Politics Memo to Ted Cruz: Americans want solutions, not more pointless impeachments

"Whether it's justified or not, Democrats weaponized impeachment."

© Greg Nash Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) leaves the Senate Chamber following a nomination vote on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

That's Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a recent episode of his podcast, "The Verdict with Ted Cruz," regarding possible impeachment proceedings against President Biden when the GOP takes back the House of Representatives. And yes, it's basically guaranteed that Republicans will take back the House after the November midterms given what's occurred over the past 75 years. Per Gallup, presidents with an approval rating below 50 percent have seen their party lose an average of 37 House seats. The GOP needs to flip just five in the House and net one in the Senate.

Ted Cruz Claims 'Multiple Grounds' for Joe Biden's Impeachment Under a GOP House

Cruz argued what he saw as Biden's inability to uphold immigration law would be a strong justification for impeachment in 2022.Cruz, along with Michael Knowles and Liz Wheeler, discussed former President Donald Trump's impeachment and the future of Biden's presidency during the show Verdict with Ted Cruz, on December 31, 2021.

"They used [impeachment] for partisan purposes to go after Trump because they disagreed with him," Cruz also argued. "One of the real disadvantages of doing that is, the more you weaponize it and turn it into a partisan cudgel, you know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander."

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander,'' he later wrote in a tweet to promote the podcast.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Watch my discussion of the Democrats' weaponization of impeachment with @michaeljknowles and @Liz_Wheeler on the latest episode of #Verdict. https://t.co/4H1uwMg8g1 pic.twitter.com/mBgwuwjIwE

- Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 4, 2022

Note: Where Cruz is correct is the part about Democrats weaponizing impeachment for partisan purposes and cheapening the process irreparably. In 2019, the phone call between then-President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky in which Trump urged Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, was ill-advised but didn't rise to the level of an impeachable offense.

Ted Cruz blasted by Tucker Carlson, right-wing Twitter for calling Jan. 6 a "terrorist attack"

“You're making us think, maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was," Carlson ranted of Cruz Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images

The gambit ultimately failed, as it was always expected to, with Democrats coming nowhere near the number of votes needed to convict in the GOP-controlled Senate. And the first impeachment of Trump certainly wasn't the Nixon impeachment in 1974, when 410 members of Congress voted in favor of starting the impeachment process, while just four voted against. In 2019, not one House Republican voted in favor of starting impeachment proceedings.

The second impeachment of the 45th president was even more profoundly ridiculous, which didn't conclude until weeks after Trump left office. The goal of impeachment, of course, is to remove a president, so why bother if said president is already at Mar-a-Lago? And by the way, this doesn't absolve Trump for his ridiculous election rhetoric leading up to that horrific day on Jan. 6, as I wrote in this space shortly after the riot.

"Here's how Republicans win in 2022, 2024 while divorcing a toxic Trump" (@TheHillOpinion) https://t.co/9RXHvXKN6U pic.twitter.com/bkOMjJyMbE

Cruz: 'Mistake' to call Jan. 6 a 'terrorist attack'

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) said it had been a "mistake" for him to call the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol a "terrorist attack" after he received pushback from supporters of former President Trump.During an appearance on Fox News "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Cruz told Carlson that what he said the day prior was "sloppy" and "frankly dumb," adding that people were misunderstanding what he was trying to say. "It was a mistake to say that yesterday and the reason is what you just said, which is we've now had a year of Democrats in the media twisting words and trying to say that all of us are terrorists, trying to say you're a terrorist, I'm a t

- The Hill (@thehill) January 15, 2021

But just because Democrats watered down and weaponized the impeachment process doesn't mean Republicans should do the same. Yes, it will be the reddest of red meat for the vehemently pro-Trump base - an "I" for an "I" (as in impeachment). But if the party begins talking about vengeance through pointless impeachment hearings - because Biden won't be removed without a two-thirds vote - it's a huge rake to get smacked in the face with.

America has serious problems right now: Inflation is at a 40-year high, for example. More than 7-in-10 voters blame Biden for his handling of the cost of basic goods and services (inflation). Two-thirds say the president is failing in his efforts to help their wallets.

Disapproval ratings for Biden in new CNBC poll:

Overall: 56%

Handling Covid: 55%

Handling of markets: 56%

Efforts to help people's wallets: 66%

Handling price of everyday goods: 72%https://t.co/QxOTOjKQvW

- Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) January 4, 2022

On violent crime, 16 major cities set homicide records this year, and the president and vice president (a former district attorney and attorney general) rarely speak about it. Biden-Harris is polling in the 30s on their handling of the issue.

'Sloppy' wording this week? Ted Cruz actually called the Capitol assault a terrorist attack at least 17 previous times

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said at a Senate committee meeting on Wednesday that the next day was the "anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol."Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said at a Senate committee meeting on Wednesday that the next day was the "anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol.

NEW: A little more than one in three Americans (36%) approve of Pres. Biden's handling of crime, down from 43% in late October, according to a new @ABC News/Ipsos poll. https://t.co/c8UsWHFZIg

- ABC News (@ABC) December 12, 2021

More than 2.2 million migrants entered the U.S. through the Southern border in 2021. Even House Democrats in border states are slamming the administration for its inaction on the crisis. Biden-Harris is polling in the 20s here.

In new Quinnipiac poll, President Biden's approval rating drops to 38%, the lowest of his presidency, and his lowest marks come at the border.

23% approve of Biden's handling of the border.

67% disapprove.

25% approve of Biden's handling of immigration issues.

67% disapprove.

- Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 7, 2021

Throw in other major issues such as COVID-19, education and foreign policy (See: Afghanistan), and Democrats have very little to run on from a positive-message perspective.

Republicans need to drop any talk of impeachment. Most of the public has no appetite for it. Instead, the party should lay out in clear and easy-to-absorb terms exactly what it plans to do and how those plans differ from those of the Democrats. Given how far to the left Democrats have shifted, drawing a right-of-center contrast should be an easy homework assignment.

Forget Twitter wars. Forget about owning the libs. The American people yearn for Washington to start working for them again, and not to settle scores and waste the country's time through another inane impeachment process.

Joe Concha is a media and politics columnist.