The Hidden Provision in the Big Ugly Bill that Makes Trump King

[conuly]

The comments rapidly go off the rails, but there are three links there to go through.

There's more linkage here.

I genuinely do not have the energy to read all of this. I will be sending out an email to my senators, I guess.

Comments

[shadowkat]

Already a few things have been cut from it. They cut out the part that would sell off Utah and Nevada's public lands, also the Senate will chop out the stuff that make him King, since it is in violation of the Senate's rules and laws. That Bill is going to get ripped apart in the Senate Committee, and the Senate. It takes a long time for a bill to get passed. And the Republicans aren't in agreement on it, and there's a narrow margin in the Senate. That gives me hope at least.

Doesn't mean folks shouldn't keep fighting it.

[used_songs]

I emailed both of my (Republican) senators today with a great sense of despair. I mean, one of them is Ted Cruz so it's pretty pointless. But I did it.

[silveradept]

One can hope the entire bill simply goes down in flames because someone either grows a conscience or gets the fear of the people put into them, but yes, this must mean it's time to poke the Senators once again.

[larryhammer]

Of for fuck's sake.

Time to wrastle some spine into my (Democratic) senators. Or at least add my voice to the pokey sticks.

[ionelv]

All of this lawmaking is simply paper cover to catch up to what Trump is doing and will continue to do as he desires. As my brother put it, the whole system of courts reigning in the executive trampling the Constitution only works as long as the executive cares and has a modicum of decency. Guess what?

[conuly]

Honestly, all laws are fictions that we all agree to believe in. If somebody blatantly stops pretending, it throws everything out of whack.

[ionelv]

The problem is that if an average person wants to stop pretending, there are big sticks to reenforce the pretending in order to keep the plebes in line, but if the top enforcer stops pretending, there is no one to put a stick to him and ensure compliance. Of course, on paper, there are a few sticks:
* impeachment, but we all know that won't work with a heavily MAGAfied Congress,
* term limits, which MIGHT work but is little solace to those that are getting railroaded now,
* hasty abrupt removal via private citizen action, but that is a very long shot after June last year.

[conuly]

The real trouble is that at this point I think we have to admit that he's not the problem. I mean, he's clearly a problem, and a big one - but if it wasn't him, it'd be somebody else. Sooner or later, this was always going to happen.

[ionelv]

There are indeed two problems:
1. The more immediate and urgent one that could be the Rubicon moment of US democracy. To think that all that prevents an irreversible catastrophe is one man’s ability to focus enough on synchronizing most of his dynamite charges in order to blow up in the right sequence the underpinnings of US and world democracy, is both bewildering and fascinating (like passing by the scene of a horrible freeway accident).
2. The longer deeper problems that have lead to this point and which require a whole different approach to heading off another Trump infection. This one is even harder as most of these problems are deeply rooted into the formation, the success and the mythology of the nation itself.