GOP Should Focus on Defeating Obama in 2012, Not Before

This post is in response to calls from folks on the right for President Barack Obama to resign, and also to those calling for his impeachment.

Don't get me wrong, I do sympathize with many of these people. I agree with many of the reasons they cite as to why President Obama should resign or face impeachment. I do not necessarily agree with all of them, but with enough that I normally wouldn't go out of my way to argue with them.

However, in this case, I believe the issue is one of strategy first and foremost. From a purely strategic perspective, I think that a Republican electoral victory in 2012 would be far more likely to yield more of the actual desired legislative goals than would likely become reality should the President resign prior to the completion of his term.

For starters, both Obama and Biden would have to resign in order for it to do any good. That scenario is extremely unlikely, as the Democrats would not sit idly while high-ranking members of their party put a Republican in the white house without an election. That said, an Obama resignation without one by Biden means a Joe Biden Presidency, which most Americans should agree is an absolutely terrifying scenario.

The damage the Democrats have inflicted upon America is done, and they're limited in how much more damage they can do before the next round of elections. While we won't be able to undo any of the damage without the Presidency at the very least (although it would still be difficult without the Senate), we can at least do damage control while keeping the issues that contributed to the 2010 GOP sweep on the table and in the forefront.

If Obama is President for the next two years, the Republican-controlled house can pass a new repeal of Obamacare every week until either it passes and the President signs it, or until the 2012 elections take place, whichever comes first.

The GOP can submit budget bills that dramatically reduce the size of the federal budget, forcing the Democrats to veto economic measures that will be wildly popular among the voting public.

They can pass legislation that they know will either die in the Senate or will receive a Presidential veto, solely for the purpose of forcing Obama and Senate Democrats repeatedly take unpopular measures in either the Senate failing to approve the bills or the President vetoing them.

They can only do all of this if Obama is President. Obama's resignation would generate unprecedented sympathy for him, while stifling any and all good will the Republicans have earned from voters in the past few years.

Even if he did resign, would a President Biden really be any better? They'd both need to resign in order for the GOP to gain any governing power from the move. Even still, the Dems would control the Senate and could filibuster anything the GOP wanted to get done.

If the GOP waits until 2012 to unseat Obama, they very well may win the Senate, perhaps even by a considerable margin. This would be crucial if the party seriously plans to repeal as much of the past two years as possible legislatively speaking. Remember, all it takes is 40 Senators or one President to stop legislation from becoming law.

In light of everything outlined above, it makes much more strategic sense to me for Republicans and Tea Party independents to actively work toward 2012 rather than push for a resignation or an impeachment prior to the next election cycle.

While an embattled Obama resigning amid shame and controversy might be enjoyable to witness, it would not necessarily help the GOP accomplish anything legislatively. In order to really repair the damage the Democrats have done since over the past four years, the Republicans will need both the Senate and the Presidency in addition to their existing majority in the House. Emotional gains at this juncture are not worth the potential costs, especially if they distract us from the primary goal, which should be to unseat as many of these Democrats as possible (Obama included) in 2012.