WASHINGTON -- Some of the staunchest conservatives in the House of Representatives said Tuesday they will not push for President Barack Obama's impeachment, regardless of whether they think he deserves it.
At a press event Tuesday, six conservative congressmen predicted that impeachment would not happen before the November midterm elections, saying it would be politically damaging for the GOP and unlikely to succeed.
"The president deserves to be impeached, plain and simple," Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said. "We've got so much on our plate, it's not practical, we don't have the Senate ... I don't think it's practical that we impeach him right now. But he definitely deserves it."
Last week, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R) called for Obama's impeachment, citing a "purposeful dereliction of duty."
Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) said Tuesday that only a small fraction of Republicans agree with Palin. He said he does not think Obama's actions have reached the level to qualify for impeachment.
"I believe that Sarah Palin, who has given us good information on some issues, doesn't have the burden of leadership right now," Labrador said. "It's really easy for her to go on Fox News and make statements that she doesn't have to be accountable [for] to anybody but herself."
Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) said he worried that impeachment could be politically disastrous for Republicans in November.
"Every political analyst, almost, that's really looked at this ... has said that nothing would fire up the base of the Democrats more than an impeachment action, and also perhaps more importantly that it would turn off some of the independents who are right now leaning our way, " Duncan said. "If you want to help the Democrats keep control of the Senate, this would be one way to do it, to start impeachment action."
"When someone's shooting themselves in the foot, we shouldn't take their gun away from them," Duncan added.
Before moving on to another question, Labrador gave one final reason for Republicans to steer clear of the impeachment issue.
"Nobody wants a President Joe Biden," he said.
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