The economy boomed as House Republicans investigated, and impeached, Bill Clinton

The Daily 202: Trump presents a false choice between investigations and prosperity in State of the Union
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2019/02/06/daily-202-trump-presents-a-false-choice-between-investigations-and-prosperity-in-state-of-the-union/5c5a60151b326b66eb09862e/?utm_term=.44607dfe8457

THE BIG IDEA: During his State of the Union on Jan. 30, 1974, seven months before he resigned, Richard Nixon appealed to Congress to stop probing him and his reelection campaign. “I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end,” he said. “One year of Watergate is enough.”

Forty-five years later, speaking on Tuesday night from the same spot, President Trump warned House Democrats in ominous terms against using their new subpoena power to investigate him. “An economic miracle is taking place in the United States — and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations,” Trump said, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi over his left shoulder. “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. … We must choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction.”

What the president presented, of course, is a false choice. The economy boomed in the late 1990s during a period of peace and prosperity as House Republicans investigated, and impeached, Bill Clinton. Trump didn’t seem too worried about the impact of his birther crusade on the nation’s health when Barack Obama was president. When they had gavels during the Obama years, House Republicans believed they had a constitutional imperative to conduct vigorous oversight of the executive branch.

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