House Gives Boehner Go-Ahead To Sue Obama

He told them to "stop hatin'," but in a 225-201 party-line vote Wednesday, House Republicans approved House Speaker John Boehner to sue President Obama. The vote, in which not a single Democrat voted "yea," marks the first time that Congress, as a body, has taken this kind of legal action against the president.

Boehner, who I am sure is giddy with excitement to be leading the charge in this historic squabble between the executive and legislative branches, insists that the House is PROTECTIN' AMERIKA and not just fueling absurd partisan bickering. "This isn’t about Republicans or Democrats. It’s about defending the Constitution we swore an oath to," Boehner said.

Let me emphasize, again, that no Democrat backed this.

The GOP has an Obama rap sheet that's about a mile long, but this particular measure boils down to a few key moments in his presidency. Mostly, they're mad about his use of executive power to delay the implementation of aspects of the Affordable Care Act that would mandate businesses offer basic health care to their employees. The Obama administration has delayed the employer mandate twice, and even as the GOP is griping about it being a part of ACA in the first place, they're still going to sue over it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Rep. Walter Jones was one of the five GOP House members to vote no on the measure, telling The Hill that it amounted to nothing more than "political theater." Based on a speech that Obama made yesterday in Kansas City, it seems like he and Jones agree that a frivolous lawsuit would be a waste of time and money. Well, isn't that nice! We finally agree on something!

But Jones' decision wasn't based on a sudden rush of rational thought. No, he thinks we should probably just impeach the president instead.

"Why not impeach instead of wasting $1 million to $2 million of the taxpayers’ money?" Jones told The Hill. "If you’re serious about this, use what the founders of the Constitution gave us."

Still, freedom fighter Boehner insists that impeachment is "a scam" designed by those dirty Democrats to money grub and rile up their voting base. Meanwhile, everyone cringes when incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise refuses to acknowledge that impeachment is off of the table. Or when former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin picks up the bullhorn to defend America and calls for Obama's impeachment.

Most of the GOP clearly realizes that impeachment proceedings would be a drastic measure that would annihilate any chance they had of swaying moderate voters. So moral of the story: If you can't beat — or impeach — 'em, sue 'em.