In case you hadn’t heard, a petition was delivered to the Republicans in the Kentucky legislature asking them to impeach Governor Beshear.
Just so we’re clear: this is not a new thing. When Democrats ran things in Frankfort, they got petitions like this all the time. All. The. Time.
And what was the response of the Democrats in charge when they got those petitions? Let’s ask them.
Nonsense! We ROUTINELY received impeachment petitions in the Stumbo years.
At most the Rules Committee assigned them to Judiciary Committee for evaluation.
Never was an impeachment committee formed. All Rs and D's agreed.@reposborne as a member of Rules Committee, AGREED.
— Pierce Butler Whites (@PierceWhites) January 9, 2021
After that initial tweet, lawyer Whites noted others who could back him up: “Greg, Rocky, Hoover, Joni, & John Tilley.”
So, Speaker Osborne, you had a choice. You COULD have sent this to Judiciary, along with instructions to kill it. Or, you could have taken a braver step: You could have just told the petitioner (in private or in public) that this was a silly idea, that it was without merit, and as long as you were Speaker this sort of off-the-rails maneuver was not going to happen.
But that would have taken both a sense of honor and a spine. Instead, you tried to thread the political needle, to mollify the more crazy elements in your base by giving it some patina of legitimacy.
Shame on you, Speaker Osborne. More Profiles in Cowardice from elected Republicans.
But wait – here’s an idea! Let’s file our OWN impeachment petitions!
After his earlier Twitter thread calling out Osborne, Pierce Whites proposed a new strategy.
Since Speaker Osborne says that impeachment petitions HAVE to be heard in a special committee, let’s hold him to his word.
Impeachment is remarkable for having almost no rules.
Here is the statute.
("Verified affidavit" = Notary.)Has anyone seen the Petition Osborne acted on?
Track it closely is the best advice.
He has to accept that, right? pic.twitter.com/4NmCoraqlV— Pierce Butler Whites (@PierceWhites) January 10, 2021
Others picked up on the idea:
If @KYHouseGOP wants to play that game, let’s impeach @kyoag Daniel Cameron.
Article 1: Lying to the public about GJ and #BreonnaTaylor.
Article 2: Supporting seditious insurrection as a board member of the @RepublicanAGs!!@PierceWhites to attest, submit letters to GOP House https://t.co/J1A29GbEJE
— KY Patriot (@KYPatriot17) January 9, 2021
And in case you are interested in doing this yourself, here’s more on how to do it:
Sure, any citizen can. The impeachment should be signed and notarized.
Send to the CLERK:
Melissa Bybee-Fields
Clerk, Kentucky House of Representatives
700 Capitol Ave
Frankfort KY
40601Attn: Speaker David Osbornehttps://t.co/dL5eYkPQaW
— Pierce Butler Whites (@PierceWhites) January 10, 2021
So get those impeachment petitions written and notarized, citizens! Let’s fill up the Clerk’s mailbox (real mail, so they can see the notarization) and keep that impeachment committee busy.
If Governor Beshear can be threatened with impeachment for trying to keep us safe, surely AG Cameron can be threatened with impeachment for helping to fund the attack on the Capitol.
Let’s see what Speaker Osborne does with THAT petition.
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