WASHINGTON — Conservative lawmakers on Tuesday dismissed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s recent call to impeach President Obama.
“Nobody wants a President Joe Biden,” Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador said to laughs during the monthly Conversations with Conservatives press availability on Capitol Hill.
While all the Republican lawmakers surveyed at the event said they are currently against impeaching President Obama for a variety of reasons, some acknowledged they think he still deserves it.
“The president deserves to be impeached. Plain and simple,” said Texas Rep. Randy Weber.
But Weber said it is “not practical,” explaining: “We don’t have the Senate” to convict the president.
Tennessee Rep. John Duncan said he is against impeachment because Democrats could use it against Republicans in the midterm elections.
“Nothing would fire up the base of the Democrats more than impeachment action,” Duncan said. “It would turn off some of the independents who are right now leaning our way.”
Labrador of Idaho said he doesn’t think “the American people … believe the president should be impeached.”
“But they do believe Republicans should stand as a check and a balance against this president,” he said. “They don’t agree with his agenda.”
“So no, I would not file articles of impeachment at this time,” Labrador said.
Texas Rep. Joe Barton said impeachment is “debatable.”
“I certainly think the president has gone out of his way to not enforce some of the laws the congress thinks he should be enforcing,” he said.
But Barton said it is not practical to go through with the impeachment process.
“Having gone through the impeachment of President Clinton, as a practical matter, it wouldn’t be possible,” Barton said. “Because of the complexity of the procedure and the need for real regular order and due process.”
“If you’re going to impeach the president of the United States, you need to do it right.”
He added: “We certainly are not going to get a two-thirds conviction in the Senate.”
Asked about impeachment, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan said he’s happy with House Speaker John Boehner’s recent lawsuit against Obama’s executive actions.
“I support what the speaker is doing with the suit that he’s bringing,” he said.
Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp said many Americans agree with Palin’s sentiment.
“What Gov. Palin is mentioning is what I hear amongst many Americans, particularly conservatives … this ever increasingly concern about the lawlessness of this administration.”