This week’s quote comes to us from Rep. Mike Gallagher, one of only three Republicans to defy his party and vote against the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In a piece in the Wall Street Journal, Gallagher wrote:
“I disagree with my Republican colleagues who voted on Tuesday to impeach Mr. Mayorkas. Impeachment not only would fail to resolve Mr. Biden’s border crisis but would also set a dangerous new precedent that would be used against future Republican administrations.”
- In U.S. history how many cabinet secretaries have been impeached by the House?
A) Ten.
B) Five.
C) One.
D) None.
2. How many have been convicted in the Senate?
A) Ten.
B) Five.
C) One.
D) None.
3. What was Mayorkas being accused of?
A) High crimes and misdemeanors.
B) Mismanagement of the southern border.
C) Inspiring an insurrection, stealing classified documents, sexual assault, lying about the value of his assets, pressuring state elections officials to overturn a free and fair election, profiting from his public office sometimes through foreign governments and contempt of court.
D) Having the suspicious name Alejandro.
4. Mayorkas’ impeachment failed because of Gallagher’s vote, but also because one Congressman checked out of the hospital to vote. That Congressman is:
A) Al Green.
B) Marjorie Taylor Greene.
C) Shecky Green.
D) The Reverend Al Green.
5. Later in his column Gallagher explains that the dangerous precedent that might be established is impeaching someone for simply being incompetent. If incompetence is an impeachable offense and it were applied to a future Trump administration:
A) Trump couldn’t serve in a Trump administration.
B) Nobody Trump would pick could serve in a Trump administration.
C) Trump would summarily fire anyone in his administration who demonstrated that he wasn’t impeachable.
D) All of the above.
6. Wisconsin Republicans responded to what some have characterized as a courageous vote by:
A) Passing a resolution praising Gallagher for his adherence to constitutional principles.
B) Saying that the party should no longer, “tolerate or support someone who will not follow his constitutional duties and the wishes of his constituents.”
C) Saying nothing and withholding judgment until more thoughtful and reasoned minds might prevail.
D) Issuing a statement saying in part, “What Mike did was very wrong and very, very unfair and, you know, in other countries people are executed for treasonous things like this. Just sayin’.”
7. The Biden administration agrees with Gallagher that there is a major problem at the border. Gallagher is working to resolve the problem by:
A) Working to gain support in the House for the bipartisan comprehensive agreement worked out over months of painstaking negotiations in the Senate.
B) Working with Democrats on his own set of proposals in the House.
C) Using his experience in foreign policy to get at the deeper causes of mass migrations that are causing instability not just here but in many parts of the world.
D) Not doing a damn thing.
Answers:
1: C
2: D, William Belknap, a War Secretary under Pres. Grant, was impeached by the House for corruption, but acquitted in the Senate.
3: B, though D might have played a role.
4: A
5: D
6: B
7: D
That’s all she wrote for this week, sports fans. Don’t forget that the Super Bowl is on Sunday. (Some folks thought it was last weekend.) Look for the Chiefs to win this fixed game and for Taylor Swift to join Travis Kelce at midfield to announce their endorsement of Joe Biden while holding the Lombardi Trophy.
Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos 