Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Ray LaHood: Avoid impeachment “like the plague”
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax      Advertise Here      About     Exclusive Subscriber Content     Updated Posts    Contact Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here.
Ray LaHood: Avoid impeachment “like the plague”

Friday, Sep 27, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), at a Select Committee on Modernization hearing, discussed impeachment with former congressman and Obama transportation secretary what advice he would give members of Congress who want to get legislation passed in the midst of impeachment. Then-Congressman Ray LaHood, who chaired impeachment proceedings of former President Bill Clinton in 1998, told members of the committee to avoid impeachment “like the plague.”

LaHood was also recently named by Governor JB Pritzker to serve as chairman of Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s board of directors because of his experience and ability to get things done. […]

Below is a written transcript of the exchange on impeachment between Davis and LaHood at the hearing.

    Davis: You had a job to do during the last impeachment proceedings — you chaired the proceedings in the House…

    LaHood: Yes..

    Davis: You and I have had conversations before about how that impeachment process impacted the ability to get things done…

    LaHood: Right.

    Davis: Can you give us any examples of how we as the Modernization Committee can offset the inaction and how can we lead to still put good policy forward in the midst of this?

    LaHood: Look, impeachment is, um, probably the most controversial, volatile thing. It’s gonna turn this place upside down. If I were where you were, I would avoid it like the plague. This place will never be the same if you go down that road and all of your work will have to come in the next Congress. It will not come in this Congress.

…Adding… His son is taking much the same approach

“There’s a lot of anxiety and frustration out there in the ag community,” U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, said. “We need a win when it comes to trade. We’re suffering under the trade war with China because we’re not allowed to sell our soybeans and products to China, which is a huge market.”

LaHood said impeachment talk has taken up all the oxygen in Washington.

“And [U.S. House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi needs to put aside partisan politics and instead of being worried about giving the president a win, let’s worry about giving the American worker a win,” LaHood said. “And this will help the workers and it will help the economy here.”

       

33 Comments
  1. - NIU Grad - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:06 pm:

    TBD I don’t think any massive transportation modernization initiatives will take place under this president, with or without impeachment.


  2. - H-W - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:07 pm:

    “This place will never be the same if you go down that road and all of your work will have to come in the next Congress. It will not come in this Congress.”

    Wait. What? Work is getting done?


  3. - Anon E Moose - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:08 pm:

    Cool, so Democrats can now involve foreign powers in our elections? Hey China, if you’re listening…


  4. - 47th Ward - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:14 pm:

    ===and all of your work will have to come in the next Congress. It will not come in this Congress===

    LaHood probably remembers when things like Appropriations bills went through an orderly, time-honored and predictable process by subcommittees and public hearings, to develop budgets that met the needs of people and businesses, and were voted on by full committees and sent to the other chamber before going on to receive a Presidential signature or veto. This was known as “regular order.”

    Congress hasn’t worked like that in more than 15 years. It’s already broken, and impeachment isn’t going to make that dysfunctional branch of government any worse than the tribal partisanship that prevents even friendships between Democrats and Republicans possible in Congress.

    Now somehow this will impede its ability to get things done?


  5. - Bertrum Cates - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:20 pm:

    I agree to a point with Secretary LaHood, but, sir, “it will not come in this Congress” anyhow.


  6. - Former Downstater - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:22 pm:

    47th Ward nailed my thoughts completely.


  7. - Dotnonymous - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:27 pm:

    Republican talking points…imaginary poppycock.

    It’s hard to tell how far past the need for impeachment we are… right now.


  8. - Southern_Dawg - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:27 pm:

    Yep, 47th Ward wins comment of the year. Nothing else to be said.


  9. - Wensicia - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:27 pm:

    Yes, McConnell is grateful Pelosi gave him a reason to justify his continued blocking of all legislation.


  10. - Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:30 pm:

    ===reason to justify his continued blocking===

    And he was so, so close to lifting it (exclamation points).

    lol


  11. - SSL - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:35 pm:

    It’s too bad, because there are some things that need to get done.

    I get it, the left has the impeachment memories of Bubba, and sees the current resident of the WH for the buffoon he is. I don’t know how this ends, but it is a gamble.

    It would be interesting if it wasn’t so sad. Plus all the silly posturing.


  12. - Loofa - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:36 pm:

    Cool, so I take it they’re all okay with this corruption and lawlessness? Profiles in courage…


  13. - Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:37 pm:

    I agree to some extent with the former Congressman. Impeachment is not a fun process for anyone but sadists. But on the other hand, he chaired an impeachment inquiry on a president that lied about fellatio. Seems pretty quaint compared to what is alleged, and even what we know is fact about the conduct of the current president.


  14. - Anyone Remember - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:39 pm:

    Trump is counting on this (avoid impeachment) - he has from the beginning.


  15. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:40 pm:

    (Sigh)

    Impeachment is used at times when reasonable-ness has outlived its usefulness.

    It’s not intended to smooth over anything.


  16. - Techie - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:41 pm:

    As others have pointed out, it’s not like the current Congress, with the ultimate obstructionist McConnel in charge of the Senate, was doing anything meaningful, anyway.

    And even if they were, impeaching a President who violates campaign finance laws is the right thing to do anyway.


  17. - Lester Holt’s Mustache - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:45 pm:

    Impeachment might hurt house dems politically in certain house districts, but don’t they kind of have to do it anyway? If they don’t, they’re basically telling every president who comes after trump that this stuff fine


  18. - The monster - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:45 pm:

    “we used a tool improperly and now it can never be used (especially against us) no matter how justified or important”


  19. - OneMan - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:54 pm:

    I can get my LaHood is not a fan on the impeachment process, but anyone acting like this is what killed infrastrucure week needs to check themselves.

    Rep LaHood if trade and infrastrucure is so importnat why does the President tweet more about his grevences than he does about either trade or infrastrucure.


  20. - Jibba - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:54 pm:

    U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, said. “We need a win when it comes to trade. We’re suffering under the trade war…Nancy Pelosi needs to put aside partisan politics and instead of being worried about giving the president a win…”

    So Trump makes a trade war, and he alone can stop it. But somehow it is Pelosi who gets blamed for the real damage Trump is doing to farmers? Not partisan at all.


  21. - Alex - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 2:55 pm:

    LaHood Jr argument is really something. Pelosi shouldn’t impeach the President because it’s what the President wants? I’m sure LaHood has Pelosi’s best interests at heart.


  22. - Pundent - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:00 pm:

    If the Clinton impeachment never occurred the most meaningful comparison we would have would be to Nixon. And in that instance it operated as intended. Clinton revealed the flaws in pursuing impeachment where it likely wasn’t warranted and the price the Republicans ultimately paid reflected how people felt at the end of the process. In short there was very little “there” there and Republicans paid the price.

    The current situation is much more similar to what occurred under Nixon. Now it’s possible at the end of the day that Trump is able to emerge victorious, but that’s an iffy proposition. To suggest that we simply ignore an attempt to solicit interference in an election is to render the constitution and rule of law meaningless.


  23. - Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:02 pm:

    For all of us that have memories that date back further than 2017, Darin, we recall all the times that the GOP controlled Congress refused to do anything but shout Benghazi from the rooftops. Spare me.


  24. - Casual observer - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:05 pm:

    Secretary Lahood spot on. Impeachment proceedings a huge mistake. He’s never going to be convicted in the Senate—ever. You could hear the thud of failure on Mars when Clinton not removed from office by the U.S. Senate. And Clinton left office with a 58% approval rating after having had sex with an intern in the oval office.


  25. - Not a Superstar - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:07 pm:

    == This place will never be the same ==

    Time is a flat circle. I mean, really, Mr. Secretary. Whatever gets you through the night. But that place hasn’t been the same for years. And the consequences of the House failing to act would be devastating to Congress’s institutional authority for years to come.


  26. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:09 pm:

    Some or many Democrats were howling for impeachment before the whistleblower complaint, but Pelosi was treading carefully. Now because of an alleged crime and cover-up, the soliciting of foreign help for an election and removing the verbatim transcript, Pelosi is on board for the inquiry.

    China, if you’re reading, I hope you’ll be able to find the transcript that is missing.


  27. - Pundent - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:13 pm:

    =He’s never going to be convicted in the Senate—ever.=

    Not convicting Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky affair is a bit different than letting Trump off the hook for soliciting election interference from a foreign government. It’s entirely possible that Trump isn’t convicted in the Senate. But the consequences of failing to do so given the allegations could be a bit different. And regardless, as others have pointed, not doing anything at this point really isn’t an option.


  28. - Jibba - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:18 pm:

    Davis voted to repeal Obamacare 40+ times, he is proud to say, but none of those bills stood a chance with a Democratic-controlled Senate. I’m sure that his efforts did not detract from any real work that could have been done in that time. /s.


  29. - casual observer - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:19 pm:

    Doing what? Conducting investigations with no outcome other than failure? Be smart. Use it against him in the campaign. Why energize the base and turn off the people who don’t like him but don’t like mindless politics either. This is going to backfires and we will get 4 more years of the nonsense. Be smart!


  30. - Cheryl44 - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:30 pm:

    Maybe we could run a practice impeachment proceedings on LaHood.


  31. - SSL - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 3:30 pm:

    Pelosi didn’t want impeachment two weeks ago, and I don’t know that she wants it now. She can’t control her own caucus, and despite trying to keep the hard line freshmen in line, she had to move at this point. She knows the risk.

    If the chosen one had won in 2016, would the concern over influenced elections and bad behavior be as strong. Possibly.

    Instead, we got the orange man. And after the House is done, we’ll still have him. If he staves off a recession and gets something done with China, the House may get another whack at him in 2021.


  32. - The monster - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 4:06 pm:

    It’s kinda sad that not wanting you president to shake down countries to dig up dirt on political rivalsfor personal political gain is considered “partisan”, but I guess that’s where we are


  33. - JS Mill - Friday, Sep 27, 19 @ 4:07 pm:

    Pun sent is spot on. The current situation is not comparable to Cli Ron where is hubris led him to think he could get away with lying about an affair.

    Funny how Secretary LaHood wants us to stay away from impeachment but helped lead it before. And maybe that is why he loathes it, but you can’t have the high ground here.

    Darren LaHood is an incredibly weak congressmen and, to the best of my recall, has never stated anything of real substance or original thinking. It is usually party patter.


Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.


* Afternoon roundup
* Since my name was used in the debate...
* Question of the day
* Rockford’s new permanent casino posts big numbers
* Today's quotable
* End of an era
* Astonishing results from Illinois Supreme Court commision study on lawyer bullying
* The Importance Of Energy Storage
* Open thread
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Live coverage
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............


Loading


Main Menu
Home
Illinois
YouTube
Pundit rankings
Obama
Subscriber Content
Durbin
Burris
Blagojevich Trial
Advertising
Updated Posts
Polls

Archives
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004

Blog*Spot Archives
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005

Syndication

RSS Feed 2.0
Comments RSS 2.0




Hosted by MCS SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax Advertise Here Mobile Version Contact Rich Miller