Ken Buck is a hard man to categorize. A founding member of the Freedom Caucus and author of a book called “Draining the Swamp,” the staunch fiscal conservative has been known at times to oscillate between flirtation with the fringes of the GOP and being the voice of remarkably measured reason. His defense, for instance, of Liz Cheney – entirely honorable if not entirely expected. So too, his response to a letter put out by the hapless Colorado State GOP extracting every conspiracy theory from every rabbit hole concerning the treatment of those arrested for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021. In his response, Rep. Buck redonned his prosecutor’s garb and firmly set the record straight: that those referenced were either convicted or accused of real, serious crimes, and undergoing the due process established by the Constitution (as should have the seditious miscreants who occupied a sizeable portion of Seattle the summer prior, but I digress).

Now this week, the tines of the far right’s pitchforks are again being sharpened as Mr. Buck has called into question the legitimacy of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s impeachment crusade against President Joe Biden, made more formal by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of the start of an impeachment inquiry process. What Buck said was, quite frankly, the unvarnished truth: “The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor. That doesn’t exist right now.”

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Which is not to say there is nothing unsavory going on concerning President Biden, his son and intertwined business dealings. The House GOP is to be credited for their work in investigating those dealings, and they have unearthed some unsettling details. It is now quite clear, for instance, that Hunter Biden used his father’s rather influential name and position to attract foreign partners, and that some $20 million has been funneled to Biden family members and associates through shell companies.

Does it all reach the level of impeachability? Maybe, but impeachment is a political, not a legal, exercise. The fact of the matter is if every single one of the allegations were true and firmly established in the record, a substantial number of people would still vote for him. Same goes for former President Donald Trump. Biden and Trump could each stage a press conference at midday in which they simultaneously break every one of the Ten Commandments, and each will retain a plurality of their followers who would sell their souls before depriving their candidate their vote.

Why is this important, if a crime has been committed? The simple reality is an impeachment will not be successful in any real sense, meaning even if Biden is impeached by the House, there is absolutely no chance he will be convicted by the Senate. So why bother? For the political damage it will inflict, is the obvious answer. But where will that damage fall? History doesn’t provide a clear picture, and voters haven’t been consistent in punishing the party of the impeached. Yes, Republicans won the White House after the Clinton impeachment, and Democrats assumed the presidency after the second (arguably legitimate) Trump impeachment, but it’s also true the GOP suffered Congressional setbacks in 1998 and 2000 and the Democrats underperformed in 2020.

This is a rather complicated mess for the average voter to sort through, complicated and rather boring. Hell, I’m bored by it, and I delve into such things for a living. That average voter could well see fit to punish a Republican candidate for engaging in such political silliness rather than holding Biden to account for any of a number of atrocious economic and foreign policy missteps.

All this highlights why impeachment was intended only for the most serious of offenses. I wrote back in 2019, during Trump’s first impeachment, that whatever the merits of the arguments arrayed against him, the incautious use of the instrument of impeachment would lead quickly to its reduction to mere political weapon. And here we are.

Congressional Republicans should, by all means, conduct their investigations – no one else seems inclined to do so – and if impeachable conduct is uncovered, they may go ahead and impeach, and deal with whatever political chips may fall. But, as so with the attempt to remove Trump from the ballot by legal maneuvers, it is far better that the voters render their verdict and reject Biden based on his policies and ability to ably lead. Far better still that we all concentrate more on nominating candidates for president in the future who swear publicly not to engage in the type of behavior that define Trump and Biden.

Kelly Sloan is a political and public affairs consultant and a recovering journalist based in Denver.