It's very possible -- nay, very likely -- that no articles of impeachment against President Obama will make it to the floor of the House. It is also the case that Democrats have used chatter about impeachment (often chatter emanating from their own jaws) to raise money from supporters.
There are four categories of thought on the subject, articulated here from least-to-most-supportive of impeaching the president.
- Obama should not be impeached
- Wishy-washy, leveraging a lot of maybes and ifs and well-I-thinks
- Support impeachment, but recognize that it wouldn't actually work
- Support impeachment, full stop
An example, from the day's news:
In an appearance on a radio talk show hosted by Steve Deace on Monday, Mike Huckabee -- a potential 2016 candidate -- stated flatly that Obama has "done plenty of things worthy of impeachment," but that Republicans "don't have the Senate" and so it "would never even get to the floor." Which puts Huckabee in Category 3.
See how it works? We've added a helpful icon to help you navigate the options. Again: As needed we'll update this. If you want to see our evidence for our assessment, just click the Obama icon next to each politician's name.
Who | Why do we care? | 1. Opposes | 2. Wishy-washy | 3. Supports, but | 4. Supports |
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) | 2016 | ![]() |
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Mike Huckabee | 2016 | ![]() |
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Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) | 2016 | ![]() |
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) | 2016 | ![]() |
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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) | 2016 | ![]() |
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Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) | 2016 | ![]() |
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Rep. Michele Bachmann* (R-Minn.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Paul Broun* (R-Ga.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Steve Stockman* (R-Tex.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Randy Weber (R-Tex.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) | Member of Congress | ![]() |
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Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) | Senate candidate | ![]() |
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Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) | Congressional candidate | ![]() |
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Joe Miller (R-Alaska) | Congressional candidate | ![]() |
* - Leaving office in 2015.
Image credits: Associated Press, except the "opposes" face, which is from Reuters.