Megyn Kelly has gone from showcasing guests who want to impeach President Obama to blatantly advocating for it. And not just to any guest but to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Kelly made her move during a Monday night discussion about a Supreme Court case over the constitutionality of some of President Obama’s recess appointments. Kelly repeatedly described the president’s actions with the “fair and balanced” term of “overreach.”
Kelly began to approach the subject of impeachment when she complained to McConnell that legal challenges to President Obama’s “overreach” take too long.
I want to ask you about this, though. Because this is one example of many that we’ve been talking about on the news lately about presidential overreach. And the question is whether beyond this case, what is perceived by some as presidential overreach, really can be resolved, in your view, by the courts.
McConnell did not take the bait. However, he did agree that “the courts are not a quick remedy.”
So Kelly tried again, this time more explicitly and in a pushier way:
We’ve had lawyers, constitutional lawyers come on this show and say, OK, so when that happens, when you have a president who, in your view or the view of some, is out of control in terms of overreach, you as the lawmaker really have two meaningful options. And the main one that has been used historically is: try to impeach him! I mean, is that ever considered – as opposed to running into the courts and trying to get them to do it?
The other one is to try to defund the president’s legislation which, of course, you guys have tried before.
McConnell actually laughed, though it seemed more like nervous laughter than derision. He said, “Defunding is a less dramatic response.” He also pointed out that the “challenge” is the U.S. Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.
Just before The Kelly File debuted, Kelly made a point of distinguishing herself from such opinion hosts as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Unlike them, she told the Associated Press, “you’re not going to hear what I think.” But her efforts to put thoughts into the heads of her viewers and her guest could not have been louder or clearer. Whether they were her own thoughts or not doesn’t make a difference.
(cross posted from NewsHounds)
