Let鈥檚 impeach everybody!
鈥淭oday, I am directing my House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,鈥� announced Republican House Speaker and whipping boy Kevin McCarthy last Tuesday.
Despite the ominous sound of that proclamation, it鈥檚 McCarthy鈥檚 political career that鈥檚 in jeopardy.
He鈥檚 out front, appearing to be steadfast in his determination to uncover the criminal misdeeds of Hunter Biden, his Pops 鈥� and the entire, so-called, 鈥淏iden Crime Family.鈥�
It鈥檚 all reminiscent of that 1966 Motown hit by The Marvelettes, 鈥淭he Hunter Gets Captured by the Game.鈥�
McCarthy has taken a step that could backfire, causing him to become a bigger target of his fellow Republicans than Biden.
He brought it on himself.
Last January, when it took 15 ballots to elevate McCarthy to his speakership, he had to make certain promises 鈥� most of which he鈥檚 failed to keep.
And when he got his gavel, he knew that all it would take would be a 鈥渕otion of vacate the chair鈥� from one Republican in the U.S. House to remove him as the House Speaker.
So, firing up an impeachment inquiry is hardly enough to satisfy perpetual Republican malcontents, like Matt Gaetz of Florida.
As soon as McCarthy announced the Biden impeachment inquiry, Gaetz took to the floor of the House to say, in effect, wait just a doggone minute.
He recited a litany of promises McCarthy made to get his vote in January. Hardly any of which have been (or won鈥檛 be) included in McCarthy鈥檚 agenda moving forward.
There鈥檚 simply not enough time to work on those promises since the government is set to shut down on Oct. 1.
It鈥檚 all so, well, messy for McCarthy.
In fact, on Sept. 1, he went on record and said he wouldn鈥檛 do what he did do on Sept. 12.
鈥淚f we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People鈥檚 House and not through a declaration by one person,鈥� McCarthy told Breitbart News.
So much for a floor vote. He鈥檚 decided to go it alone.
Even if the impeachment inquiry leads to a full-scale impeachment, Republicans don鈥檛 have enough votes in the Senate to convict and remove Biden from office. (Sixty-seven votes are needed. Democrats are currently in the majority, making it doubtful that Biden would be convicted and removed.)
All that could happen is what took place when Republicans spent two years trying to sully the public image of that would-be presidential candidate Hillary Clinton back in 2015.
Rep. McCarthy was nearly unknown when he happened to let slip what the real reason for the extended committee hearings into Benghazi had been about.
Especially since the final report on Benghazi concluded that Clinton hadn鈥檛 done anything wrong.
鈥淓verybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi Special Committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? 鈥楥ause she鈥檚 untrustable,鈥� he stupidly said on camera.
McCarthy let the world know that he thought the substance of the inquiry wasn鈥檛 as beneficial as the spectacle of publicly putting Clinton on the hot seat.
Thus, it鈥檚 not much of a stretch to consider that some Republicans see the benefits of combining the words 鈥渋mpeachment鈥� with 鈥淏iden鈥� in the same sentence for months before the 2024 presidential election.
If that doesn鈥檛 work, Republicans could try to impeach Hunter Biden. Or, Jill, or 鈥�
What doesn鈥檛 happen is House Republicans discussing real issues these days.
No solutions are being proffered for gas prices, immigration, inflation, or the high cost of prescription drugs 鈥� just that seemingly never-ending bluster about the 鈥淏iden Crime Family.鈥�
(And of course, that 鈥渨oke鈥� nonsense)
So far, there has been nothing more than innuendoes that Biden has been involved in some serious and illegal moneymaking schemes.
But when asked for specifics, nobody has been able to pinpoint where the money has gone.
Republicans might do better to impeach everybody, everywhere.
It couldn鈥檛 be any worse than what they鈥檒l be doing to the Biden family.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.