Q. You had, over the break, some number of your colleagues who talked with their constituents about impeaching the president. A. I forgive politicians a lot at town hall meetings. Everybody can be inartful in their language. It certainly comes up in my town hall meetings. I don’t think it’s helpful to engage in that sort of thing. I think you have to be honest with people about both political realities and the consequences of engaging in action like that. So I just try to stay away from that because it’s not going to happen and, in my opinion, wouldn’t be the appropriate thing to do. I have very strong differences with the president on a variety of issues, but also I find places where we’ve been able to work together. That’s the way the system is supposed to work. I can’t tell you how unpopular Obamacare is. I can’t tell you how strongly, in an oil and gas state, people feel about things like fracking, or what they would consider the trashing of the domestic energy industry. I can’t tell you how hostile people are about the E.P.A., and regulation, and what they would consider overregulation in general. This is a very pro-military state; he’s been interested in cutting the military. This is a very pro-energy state; he has a different take on energy than we do. About the only part of our economy where he’s really well liked is on Indian affairs, which is a big part of our economy and our culture.Get the Story:
10 Questions for Tom Cole (The New York Times 9/6)
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