The Republican Party has just affirmed that they have given up on electing Donald Trump. There is no better sign of this than what they are now concentrating on as their next political priority. With election day still a couple of weeks away, Republicans are setting their sights on impeaching President Hillary Clinton.

Never mind that there are no grounds for impeachment, or that Clinton has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing. And set aside the fact that the legal standard for impeachment may require that any “crimes” be committed while in office. The crackpot pundits and politicians on the right are determined to satisfy their fetish for removing Clintons from office. NBC News recently reported that:

“In the last few weeks alone, dozens of House Republicans have demanded that a special prosecutor investigate the Clinton Foundation for possible conflicts of interest. Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz has called for a ‘serious criminal investigation’ into a Democratic operative featured in a sting video by conservative activist James O’Keefe. And Speaker Paul Ryan has promised ‘aggressive oversight work in the House’ of an alleged ‘quid pro quo’ deal between the FBI and the State Department over reclassifying an email on Clinton’s private server.

“Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who would likely serve as the chief antagonist of a second Clinton White House as chair the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News last week the ‘quid pro quo’ claim alone was worth at least ‘four new hearings,’ claiming it was a ‘flashing red light of potential criminality.'”

Clearly this Republican Praetorian Guard is establishing the battle lines for a prolonged war on American progress. They are reinforcing their reputation as obstructionists who couldn’t care less about doing their jobs for the American people. Their intention is to tie up the Congress and the White House with sham inquisitions. But their ultimate goal is even more absurd.

At least two GOP congressman have called explicitly for Clinton’s impeachment. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), asserts that “If all the things we’ve seen are true and they come out the way I think they will, then we should impeach her.” Mo Brooks (R-AL), agrees saying “With respect to Hillary Clinton, she will be a unique president if she is elected by the public next November, because the day she’s sworn in is the day that she’s subject to impeachment because she has committed high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Along with these confused congressmen, many of the right’s top pundits are lobbying hard for Hillary’s ouster. Rush Limbaugh rants that “Hillary Clinton is the most prepared to be impeached in advance of any presidential candidate this country has ever had. Hillary Clinton will be elected to be impeached,” Fellow radio yakker Mark Levin whines that Clinton “has attempted to cover-up and obstruct her Espionage Act violations … she must be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors in what is and will be continuing revelations about her criminality.” Judicial Watch President, and longtime Clinton basher, Tom Fitton says that there should be a “serious criminal investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s conduct” and that “impeachment is something that’s relevant.”

For her part, Clinton responded to some of this nonsense way back in October of 2015 (yes, they were doing it then too), when she was asked about it by Rachel Maddow. Clinton laughed and said “Isn’t that pathetic? It’s just laughable, it’s so totally ridiculous.”

Indeed. It’s so ridiculous that News Corpse wrote a satirical article in 2013 predicting that Republicans would attempt to pre-impeach Hillary. But with today’s Republican Party, satire cannot compete with their twisted reality. And while it is obviously ridiculous, it may not be all that laughable.

What Republicans are doing is ensuring that the nation will remain mired in gridlock for the indefinite future. With innumerable urgent matters requiring attention, the GOP would rather play political games and conduct smear campaigns. They would rather act out their petty political vengeance than lift up the economy. Or, for that matter, improve health care, mitigate climate change, enhance education, or even defeat ISIS. And make no mistake, the investigations that Republicans are threatening would severely hamper every other critical function of governing.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

For that reason alone it is more important than ever to rid Washington of the Republican obstructionists. If Democrats can secure majorities in the Senate and the House, the chairmanship of every committee would be held by a Democrat. The Republicans would be unable to carry out the vendetta against America that they are promising. So be sure to vote (early, if possible) and get every Democrat you know to do so as well. It really does matter.