GOP's impeachment inquiry lacks facts. Would they rather have President Harris? | Ashe

The impeachment inquiry on President Joe Biden is misguided because it lacks facts against Biden himself.

Moreover, it ignores more pressing issues such as health care, jobs, immigration, Ukraine, China and inflation. Hunter Biden’s wrongdoing, if proved, does not justify impeaching his father unless the president can be clearly tied to it.

Would they be happier with President Harris?

Clearly, the U.S. Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats, will not remove Biden. So any effort to take down Biden is already dead in the water. Second, do the folks wanting Biden removed really want Vice President Kamala Harris to become president?

Just because Hunter Biden has been indicted, that does not mean his father has committed crimes. Impeachment, unfortunately, has become a weapon for each opposing party to attack the president, be it Donald Trump or Biden.

The Congress should be working on the real issues that impact many Americans. A year from now, there will be an election, which is the appropriate way to change presidents if voters so desire.

The decision of the Knox GOP to endorse two candidates for City Council and one for municipal judge simply repeats the mistake of 2021, when five council candidates were endorsed and all lost citywide. Interestingly, the same GOP did not endorse Republican mayoral candidate Jeff Talman in the August primary. What has happened since then to prompt these endorsements? City voters like nonpartisan city elections. These three endorsements will not help their candidates in a Democratic city.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn may be wondering how and why Gloria Johnson decided to take her on. A large part of it, in my view, can be traced to the state House GOP expulsion of two Black lawmakers and the failure by one vote to expel Johnson. This made her an overnight celebrity across the country. As one of the Tennessee Three, she has national connections, which will help her raise money.

Blackburn can thank the Tennessee House GOP for elevating Johnson to national status and enhancing her ability to raise campaign funds. This yearlong headache for Blackburn can be traced to foolish decisions by the House GOP, who never looked down the road for unintended consequences.

Johnson is also a much better, hard-hitting campaigner than Phil Bredesen. She will not let any Blackburn media attack go unanswered. Ward Baker, who runs the Blackburn campaign, will be busy.

Johnson has not decided whether to seek reelection to her local House seat in 2024 while running for U.S. Senate. Democrats may scramble to find a strong candidate if she vacates it. Councilwoman Seema Singh, 55, has announced she is running only if Johnson does not run. Attorney Jamie Ballinger, 44, has also been mentioned and would be a credible candidate. The district leans Democratic.

Attorney Andy Fox, 55, has raised $35,249 in his campaign for the GOP nomination for the Knox County Commission representing South Knox County. That is an impressive amount, but close inspection in the most recent reporting period shows $25,000 of it is Fox’s personal loan.

Donors include County Commissioner Rhonda Lee at $200 and former controversial Knox GOP chair Daniel Herrera at $500. Fox is an avowed conservative. He may have Republican opposition.

Democrats have an active candidate in Matthew Park, who was recently endorsed by State Rep. Sam McKenzie. This is significant, as Park ran a close second to McKenzie in the Democratic primary for state representative a few years ago. Any differences between McKenzie and Park have been healed.

South Knox County is moving closer demographically to becoming a tossup district as opposed to 12 to 15 years ago, when it was heavily Republican.

With the death of former Gov. Don Sundquist, Winfield Dunn, 96, remains Tennessee’s oldest ex-governor. He lives with his wife, Betty, in Nashville. Elected governor in 1970, he left office in 1975.

Oct. 3 marks the 232nd birthday of the city of Knoxville, founded in 1791.

Birthdays

Sept. 29: Cathy Ackermann is 74. Roberto Sanabria is 69. Judson Mason is 36. Calvin Skinner is 42. Tom Wolf is 65.

Sept. 30: Former U.S. Sen. Jim Sasser is 87. Retired Judge Bill Swann is 81. Artist John W. Kelley is 71. Attorney John Owings is 66. Andrea Plotkowski is 34. Charles Davis, husband of state Rep. Elaine Davis, is 59. Nikitia Thompson is 55. John Ashley is 44. Sherry Ault is 40. Commissioner Rhonda Lee is 64.

Oct. 1: Virginia Anagnost is 88. Kirk Huddleston is 67. Former city law director Morris Kizer is 73. Former President Jimmy Carter is 99. Lucie Polk is 75. Judge Judd Davis is 41. Thomas Bugg is 75.

Oct. 2: Former State Rep. Joe May is 67. Nic Arning is 77. Amy Hathaway is 43. Rick Emmett is 68.

Oct. 3: Banker Tim Williams is 68. Tim Harris is 69. Alyson Gallaher is 46. Jeffrey Pappas is 71.

Oct. 4: Robert Koho is 81. Margaret Ritchie is 57. Mike Odom is 51. James D. VanderSteeg is 60.

Oct. 5: Alex Varlan is 33. Donna Chase is 69. Dr. Kimbro Maguire Jr. is 66. Betty Sue Sparks is 76. Businessman Hank Bertelkamp is 92.

Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News. 

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: GOP's impeachment lacks facts. Would they rather have Harris?