A comment on late impeachment

holzman and rmjwell conversed on the need to vote out those who stalled on impeachment after running on it as a platform, and then of course about impeaching the administration personnel after they leave office; viz holzman's comment in his journal:

Just because a President has left office doesn't mean he -- and his whole damn gang -- can't be impeached. Nor is it an empty gesture. It may or may not affect his pension, but someone who has been impeached and convicted is Constitutionally barred from holding any sort of public office again.

I agree that those who ran on an impeachment platform, then said it was "off the table" or dragged their feet, need to be voted out as lying sacks of political baggage. Note that includes the Speaker of the House among others.  I've been beyond disappointed in that clutch of political hacks.

So, to the real provocative issue - if it's perhaps empty to impeach someone who will soon be out of office, is it an even-emptier gesture to impeach someone after they are out of office? That's a more complicated question than one quick comment suggests!


( Essay ensues! )