Impeach Obama: Republicans Still Want It To Happen. The Latest Is Kerry Bentivolio

It would be a “dream come true” for Republican Congressman Kerry Bentivolio of Michigan to impeach President Barack Obama. Unfortunately, he has no evidence of wrongdoing, and the fact that he cannot stand being around the president just isn't enough.

That’s what Bentivolio learned when he asked lawyers about how to impeach the president. The congressman revealed his efforts to supporters Monday in a town hall meeting.

“You know if I could write that bill and submit it, it would be a dream come true,” Bentivolio told a supporter who asked about stopping the “runaway train” occupying the White House. “I feel your pain. I know. I stood 12 feet away from the guy and listened to him. And I couldn’t stand being there. But because he is president, I have to respect the office. That’s my job. I respect the office."

“I have had lawyers come in,” he went on to explain, “and I say, ‘Tell me how I can impeach the president of the United States.’ What evidence do you have? [He said while nodding and pressing his lips together]. You’ve got to have the evidence.”

Bentivolio later explained to the gathering that until there is evidence, “you’re going to become a laughingstock if you submitted a bill to impeach the president. Because, number one, you’ve got to convince the press, and there are some people out there [for whom] no matter what Obama does, he’s still the greatest president they’ve ever had. That’s what you’re fighting.”

Bentivolio assumed office in January when he defeated a Democratic opponent for Rep. Thaddeus McCotter’s vacated seat. McCotter, a Republican, resigned from Congress last July after a “nightmarish month and a half” that included failing to make the cut for the Republican primary when a majority of his petition signatures were found to be fake.

Bentivolio isn’t the first Republican to talk of impeaching Obama. There were also these:

Herman Cain

The failed Republican candidate for president thought it “would be a great thing to do,” but a Democratic-controlled Senate stands in the way. Here’s what Politico reported on a 2011 conference call:

“[The Senate] would protect him and they wouldn’t even bring it up,” Cain said. “So the main stumbling block in terms of getting him impeached on a whole list of things such as trying to pass a health care mandate which is unconstitutional, ordering the Department of Justice to not enforce the Defense of Marriage Act -- that’s an impeachable offense right there. The president is supposed to uphold the laws of this nation … and to tell the Department of Justice not to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act is a breach of his oath. … There are a number of things where a case could be made in order to impeach him, but because Republicans do not control the United States Senate, they would never allow it to get off the ground.”

Rep. Michael C. Burgess

He told Tea Party constituents in August 2011 that impeaching Obama “needs to happen” to stop his policy agenda.

“I agree with you [that] it would tie things up,” Burgess said during a town hall meeting that month, according to The Hill. “No question about that. ... The longer we allow the damage to continue unchecked, the worse things are going to be for us.”