I must say that I was really taken aback by [Handel's] position because I definitely expected a more nuanced position that would, you know, talk about the parts of the law -- obviously the one that affects me the most, affects a lot of people the most, the pre-existing conditions.
"But, you know, blanket defund, blanket repeal, those aren't realistic policies because they're never going to go anywhere. They're going to go anywhere. And so, the people out there talking that are doing nothing but scaring people. They are preying on the lowest common denominator politics, and it's really a disgrace, in my opinion.
"I'm really -- I think it's unfortunate that that's the position that her campaign has decided to take and I wish them all the well, but it's just a bridge too far for me to go on."
If others start to look at this issue in a similarly serious way, Republicans may pay a price at the ballot box for their anti-healthcare crusade.
