The U.S. federal government shut down on Oct. 1 after House Republicans refused to fund it unless President Obama agreed to repeal his signature health care reform, the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.
Although most polls show that a majority of Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown, many in the Tea Party feel President Obama is at fault for not immediately acquiescing to their demands.
"The tipping point for me was closing the World War II memorial," says Texas Republican Louie Gohmert, who voted for the bill which effectively shut down the government. "I can't believe Obama did that. I mean how dare he put politics ahead of our veterans.
"All this clown needs to do is repeal the most important law he ever passed, and then this will all be over. Why is that so hard? The Tea Party represents almost 22 percent of Americans. Only a dictator would refuse to give us everything we want. Obama should be more than impeached -- he should be in jail."
Hearings in the judiciary committee are expected to last for two weeks, after which the committee will create specific impeachment charges and refer them to the full House. If a majority of House members vote to impeach the President, the matter is referred to the Senate, where the Democratic majority makes ultimate success unlikely.
"We probably won't be successful," admits Ted Cruz, one of the few Republicans in the Senate supporting the impeachment process. "But we have to try. This guy is worse than Hitler. We have to do something."
