Republican Wants Judge Impeached

Republican Bill Salier, a former candidate for US Senate and currently working for Tom Tancredo's campaign in Iowa, wants Judge Robert Hansen to be impeached for ruling in favor of equal rights for gay and lesbians in Iowa. Hansen ruled against the state's gay marriage band last month.

From the Des Moines Register...

Salier said he would collect signatures for a few weeks, then present them to leaders of the Iowa Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats. "If the Democrat Party is dumb enough not to do it, then the Republicans can use it as a political issue," he said. "If the Republicans are stupid enough to not press for it, then we, the people of the state of Iowa, can bludgeon both parties for it," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal laughed when he heard about the effort. The Council Bluffs Democrat said he wasn't even sure what power the Legislature has to impeach a judge. "I'm next to positive it's never been done," he said.

Gronstal said Salier's impeachment demand was not an honest attempt to oust Hanson. "Let's be blunt," Gronstal said. "The likelihood of that happening is zero, and he knows it, and you know it."