What are we to make of a House that refuses its duty to impeach?(Indiana Newspaper Editorial)

[kpete]

This is from an Indiana newspaper editorial titled Never Too Late To Impeach:

Published June 17, 2008 10:15 am -
In the face of the most lawless administration in U.S. history, what are we to make of a House that refuses its duty to impeach?

Column: Never too late to impeach

By Stephen Dick
THE HERALD BULLETIN (ANDERSON, Ind.)

ANDERSON, Ind. —

“The president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” — Article II, Section 4, U.S. Constitution


There’s really no equivocation in this simple statement. It doesn’t say impeachment will be considered, but it “shall be.”

Articles of impeachment are drawn up in the House of Representatives, which, if approved, move over to the Senate for trial.

In the face of the most lawless administration in U.S. history, what are we to make of a House that refuses its duty to impeach? Just a decade ago, fire-breathing Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying under oath about an affair. Now, manipulating intelligence to go to war and illegal surveillance of U.S. citizens rate not even the lift of an eyebrow in the House. Maybe that’s because the House is complicit in those crimes.

more at:
http://www.meadvilletribune.com/opinion/cnhinscolumns_story_169101513.html

[Occam Bandage]

1. Maybe it's because no such duty exists. Maybe it's because they can count to 67.

All that excerpt means is that if the President is impeached and convicted, he shall be removed from office. That's all it means. That's all it's ever meant to mean. There's no other reasonable way to read it, since it's impossible to know from a legal standpoint whether the President has committed crimes until after the impeachment and subsequent trial have occurred.

Therefore, to see a "duty to impeach," you'd have to assume that the framers meant that the President must be impeached and tried every single time anyone believes he has committed a crime. That would be absurd.

[Adsos Letter]

2. What are we to make...

of a Judiciary Committee that refuses to hold this administration accountable in any meaningful way?

Both answers pretty much the same, I reckon.