BuzzChatter Wednesday: The GOP still pursuing a Nixon impeachment
Good morning:
• “Not only do I want a hearing, I think it’s important that it be a candid hearing, an open hearing and a hearing that is free from any interference." – Missouri state Rep. Nick Marshall, a Parkville Republican and one of three GOPers to file articles of impeachment against Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.
Marshall was excised over Nixon’executive order instructing the Department of Revenue to accept joint tax returns filed by same-sex couples who are legally married in other states. Marshall says that violates Missouri’s Constitution, which voters amended in 2004 to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. The chairman of the House Judiciary is saying he’ll give hearings to the sponsors of the Nixon impeachment if the sponsors want one. Marshall is off-base here. The place to settle this is the courts, not a high-profile Hail Mary like an impeachment filing.• “Armageddon has not arrived.” — President Barack Obama commemorating the end of the first Affordable Care Act enrollment period Tuesday by poking fun at the GOP for suggesting the health care law would bring about the end of civilization as we know it.
“Whether the Obama Administration actually reached their estimated enrollment numbers or not, that doesn’t change the fact that this law is fundamentally flawed.” – Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt.
Blunt, a Republican, joined a chorus of GOPers downplaying the significance of Monday’s announcement that the White House had met its original target of 7 million signups. Obama said the health care law had made the county’s health care system "a lot better" by giving access to millions who hadn’t had it before. He called the achievement good for the economy and the country "regardless of your politics." The one stat not released Monday was how many of those new enrollees had made their first payments ensuring their coverage. That number is expected to be far lower than 7 million.• “We believe it is not enough for us just to be an opposition party, we need to be a proposition party. We need to be the alternative party.” – Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan talking about his proposed 2015 budget he unveiled on Tuesday.
• “I fear that, like the U.S. military, we’re going to find problems on college campuses just as systemic as our troops faced — including very low reporting due to lack of protections and resources.” – Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill on the scourge of sexual assault on college campuses.
McCaskill has promised to pursue this issue just as she did sexual assaults in the military. On Tuesday, she announced that she was seeking information on how the federal government oversees the reporting of sexual assaults on campuses nationwide. She said that no young person should be left on their own after being victimized. Schools, she said, "must provide the highest level of responsiveness."This story was originally published April 2, 2014 at 7:00 AM with the headline "BuzzChatter Wednesday: The GOP still pursuing a Nixon impeachment."