I wonder how many Delaware Republicans will vote today having been told that Mike Castle voted to impeach President George W. Bush.
I’ve heard that at least twice this morning. The usual suspects are circulating it, apparently caring not a whit that they have completely misstated what each side was voting for. Either they didn’t think to check, or they didn’t care.
From coverage of the vote at the time: ”All 166 votes in favor of opening up a House impeachment debate came from Republicans, apparently eager to bring up the vote immediately and paint Democrats as political creatures in a time of serious issues.”
House Republicans sought to bring the impeachment resolution to the floor to embarrass Democrats; Castle thought this was a waste of time. Castle voted to refer it to committee to kill it.
More: ”By a 251-166 vote, the House sent the 35-count articles of impeachment to the Judiciary Committee, which is expected to let it die without further action. While the vote technically forces the measure to the committee for consideration, it also means the full House will avoid having to debate and vote on impeaching the 43d president.”
Look, guys, Castle’s a really liberal Republican. He supports cap-and-trade. You would think his 52 career ACU rating ought to be enough to dissuade folks. But since this campaign, we’ve seen O’Donnell backers say Castle voted for Obamacare (he didn’t) the stimulus (he didn’t) and now, the impeachment of Bush (he didn’t).
Love O’Donnell or hate her, you can’t just make stuff up to hit the other guy.