The House has started an inquiry into the impeachment of President Biden. I think that is a good idea, in order to continue turning up evidence of Joe Biden’s corruption. But should the House actually proceed to vote for impeachment, resulting in a futile trial in the Senate?
The Wall Street Journal says No, headlining “Americans Don’t Want Another Impeachment Fight. Voters say partisan battles are distracting lawmakers from fixing the country’s problems.” A cynic might say that lawmakers have, in any event, no intention of fixing the country’s problems. But impeachment is a political act, and there is zero chance of removing Biden from office. So is it a good idea, politically?
The Journal cites its own poll data from late August, which found voters opposing impeachment by 41%/52%, and independents opposing it by 37%/51%. The Journal’s poll also found that only one-third of voters were closely following the “Hunter Biden story.” That sums up the Republicans’ problem rather neatly. If voters perceive the impeachment to be about Hunter, why should they care? I think Republicans have made a tactical error by talking too much about Hunter, and thus allowing the press to get away with making the story about Hunter, when of course the man who sold his influence–Hunter didn’t have any–was Joe. But that water may have gone over the dam.
Intuitively, I think the Journal is right. Most people think Congressmen are way too far gone in partisanship, and care more about scoring points against the opposition than about doing the people’s business. And who knows, the majority might be right. Last time the Republicans impeached a Democratic president over issues that voters thought didn’t matter to their lives, it didn’t end well.
And then there is the fact that the Biden administration has been an abject failure, as a solid majority of voters now recognize. It is an ancient adage, as formulated by Napoleon, that you should “never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.” Let’s not distract voters’ attention from the policy disasters of the Biden administration, which have had devastating impacts on their own families, by trying to explain suspicious bank transfers.
So my opinion is, sure, go ahead and continue investigating Joe Biden, and this time try to get it right by not focusing on the drug-addled, unemployable Hunter. But bear in mind that impeachment, once considered a nuclear option, no longer has much significance. Look how much harm it didn’t do, politically, to Donald Trump. In fact, the Democrats’ multiple ill-conceived impeachments probably helped Trump, as the Republicans’ impeachment of Bill Clinton, which was seen by the public as being about sex, helped Clinton.
So when the time comes, issue a scathing report but don’t proceed with an impeachment vote. Let’s let the 2024 campaigns focus on the disasters of the Biden administration, not Joe’s personal corruption. A House investigation with attendant publicity can shine plenty of light on Joe’s corruption, for those voters who care, without proceeding with impeachment.
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