(04-05-2018, 08:43 PM)JagNGeorgia Wrote:

(04-05-2018, 07:37 PM)TJBender Wrote: First off, "at this time". Second, impeachment is not a criminal proceeding. I'm not saying I think that's where he is, not that I would agree if he was, but one need not be found guilty in a court of law to be politely told to get out of the Oval Office.

He isn't "at this time" because there's been no evidence presented to suggest otherwise. 

If we get to the point where we're impeaching the sitting President because we don't like him, and that's essentially what it would be about now, then enjoy seeing impeachments happen every other President. If you're impeaching for not committing a crime, then you're opening Pandora's box.

I kind of agree with both of you. 

I would add, impeachment is a high bar to clear, because any representative who votes to impeach would have to face the voters, the same ones who voted the President into office in the first place.  And nothing would fire up a President's supporters as much as the congress overturning the will of the people by ejecting from office the President they elected. 

And the really high bar to clear is conviction, because that requires 67 votes in the Senate, which would be almost impossible if there was no significant crime.  

There would have to be widespread, overwhelming support among the voting public for any impeachment and conviction to succeed.  Last I saw, Trump was around a 44% approval rating.   I would guess it would have to drop to around 25% for any impeachment movement to get any traction at all.  

That's why only two Presidents have been impeached in our entire history, and none have been convicted and ejected from office.  Clinton was impeached, but the vote in the Senate on conviction wasn't even close.   Interesting factoid- Andrew Johnson avoided conviction when a senator who was in the hospital was carried in on a stretcher and voted to acquit.

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