# Will the House spend the next 4 years fishing for a White House scandals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 12, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757 "2012-11-12T05:17:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/1 "2012-11-12T05:17:04Z")
Of course, they’ve already tried (without success) to gin the Benghazi attack into a scandal. Now Petraeus diddles his biographer, and the headlines blare: [Congress wants answers on Petraeus affair](http://news.yahoo.com/congress-wants-answers-petraeus-affair-220023247--politics.html)! So is this what we have to look forward to from the House of Representatives? A four-year fishing expedition for anything they might be able to turn into a scandal? Do they really want a replay of the trumped-up Clinton impeachment? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/2 "2012-11-12T05:19:20Z")
UH, Yeah! This is EXACTLY what we can expect. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/3 "2012-11-12T05:26:14Z")
Without a doubt they will. In other news, water is wet. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/4 "2012-11-12T05:31:44Z")
I’d expect plenty more nonsense from Darrell Issa, yes. But it sounds like Republicans were not the only ones with some questions about the Petraeus imbroglio. The article in the OP has Sen. Dianne Feinstein complaining that she shouldn’t been notified earlier about the investigation. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/5 "2012-11-12T05:57:12Z")
They’ve spent the last four years trying to manufacture scandals out of Benghazi/Fast and Furious/Solyndra/Black Panthers/ACORN/birth certificates/etc. Why stop now? ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/6 "2012-11-12T16:11:56Z")
Wouldn’t surprise me if articles of impeachment were drawn up before Inauguration Day. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/7 "2012-11-12T16:20:37Z")
The OP offers us a nice example of The Excluded Middle. Of course the House will try and play up any “scandals” it can that involve Obama. They don’t need to impeach him in order to do that. > [@bmoak](#): > > ``` > Wouldn't surprise me if articles of impeachment were drawn up before Inauguration Day. > > ``` Would you like bet? I’ll give you 10:1 odds in your favor. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/8 "2012-11-12T16:35:56Z")
Darrell Issa started out bragging about all the subpoenas he was going to bury the White House with (he quickly walked back the remarks after they became public) so I’d guess that, yeah, he’ll keep going until he gets his white whale. It’s something of a shame because whatever legitimate questions there may be on issues like Fast & Furious or Benghazi gets buried under seven feet of partisanship and false outrage until no one is listening any longer except the partisan choir. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/9 "2012-11-12T16:56:49Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > It’s something of a shame because whatever legitimate questions there may be on issues like Fast & Furious or Benghazi gets buried under seven feet of partisanship and false outrage until no one is listening any longer except the partisan choir. I think this is a big worry. Because they are in their own echo chamber, conservatives will become more and more puzzled about why the real world does not match what they are seeing on Fox: Romney was ahead in the polls, why did he lose? Obama sent guns to Mexico to kill American border agents, why no outrage? How could he have watched live as Americans were killed at the “embassy” and not send help? Eventually there will be so much frustration I fear some sort of violent confrontation over these totally fabricated stories. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/10 "2012-11-12T17:29:31Z")
“Water is wet” sums this up perfectly. The out party tries to do this at every moment, and historically always has. How can you think this is new or different? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/11 "2012-11-12T17:44:02Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > “Water is wet” sums this up perfectly. > > The out party tries to do this at every moment, and historically always has. How can you think this is new or different? Well, however nasty it got, it was never like **this** between W and the Dems. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/12 "2012-11-12T17:48:19Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The OP offers us a nice example of The Excluded Middle. Of course the House will try and play up any “scandals” it can that involve Obama. They don’t need to impeach him in order to do that. > Would you like bet? I’ll give you 10:1 odds in your favor. I said it wouldn’t surprise me, not that it was likely. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/13 "2012-11-12T18:01:54Z")
> [@bmoak](#): > > I said it wouldn’t surprise me, not that it was likely. That’s why I offered you 10:1 odds. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/14 "2012-11-12T18:09:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Would you like bet? I’ll give you 10:1 odds in your favor. [How much was the bet for?](http://www.impeachobamacampaign.com/articlesofimpeachment/) [How many distinct sets of impeachment articles do I need to find?](http://conservativepapers.com/news/2012/04/04/a-case-for-impeaching-obama/#.UKE5doblZdc) [Does a resolution of impeachment filed by a sitting Congressman qualify?](http://thewildernessofmirrors.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/articles-of-impeachment-filed-against-barack-hussein-obama-on-wednesday-march-7th-2012/) OTOH, some say impeachment is unnecessary: > [@](#): > > How do your impeach someone who was never eligible in the first place? … > It seems a simple thing to get a capitol police officer over there to arrest an impostor. What’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/15 "2012-11-12T18:30:25Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > [How much was the bet for?](http://www.impeachobamacampaign.com/articlesofimpeachment/) How much would you like it to be? > [@](#): > > [How many distinct sets of impeachment articles do I need to find?](http://conservativepapers.com/news/2012/04/04/a-case-for-impeaching-obama/#.UKE5doblZdc) One. By the actual HoR. I can find _anything_ somewhere on the internet. > [@](#): > > [Does a resolution of impeachment filed by a sitting Congressman qualify?](http://thewildernessofmirrors.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/articles-of-impeachment-filed-against-barack-hussein-obama-on-wednesday-march-7th-2012/) Nope. That is not “articles of impeachment”-- it’s a “sense of the Congress”. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/16 "2012-11-12T18:38:03Z")
Kucinich filed Articles against Cheney after the Dems took over Congress. Pelosi wisely never let it get to the floor for a vote. I’m sure Boehner would block an attempt to impeach Obama, for similar reasons. But I don’t think I’d be so confident that an over-eager GOP Rep won’t draw up some Articles of Impeachment and find a few co-sponsers amongst his party members. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/17 "2012-11-12T19:58:36Z")
One of my business partners asked me about what the heck was going on with this petition from 15 states to secede from the Union. Once again, the lack of filter mechanisms and the sheer volume of information (false or otherwise) on the Internet confused an intelligent person. My friend thought that 15 states had petitioned the Federal government to peacefully secede. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/11/12/states-petition-obama-administration-to-secede/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/11/12/states-petition-obama-administration-to-secede/) Remember, please, that the USA is a democratic republic, not a democracy. We, as a people, can seek redress, but we can’t secede as states. There is a well-established precedent for this – Lee v. Grant - 1865. Y’all may have heard about it. We can expect more such nonsense and histrionics in the days to come. ETA: And yes, I know this was a derail. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/18 "2012-11-12T20:02:15Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Once again, the lack of filter mechanisms and the sheer volume of information (false or otherwise) on the Internet confused an intelligent person. I’ll take your word for it, because I have a lot of trouble believing that an intelligent person would really take this at face value and think 15 states were asking for permission to secede. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/19 "2012-11-12T21:27:00Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Kucinich filed Articles against Cheney after the Dems took over Congress. Pelosi wisely never let it get to the floor for a vote. > > I’m sure Boehner would block an attempt to impeach Obama, for similar reasons. But I don’t think I’d be so confident that an over-eager GOP Rep won’t draw up some Articles of Impeachment and find a few co-sponsers amongst his party members. Agreed. But I can’t see it getting through committee, either. There is always a few nuts in the House who’ll sign onto stuff like either out of their sincere, though crazy, beliefs or just to grandstand. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757/20 "2012-11-12T22:13:04Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Remember, please, that the USA is a democratic republic, not a democracy. The United States is a democracy. It is the very definition of a democracy. The Founders mostly called it a republic, mostly because there weren’t any good examples of a nation-sized democracy before the U.S. Around 1790, though, democracy emerged as the term what for the young republic had become. You can call the form of government in the U.S. any number of things, but it denies the reality of usage to not call it a democracy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-house-spend-the-next-4-years-fishing-for-a-white-house-scandals/640757.md?page=2)