Reply #82: There certainly is a case to be made that Congress needs to be more forceful [View All]

But, the success of these confrontations often rely on adherence to what's 'politically' advantageous. I think it could be folly to ignore potential political consequences of their actions if we accept that a Democratic majority is important and vital to our ultimate successes -- especially in the midst of a presidential election year.

I'm not convinced that impeachment would be a 'cure' if it resulted in an acquittal along party lines. Many in Congress who are reluctant to proceed to an impeachment aren't convinced on that point either. I don't believe that's as much of a reflection of political 'courage' as much as I think it's a lack of faith in the success of the type of partisan impeachment proceeding that proponents are urging. We want the same accountability, but don't believe that just initiating one with a set of charges generated entirely, in-house, by our one party would succeed. But we want the same success as you do. On the totality of the prospects proponents present, we remain unconvinced that initiating the type of proceeding that would be anticipated would work. That's not lack of courage at all. It's skepticism and prudence.

Of course, history does provide numerous examples of administration crimes addressed by other means than impeachments. The rarity of *impeachment of the Executive should also serve as a guide to its efficacy. Although proscribed by the founders as a remedy, there is no assurance of it's success. Certainly they were referring to it's potential, but they had no way of guaranteeing that it would be an effective check. Indeed, Jefferson worried aloud about the pernicious effect of the independent Judiciary on Congress' ability to hold the Executive accountable in an impeachment -- concerned about the ability of the Judiciary to shield the Executive from demands for documents and testimony, much like today -- *calling impeachment, in that case, no more than a "scarecrow."

Certainly they recognized the efficacy of the myriads of other levers of accountability Congress has at its disposal. Certainly Congress has thought better of these other levers throughout its decades of history than it has of it's rarely used power to impeach the Executive.