Add former Vice President Dick Cheney to the growing list of Republicans who aren’t on board with Sarah Palin’s recent calls to impeach President Obama.
Cheney said on Tuesday that the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee’s plan is simply a “distraction.”
“I’ve met Sarah Palin a few times. I like her. I think she’s entitled to her opinion … My view would be, at this point, pushing for impeachment isn’t productive,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Several party leaders have begun to distance themselves from Palin’s call — and confusing rationale — for kicking Obama out of office.
House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, – who instead wants to sue the Obama administration over what he’s called an abuse of executive power — said that he “disagreed” with Palin. The failed vice presidential candidate’s former running mate, Sen. John McCain went further, deriding Palin for failing to recognize impeachment is a lost cause as there are not enough votes in the Democratic-controlled Senate to even pass a measure.
“We should focus our attention on winning elections,” McCain said.
And Republican Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, a tea party favorite, called Palin’s plan an “exercise in futility.”
During the interview, Cheney argued that the GOP should instead focus on pursuing sound policies, although he did make clear he’s still no fan of Obama’s, calling him the “worst president of my lifetime.” He added, “I fundamentally disagree with him. I think he’s doing a lot of things wrong. I’m glad to see House Republicans are challenging him, at least legally, at this point, but I think that gets to be a bit of a distraction, just like the impeachment of Bill Clinton did.”
