Clyburn dares Tea Party to try impeaching Obama

Rep. James Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, on Wednesday dared Tea Party colleagues in Congress to bring threats to impeach the president to the House floor.

"I would love to see that speech," Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on MSNBC.

Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has said that the president invoking the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling would be "an impeachable act," but Clyburn said he'd love to debate that idea on the floor.

"I want you to vote for impeachment of this president because he refused to let this country go into default," Clyburn said he would tell Tea Party Republicans.

Clyburn, the assistant minority leader in the House, has urged President Obama to draw up an executive order that would allow him to raise the debt ceiling without congressional authority rather than bow to Republican demands if an unacceptable deal reaches his desk.

"He could do that with a stroke of a pen. We've seen many big things done that way," Clyburn said, referring to the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation as an example.

Clyburn is the highest-ranking House Democrat to endorse the idea of using the so-called 14th Amendment solution, also known as the constitutional option, in order to resolve the debt-ceiling debate.

The option relies upon an interpretation of the amendment that would make it illegal for the federal government to default.

The legality of using the amendment as a solution to current negotiations has been disputed by experts, who argue that not raising the debt ceiling does not necessarily guarantee a government default. President Obama said last Friday that his own lawyers have looked into the option and "they are not persuaded that that is a winning argument."

The idea has been revived over the last weeks as the Treasury Department's Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling nears with little progress in the deficit talks.

Watch Clyburn below.

---