House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden over his connections to his son Hunter Biden’s foreign affairs activities is drawing some predictably polarized reactions. Most liberal commentators and Democratic elected officials have largely dismissed the effort as a hypocritical, evidence-free witch hunt, while ardent conservatives have applauded the effort to finally hold the Biden Crime Family accountable.
“Launching this unlawful investigation is a distraction,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said yesterday. “Instead of focusing on doing the business of the American people, Extreme MAGA Republicans are doing the bidding of their puppet master, Donald Trump.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries addresses Kevin McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry:
“Extreme MAGA Republicans follow the orders of their puppet master, Donald Trump. When Donald Trump says jump, the extreme MAGA Republicans say how high.” pic.twitter.com/P1ZzDT8AJG
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 12, 2023
It is “based on the weakness of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership, the fact that he does not have moral authority among his members, has no control over his caucus and is dependent on the most extreme elements who want an impeachment of Joe Biden.” , an impeachment without evidence,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California). CNN‘s Wolf Blitzer yesterday.
Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of a bogus impeachment inquiry into President Biden is based on two things: McCarthy’s weakness as a speaker and his willingness to follow Trump’s orders.
It is certainly not based on evidence or facts. pic.twitter.com/Ey4qnyIetY
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 13, 2023
Republicans in the House of Representatives, meanwhile, argue there is ample reason to move forward with an impeachment inquiry.
“Banking records, suspicious activity reports, emails, text messages and witness statements reveal that Joe Biden allowed his family to sell him as ‘the brand’ around the world to enrich the Bidens,” said Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jason Smith (R-Mo.) who led the House investigation into Biden’s foreign business dealings, in a joint statement.
???? DECISION INVESTIGATION ????@HuisGOP has uncovered an overwhelming amount of evidence @POTUS lied to the American people about his knowledge and participation in his family’s influence schemes.
I fully support @SpeakerMcCarthy open an impeachment inquiry.???? pic.twitter.com/feFLOMU6HN
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) September 12, 2023
Most Republican presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, had expressed support for a formal impeachment inquiry before McCarthy’s announcement. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christe said an investigation into Biden’s alleged corruption is warranted, but a full-blown impeachment inquiry is premature.
Some journalists and liberal commentators have criticized the Republicans’ procedural hypocrisy. In 2019, Republicans criticized then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for opening an impeachment inquiry without a full House vote. Now McCarthy is doing the same in 2023.
In 2019, Kevin McCarthy condemned Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats for opening an impeachment inquiry against President Trump without a vote in the full House, and asked her to suspend the investigation.
Now he is opening an impeachment inquiry against President Biden without a vote in the House of Representatives. pic.twitter.com/GWxzwHHMBH
— Stephen Neukam (@stephen_neukam) September 12, 2023
The conservative counterpoint is that it is all part of the harvesting/sowing process.
Here is the pattern:
-Democrats are making an unprecedented rule change
-Republicans warn of the consequences if Democrats lose
-Democrats lose
-Republicans operate under a new administration
-Democrats complain
-The media dutifully screams hypocrisySee: filibuster, committee impeachments and now impeachment https://t.co/tyAV4yRwMh
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) September 12, 2023
Some conservative writers walk the line between “impeachment now” and “politicized witch hunt” when assessing the McCarthy impeachment inquiry.
“In announcing this measure, McCarthy noted that ‘House Republicans have thus far uncovered serious, credible allegations about President Biden’s conduct.’ This is true and a tribute to the Republican investigation, but it was all accomplished through a robust oversight process that operated outside of the impeachment process,” reads one National Review yesterday’s editorial. “The speaker argues that having an open impeachment inquiry will give investigators more power to get more answers, but it also creates more pressure to produce a smoking gun and potentially move forward on the impeachment path anyway .”
Republican senators have expressed concern that the impeachment inquiry is premature, the report said The hill. It won’t impeach Biden, but will plausibly derail negotiations on a spending resolution that must be passed by the end of the month to avoid a federal government shutdown.
The Libertarian Party, In the meantimehas thrown its support behind the Republicans’ impeachment inquiry while insisting that the best solution is to put Biden under receivership.
The Libertarian Party fully supports Chairman McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry against President Biden based on the corruption allegations. But it shouldn’t stop there, and his lack of effort to call for an actual vote to give it legal relevance means it will pass…
— Libertarian Party (@LPNational) September 12, 2023
FREE SPIRITS
A federal appeals court has ruled that a Catholic group does not need special permission from Michigan zoning officials to build a Stations of the Cross prayer path on private property. Reports CBS:
The court ruled 3-0 in favor of the group and issued an injunction Monday, saying Livingston County’s Genoa Township likely violated the rights of Missouri-based Catholic Healthcare International, which controls the 40-acre wooded parcel .
The city had said a special use permit was needed because the project was the equivalent of a church building. The religious group objected, but eventually responded with a plan for a chapel and trail after spending thousands of dollars on the application. It was rejected.
Catholic Healthcare has acquired the land from the Catholic Diocese of Lansing to build a trail featuring the Stations of the Cross, 14 stops that commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus.
The Stations of the Cross remained in place until the city persuaded a state judge to order their removal in 2021. Catholic Healthcare, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit in federal court, citing a law that protects religious groups in zoning matters.
FREE MARKETS
Inflation continues to make Americans poorer. The latest figures from the US Census Bureau show that increases in the cost of living have outpaced rising incomes for the third year in a row, reports The Wall Street Journal:
Americans’ inflation-adjusted median household income fell to $74,580 in 2022, down 2.3% from the 2021 estimate of $76,330, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. The amount has fallen by 4.7% since the peak in 2019.
Nevertheless, things could look a little brighter for employees at the end of 2023:
This year it could be different. Earnings and inflation trends have improved as a strong labor market and cooling price increases have boosted household purchasing power, said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank.
“As we look to the present and the future, the prospects are brighter that wages can make up some of the ground lost in recent years,” Adams said.
FAST HITS
- Markets in everything? The Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary organization, is trying to win hearts and minds in Africa with its own beer brand.
- In non-impeachment news from Congress, Republicans in the House of Representatives are pushing for a defense spending bill to end the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates and stop the transfer of cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Just completed the Rules Committee this evening. On the defense appropriations bill, we will vote on amendments to it
Ban the COVID military vax mandate
Ban the military mask mandate
Ban the offering of cluster munitions
Ban the deployment of US troops in Ukraine
and 180 other amendments.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 13, 2023
- Modes of transportation, both old and new, were no favors for a San Francisco man who was hit by a public bus. The ambulance that took him to hospital reportedly got stuck behind two stationary driverless cars.
- Senate Democrats are holding a closed-door forum today with tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Sundar Pichai on the promise and perils of artificial intelligence. They will certainly not use the opportunity to push through protectionist regulations.
- Speaking of protectionist regulations, California lawmakers are considering limiting the use of artificial intelligence to replace actors.
- Yet another government official overseeing construction activities is facing charges as part of a corruption probe. Former New York City Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich is expected to surrender to local law enforcement this morning, reports say Politics. It’s no coincidence that this keeps happening.