Conservatives Cash In On Impeachment Racket

If you're a conservative who wants to impeach President Obama, time is running out. You need to give Allen West money, and quickly. It's an “emergency.”

In a series of emails sent to subscribers in recent weeks, Fox News contributor and former Republican congressman Allen West has implored people to donate to his PAC, the Allen West Guardian Fund, in order to hasten Obama's impeachment. And West isn't alone -- numerous conservative media figures and political groups are looking to cash in on Obama's supposedly impending impeachment through donations, books, and various impeachment merchandise.

Right-wing media have been pushing for Obama's impeachment for more than five years over a wide range of issues, but impeachment chatter got a boost earlier this July when Sarah Palin penned an opinion piece for Breitbart.com. She called for Obama's removal from office, arguing that the president's “unsecured border crisis is the last straw that makes the battered wife say, 'no mas.'”  She reiterated her call on Fox's Hannity, telling viewers it was time to “get going” on impeachment. 

While numerous members of the conservative noise machine are agitating for impeachment, not everyone is on board. Fox News contributor Erick Erickson, for one, thinks “impeachment would be crazy” at the moment.

But regardless of whether impeachment is good politics for conservatives, it's starting to look like good business.

In a July 10 email to subscribers, West pointed to Palin's comments as evidence the “growing” impeachment movement is “gaining speed!” Asserting that the president is “guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors,” West touted a survey hosted on his PAC's website asking whether the House of Representatives should draft articles of impeachment over the unrelated release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. He also asked for an “an emergency contribution of $5 or more right away, so we can get this survey into the hands of as many conservatives as possible.” 

West, who has been calling for Obama's impeachment since early June, has previously asked subscribers for money to (somehow) help boost his impeachment survey. A June 19 email pointed to comments from GOP congressman Lou Barletta raising impeachment to proclaim, “Now - more than ever - we need to get the Guardian Fund's impeachment survey into the hands of every conservative in America. Can you help me?” West once again asked for an “emergency” donation. On June 28, West asked for “an emergency donation of $5 or more right away,” again to help promote his impeachment survey.

West isn't the only one emailing fundraising appeals about impeachment. On June 20, Takeover Super PAC -- the nascent political group backed by WND founder Joseph Farah, leading birther and WND reporter Jerome Corsi, and notorious smear merchant Floyd Brown -- rented WND's email list to send out a message with the subject line, “Impeach Him!” Pointing to the group's campaign activities in various states, Takeover Executive Director Tom Freiling argues, “When we gain an absolute majority in the House and Senate, we conservatives can finally expose Obama law-breaker [sic].” Arguing that it was “urgent,” Freiling asked for donations of "$25, $50, $100, or more." 

If you were worried your money might not be spent well, fear not. Freiling explains in the email, “You can trust us.”

Farah also sent a fundraising appeal to WND subscribers on July 2 touting Takeover Super PAC as “the first Federal PAC to pursue the impeachment of President Obama.” They will, he believes, “launch the next, and LAST, American revolution.”

In addition to promoting Takeover, WND also has an entire “Impeachment Store” on its website, featuring items like magnetic “Honk for Impeachment” bumper stickers, a $9.95 "Special Report" on “Why Barack Hussein Obama Should Be Impeached To Save America,” and a card game called “Scandal,” which is “a contest between players to create the best cases for impeachment by collecting and displaying valuable evidence (Case) cards... This game is fun to play and historically accurate.”

The WND “Impeachment Store” also features Impeachable Offenses: The Case For Removing Barack Obama From Office, a 2013 book co-written by WND reporter Aaron Klein and published by WND. (Last month, National Review writer Andrew McCarthy also released a book flogging impeachment.) 

While Erick Erickson may find impeachment “crazy,” that hasn't stopped RedState -- the site where he serves as editor in chief -- from renting out its email list to pro-impeachment groups. On July 10, conservative non-profit Secure America Now rented the RedState list to urge readers to sign an impeachment petition, which would “help mobilize our massive grassroots army, and strengthen our demand that Congress file articles of impeachment against the President.”

In addition to renting out the RedState list, Secure America Now has also sent out fundraising appeals to its own email list, asking subscribers to “help us impeach Obama by donating right now.” According to Allen Roth, the Secure America Now president, “every $10 allows us to reach 300 people. That means $20 translates to 600 people, $50 to 1,500 people, and $100 allows us to educate 3,000 people!”

Conservative activist Alan Keyes has repeatedly used his WND column to encourage readers to visit “Pledgetoimpeach.com,” a website featuring a petition calling for the president's removal from office. Alongside the petition is, of course, a request for money: “Even if you can only afford $5 or $10 to assist our push for impeachment, that will help a lot.”

Other conservative groups asking for money to help impeach Obama include TheTeaParty.net, which runs the “Tea Party News Network.” An April 16 fundraising appeal announced that if Obama is not removed from office, “The great experiment of America will be over.” It continued by asking people to donate even as they are having trouble making ends meet (emphasis added):

We will not give up the fight, though it will be costly to keep the voice of freedom out there as we keep up the call for the impeachment and removal from office of President Obama. I know that times are tough. Many are feeling the effects of Obama's destruction on a daily basis with not being able to make ends meet. But, we need you to help us win. Our republic is counting on us. So, whatever you can afford, whether it is $5, 25, $50, or more will help us as we push for the impeachment and removal from office of President Barack Obama. Can we count on you?

The donation page features a “PATRIOT HEROES LIST” of “Patriots Who Donated $100, $250, $500, $1000, $5000 Or More.”