Delegates to the South Dakota state Republican convention in Rapid City dropped a bombshell yesterday, when they adopted a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Obama.
The resolution’s sponsor, Sioux Falls tea party activist Allen Unruh, claimed to have “a thick book” of impeachable offenses that have supposedly been committed by the president. Among them are trading Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay, his promise that anyone who liked their old health insurance plans could keep them, and the EPA’s new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions at power plants. If you’re wondering what else is in that “thick book,” don’t worry–we’re asking the same question. There isn’t a copy of the resolution anywhere.
Some delegates tried to maintain at least a minimum of sanity when the resolution was introduced. For instance, one of the delegates, David Wheeler, said that if the resolution were to be adopted, the state party would be on record as calling for using impeachment “for political purposes.” He added that it would also make Republicans look “petty” and would make voters think that “we can’t achieve our goals through the political process.” But Wheeler’s words fell on deaf ears, and the resolution was adopted, 191-176. It looks like it only passed due to the support of delegates from Pennington County, home to Rapid City; they voted 47-9 in favor of the resolution.
State Democratic Party chairwoman Deb Knecht wasted little time in condemning the resolution as a classic case of “out of touch tea party politics.” She also called for Congresswoman Kristi Noem and Senator John Thune to denounce the resolution. Later that day, South Dakota Democrats called for former governor Mike Rounds, the Republican candidate in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Tim Johnson, to state his position on the resolution. Thus far, Thune and Rounds have remained silent. However, Noem indicated that–for now anyway–she is somewhat cool to the idea of impeachment. In a statement, Noem thought the “best way” to hold Obama to account was “aggressive oversight” of the White House. When a woman who has been described as a Sarah Palin clone thinks an impeachment resolution is a bridge too far, that’s saying something.
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Edited/Published by JA
Darrell Lucus is a radical lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
