Fox News commentator Juan Williams didn't come out and say that the Republican threats on President Obama are race-based but he did strongly hint that they will certainly appear as such to people of color.
As our friends at Crooks and Liars noted, The discussion started with host Chris Wallace asking Michael Needham, head of Heritage Action for America, if there is grassroots Republicans support for impeaching the president.
"The trouble with a lawless president is it's very difficult to constrain him because he doesn't care about the law," Needham opined. "He's totally out of control."
"He's a lawless president?" National Journal's Ron Fournier interrupted. "Is that really a phrase you want? He's a lawless president? Completely lawless?"
Needham argued that Republicans were suing Obama instead of impeaching him because "they're trying to find a way to constrain a lawless president."
It's worth pointing out that some say Needham was the real force behind last year's government shutdown. It's hard to believe he wouldn't be for impeachment, too. Although he didn't explicitly endorse impeachment, he implied that other remedies are not effective: "This is a lawless administration, and trying to find a tool within the rule of law to constrain it is a frustrating challenge."
However, it was Williams' turn next and he shone a light on the racial elephant in the room. From the Fox News Sunday transcript:
WILLIAMS: Well, I think you listen to Michael and you understand why there are lots of Republicans who think this man is a demon. This guy is awful. We got to get this guy out of here any way we can. He's breaking the law.
I don't agree with a lot of the points you are making, Michael, but I hear this on talk radio. I hear this in conservative columns that people are saying we think this guy is way over the line. And then they say oh, yes, we got to find a way to get him. Then you hear from Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, others, yes, we use the impeachment word. And then you come on and say, oh, no, we're not talking about impeachment, that's the Democrats. All the Democrats are doing is taking advantage of the fact that you guys have demonized President Obama to this extent, because not only does it help them with fundraising, lots of people, especially in the minority communities, see it as an attack on the first black president. Think it's unfair. And so it's going to spur their turnout in the mid- terms, which is going to be critical in several races.
WALLACE: Wait a second, I want to pick up on exactly that point. Do you think that the Republican opposition to this president, you heard Hakeem Jeffries talk about hatred, is racial, or do you think it is based on principles and policies?
WILLIAMS: Well, all I can do is look at the numbers. If you look at the core constituency, the people who are in let's say Tea Party opposition, support of impeachment, there's no diversity, it's a white, older group of people. As to whether or not it's racial, look, President Obama and others have said there are some people who don't like him because of his race; some people who do like him. But I would say if you just break it down as a matter of political analysis and say who is this group, it reminds me that the Republican Party has become almost a completely white party.
...
WILLIAMS: The people who want him impeached, they are almost all white and they are all older and guess what, they are all in the far right wing of the Republican Party.
NEEDHAM: And he might as well have said they are all racist. That's ridiculous.
Whether Needham wants to recognize it or not, when you have a group of old, white people demonizing the first black president and acting like a legal lynch mob, it sends a racial message.
(3/9/18 update: video no longer available)