The most memorable part of ex-Sen. Dale Bumper’s (D-AR) speech in defense of Bill Clinton during his Senate impeachment trial was the following:
It was a breach of his family trust. It is a sex scandal. H.L. Mencken said one time, “When you hear somebody say, ‘This is not about money,’ it’s about money.”
(LAUGHTER)
And when you hear somebody say, ‘This is not about sex,’ it’s about sex.
It wasn’t actually about sex. It was about political power. The Republican Party lost a little power by insisting on impeaching Bill Clinton but it probably helped them “win” the presidency two years later.
Impeaching Obama could actually repeat that trend. It would severely hurt the GOP’s prospects in November by outraging moderates and motivating Democrats, but it would define the status quo as illegal, thereby giving a leg-up to the 2016 presidential contenders. This is what the Obama administration didn’t understand when they let the torturers go scot-free.
