Maness: Congress shouldn’t rule out impeachment of Obama

Rob Maness, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, believes the House of Representatives should “do its constitutional duty” and consider drafting articles of impeachment against President Barack Obama on grounds that he has over-reached his Constitutional authority. “There are valid reasons to at least look at it,” Maness said during his appearance at the Press Club of Baton Rouge today. “I would not have a problem listening to the trial and basing a decision on the evidence” if he were elected to the Senate and the Senate voted to impeach Obama, he said. Maness, who has tea party backing and the endorsement of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, also said he considers current problems with illegal immigration as an “existential threat” to the United States. Maness said the first step is to secure America’s borders “and then see what reforms we might need to make, and each reform should be a separate effort. There should be no comprehensive immigration reform.” Asked to define “secure,” Maness said, “I know what it’s not, and it’s not secure now … We need to send the National Guard down there and put our [immigration] enforcement agents back on the border.” Maness said he would observe a self-imposed limit of two terms in office. “Our first president was not a politician,” he said. “If two terms was enough for him, then by golly, it’s enough for Rob Maness.” —David Dodson