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So here’s an outline for how Mike Johnson and House Republicans could just decide for themselves who doesn’t get to be in the House of Representatives and who does become President.
Have others here heard of this strategy? Is the author right that it works on paper? How should it be countered?
I feel it would be a bad move, aside from the obvious I think it would bring ruination upon the GOP in the longer run as well.
If they tried to pull so egregious an un-democratic move, well these things have their breaking point. There’d probably be one hell of a constitutional crisis, a government shutdown the likes we’ve never seen and almost certainly some reforms to prevent it ever occurring again. Reforms to things the GOP benefit from and like to play with.
To take one example, it’s a pretty damn potent reason to just switch to a popular vote if people are actively abusing the current system.
Especially one cycle after Jan 6th, I just can’t see such a display of fuckery being allowed to pass. Perhaps not legally, but through wider civic response.
The slates of fake electors, absurd lawsuits, January 6th riot, and various other attempts at stealing the 2020 presidential election haven't resulted in a "breaking point" or even a significant loss in Republican/Trump support... neither have the criminal convictions, rape, or fraud... so I can't imagine that anything would seriously lead to a "breaking point" for them, as long as they think they're legally/morally justified in stealing the 2024 election. Unfortunately
The fallout from Jan 6 is not being felt by republicans, that's fine. However, it seems like it was felt in the midterms with a drop in support from "independent" voters, and a backlash to MAGA candidates. So while Republicans might look at their voter base and say "yeah, that's a good idea", that misses the fact that for a majority of the population it's a bridge too far. I'd expect months of unrest "at best", and civil war at worst if something like that was actually pushed through successfully.
I would expect that majority to unite against Trump if they truly felt that the Republicans were going too far. The general election polls don't seem to reflect that, but I hope the November results do.
Well, they haven't successfully orchestrated a coup yet, have they?
So? That's irrelevant. The fact that their 2020 coup attempt was foiled wasn't because the majority of Americans said "enough is enough" and banded together to create a wall of democracy to stop Trump and his inner circle. It was because a few key political players (Pence, some judges, etc.) weren't completely in Trump's pocket, and didn't go along with the plan.
So here’s an outline for how Mike Johnson and House Republicans could just decide for themselves who doesn’t get to be in the House of Representatives and who does become President.
Have others here heard of this strategy? Is the author right that it works on paper? How should it be countered?
I feel it would be a bad move, aside from the obvious I think it would bring ruination upon the GOP in the longer run as well.
If they tried to pull so egregious an un-democratic move, well these things have their breaking point. There’d probably be one hell of a constitutional crisis, a government shutdown the likes we’ve never seen and almost certainly some reforms to prevent it ever occurring again. Reforms to things the GOP benefit from and like to play with.
To take one example, it’s a pretty damn potent reason to just switch to a popular vote if people are actively abusing the current system.
Especially one cycle after Jan 6th, I just can’t see such a display of fuckery being allowed to pass. Perhaps not legally, but through wider civic response.
The slates of fake electors, absurd lawsuits, January 6th riot, and various other attempts at stealing the 2020 presidential election haven't resulted in a "breaking point" or even a significant loss in Republican/Trump support... neither have the criminal convictions, rape, or fraud... so I can't imagine that anything would seriously lead to a "breaking point" for them, as long as they think they're legally/morally justified in stealing the 2024 election. Unfortunately
The fallout from Jan 6 is not being felt by republicans, that's fine. However, it seems like it was felt in the midterms with a drop in support from "independent" voters, and a backlash to MAGA candidates. So while Republicans might look at their voter base and say "yeah, that's a good idea", that misses the fact that for a majority of the population it's a bridge too far. I'd expect months of unrest "at best", and civil war at worst if something like that was actually pushed through successfully.
I would expect that majority to unite against Trump if they truly felt that the Republicans were going too far. The general election polls don't seem to reflect that, but I hope the November results do.
Well, they haven't successfully orchestrated a coup yet, have they?
So? That's irrelevant. The fact that their 2020 coup attempt was foiled wasn't because the majority of Americans said "enough is enough" and banded together to create a wall of democracy to stop Trump and his inner circle. It was because a few key political players (Pence, some judges, etc.) weren't completely in Trump's pocket, and didn't go along with the plan.
They didn’t have to, those key players rendered it moot. It’s a matter of escalation, and I hope there’s the appetite for it it in the (IMO unlikely) event we see it again.
I mean it’s not entirely equivalent but me and my colleagues aren’t going to strike if our employer agrees, via negotiations with our union a new set of conditions we’re roundly happy with. We may not be 100% placated, but hey it’s good enough. It’s kinda redundant for us to agree a strike based upon an agreement we’re roundly OK with.
Especially for average Joe and Jane, each potential weapon open to them carries more and more personal sacrifice, so ideally you don’t want to go to your nukes immediately if you don’t have to. Voting requires very little, industrial action requires a fair lot and armed resistance requires a hell of a lot more again.
Luckily last time Pence et al did the right thing.
I think if they hadn’t, we would have seen something in response. As I said I’m not one of life’s optimists but Trump is more reviled than he is revered, the idea folks would just put up with a successful legalistic coup is IMO off-base.
So here’s an outline for how Mike Johnson and House Republicans could just decide for themselves who doesn’t get to be in the House of Representatives and who does become President.
Have others here heard of this strategy? Is the author right that it works on paper? How should it be countered?
I feel it would be a bad move, aside from the obvious I think it would bring ruination upon the GOP in the longer run as well.
If they tried to pull so egregious an un-democratic move, well these things have their breaking point. There’d probably be one hell of a constitutional crisis, a government shutdown the likes we’ve never seen and almost certainly some reforms to prevent it ever occurring again. Reforms to things the GOP benefit from and like to play with.
To take one example, it’s a pretty damn potent reason to just switch to a popular vote if people are actively abusing the current system.
Especially one cycle after Jan 6th, I just can’t see such a display of fuckery being allowed to pass. Perhaps not legally, but through wider civic response.
The slates of fake electors, absurd lawsuits, January 6th riot, and various other attempts at stealing the 2020 presidential election haven't resulted in a "breaking point" or even a significant loss in Republican/Trump support... neither have the criminal convictions, rape, or fraud... so I can't imagine that anything would seriously lead to a "breaking point" for them, as long as they think they're legally/morally justified in stealing the 2024 election. Unfortunately
The fallout from Jan 6 is not being felt by republicans, that's fine. However, it seems like it was felt in the midterms with a drop in support from "independent" voters, and a backlash to MAGA candidates. So while Republicans might look at their voter base and say "yeah, that's a good idea", that misses the fact that for a majority of the population it's a bridge too far. I'd expect months of unrest "at best", and civil war at worst if something like that was actually pushed through successfully.
I would expect that majority to unite against Trump if they truly felt that the Republicans were going too far. The general election polls don't seem to reflect that, but I hope the November results do.
Well, they haven't successfully orchestrated a coup yet, have they?
So? That's irrelevant. The fact that their 2020 coup attempt was foiled wasn't because the majority of Americans said "enough is enough" and banded together to create a wall of democracy to stop Trump and his inner circle. It was because a few key political players (Pence, some judges, etc.) weren't completely in Trump's pocket, and didn't go along with the plan.
They didn’t have to, those key players rendered it moot. It’s a matter of escalation, and I hope there’s the appetite for it it in the (IMO unlikely) event we see it again.
I mean it’s not entirely equivalent but me and my colleagues aren’t going to strike if our employer agrees, via negotiations with our union a new set of conditions we’re roundly happy with. We may not be 100% placated, but hey it’s good enough. It’s kinda redundant for us to agree a strike based upon an agreement we’re roundly OK with.
Especially for average Joe and Jane, each potential weapon open to them carries more and more personal sacrifice, so ideally you don’t want to go to your nukes immediately if you don’t have to. Voting requires very little, industrial action requires a fair lot and armed resistance requires a hell of a lot more again.
Luckily last time Pence et al did the right thing.
I think if they hadn’t, we would have seen something in response. As I said I’m not one of life’s optimists but Trump is more reviled than he is revered, the idea folks would just put up with a successful legalistic coup is IMO off-base.
I guess it's one of those hypothetical retributions where we won't know for sure until Trump successfully pulls off stealing the election. I just hope things start off on the right foot by Harris winning in November.
Fortunately the 2nd amendment agrees with shooting people attempting a fascist takeover of the government.
I wonder what would have happened if Thomas Matthew Crooks had left a manifesto explaining that his moral justification for trying to assassinate Trump was to protect the United States from fascism, and cited his legal justification as the 2nd Amendment.
On July 30 2024 02:35 Yurie wrote: An interesting idea for picking vice president. Ignore entire setup of famous democratic politicians and just pick somebody for name recognition. https://today.yougov.com/ratings/entertainment/popularity/people/all Sorting by popularity and disregarding people over 60 years old while still being a US citizen I end up with suggestions such as Robert Downey Jr. and Julia Roberts. (I didn't check for political affinity.)
Why over 60? Taylor Swift is old enough to legally be the VP candidate.
Under 60 includes Taylor Swift, so she would be considered with this approach.
Oh, sorry. I misread that. Instead of "disregarding people over 60," I somehow read that as only considering people over 60.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
necessary to the security of a free State
Fortunately the 2nd amendment agrees with shooting people attempting a fascist takeover of the government.
I wonder what would have happened if Thomas Matthew Crooks had left a manifesto explaining that his moral justification for trying to assassinate Trump was to protect the United States from fascism, and cited his legal justification as the 2nd Amendment.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
necessary to the security of a free State
Fortunately the 2nd amendment agrees with shooting people attempting a fascist takeover of the government.
I wonder what would have happened if Thomas Matthew Crooks had left a manifesto explaining that his moral justification for trying to assassinate Trump was to protect the United States from fascism, and cited his legal justification as the 2nd Amendment.
Nothing much, he'd still be dead.
Do you think anyone would start seeing the 2nd Amendment in a new way?
Naw, he's a guy who tried to assassinate the president. Terrorists generally neither validate nor invalidate opinions they support or oppose. If he had a manifesto most people (not supportive of assassinating trump) would distance themselves from that manifesto and the people who support both Trump and the second amendment sure as hell wouldn't be swayed by anything he said.
Political assassinations can be successful in the sense that they can remove a person crucial to achieving a particular political goal and the removal of that person can halt the cause championed by that person. So it's conceivable that actually killing Trump could've made the republican party turn less MAGA (hard to say what direction, though). But they don't change people's hearts.
On July 30 2024 18:22 KT_Elwood wrote: The GOP should just ask Trump to step down and play Golf.
That's if they actually have political ambitions.
They wouldn't sniff any chamber of congress let alone the white house if they did that. They need him to secure seats and he's their best bet to get those, all because they tied their horse to him. He'll drag them down and they can't get off the raft now. I suspect that if he does debate Harris and is presumably embarrassed, Biden's SCOTUS bill would get pushed through next year with Dems in charge and probably 2-3 more Judges added to rebalance the court. Then the fun begins.
On July 30 2024 18:22 KT_Elwood wrote: The GOP should just ask Trump to step down and play Golf.
That's if they actually have political ambitions.
They wouldn't sniff any chamber of congress let alone the white house if they did that. They need him to secure seats and he's their best bet to get those, all because they tied their horse to him. He'll drag them down and they can't get off the raft now. I suspect that if he does debate Harris and is presumably embarrassed, Biden's SCOTUS bill would get pushed through next year with Dems in charge and probably 2-3 more Judges added to rebalance the court. Then the fun begins.
What actually happens if the SCOTUS bill ends up before the SCOTUS and they decide it's "unconstitutional" and refuse to comply? I'm guessing Congress could impeach some of them? What a clusterfuck.
On July 30 2024 18:22 KT_Elwood wrote: The GOP should just ask Trump to step down and play Golf.
That's if they actually have political ambitions.
They wouldn't sniff any chamber of congress let alone the white house if they did that. They need him to secure seats and he's their best bet to get those, all because they tied their horse to him. He'll drag them down and they can't get off the raft now. I suspect that if he does debate Harris and is presumably embarrassed, Biden's SCOTUS bill would get pushed through next year with Dems in charge and probably 2-3 more Judges added to rebalance the court. Then the fun begins.
What actually happens if the SCOTUS bill ends up before the SCOTUS and they decide it's "unconstitutional" and refuse to comply? I'm guessing Congress could impeach some of them? What a clusterfuck.
nothing about the size of SCOTUS in the constitution, and the amount of seats has been increased in the past.
What if they rule anyway? the court loses any respect it has and since it has no actual means of enforcing its decisions you can just ignore them. Courts only work if people respect them (or they have the force of the government behind it). With neither they are just old people yelling at clouds.
When it comes to Kamala Harris's options for runningmate, I still think that the vice presidential candidate who would most increase the chance of beating Trump in November is Josh Shapiro. He's the charismatic and popular governor of Pennsylvania, and locking in all those electoral votes from PA is crucial to winning the electoral college. Harris would essentially auto-win PA if she selected Shapiro, so he's a mathematically strong choice.
That being said, while my head says Shapiro, my heart prefers a military veteran who was also a Rhodes Scholar, graduated from both Harvard and Oxford, is the youngest member of President Biden's Cabinet, and is currently in the limelight for dunking on Trump and Vance and Republicans in the most eloquent and viral ways imaginable. I was impressed with Pete Buttigieg's communication skills during the 2020 primary, when he even won over crowds during Fox News interviews, and I think he's only improved since then. I know that Trump has already refused to debate Harris - which means Trump probably won't let his weird joke of a runningmate, J.D. Vance, debate Harris's runningmate, either - but if Buttigieg had the opportunity to trounce Vance, it would be the stuff of legends.
Unfortunately, I don't think Pete Buttigieg is considered as viable a runningmate for two reasons: 1. He is from (and was mayor of) a town in conservative Indiana, which isn't in play as a swing state. Pennsylvania is far more valuable, anyway. 2. There might be some potential Harris voters who are still anti-LGBTQ+. It would be amazing to have both the first woman of color as president *and* the first openly gay vice president though.
This was from the 2020 primary, and there are plenty of clips currently circulating that feature his more recent pro-Democratic, pro-Harris, anti-Trump, anti-Vance messages.
I would expect Buttigieg to be on the road campaigning for the Democrats even if he's not the VP and doing a lot of good for them, because he is indeed one of the better communicative faces of the party.
Fortunately the 2nd amendment agrees with shooting people attempting a fascist takeover of the government.
The 2nd amendment is not the part of the Constitution that gives guns to federal law enforcement and the army, i.e., to the government, which you are advocating shoot opponents, which is a hallmark of violent fascism, in an alleged attempt to stop a nonexistent fascism which has been built up over years in a giant reality denial vortex. Nor does the 2nd amendment give you carte blanche to shoot at a government that you claim is evil just because you're losing politically, which is something Republicans have been trying to explain to Democrats since the Battle of Fort Sumter.
On July 30 2024 18:05 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: Apparently, even some hosts on Fox News want Trump to debate Kamala Harris. Trump is refusing.
Note to anyone who gets tricked by 10 minute outrage factory videos clipped from 10 seconds - Laura Ingraham asking Trump a question is not "even some hosts on Fox News want Trump to debate." As though he hasn't debated every other nominee.
"The answer is yes." "I would rather run against her than him." "I don't mind anything, we can do any form of a debate."
He also said a lot of other interesting things which are either true or completely fair opinions to have. For example, it's important to debate before votes start getting cast. (He didn't seem to mention that Kamala should actually be the nominee before they debate, which was his reason for not debating Sanders in 2016.) That he doesn't want to reward the news, and could make a case for not doing it, and has had no problem debating on hostile turf, and that most people should basically know where they stand on policy already. Trump's had no problem taking the biggest debate stage in the past but we need to stir up some totally organic criticism to paint it like he's a coward who won't stand up to the brave Kamala after getting shot. He didn't debate her yesterday, or today, and won't debate her tomorrow... wow what a loser!
On July 30 2024 23:45 oBlade wrote: Laura Ingraham asking Trump a question is not "even some hosts on Fox News want Trump to debate." As though he hasn't debated every other nominee.
Trump literally just refused to debate all the other nominees in the 2024 Republican primary lol. Before 2024 Biden, I'm pretty sure that Trump hadn't been in a debate since 2020 Biden, and to claim that his 2020 shitshow on the debate stage was actually him "debating [another] nominee" is taking an extremely liberal definition of what constitutes "debating".
If he changes his mind and actually does debate Harris, then I think it'll be an interesting debate. I don't think Harris would auto-win that debate, although I think that Buttigieg would absolutely wipe the floor with Vance. I think a Harris-Trump debate slightly leans towards Harris, but it might also depend on the format (who is moderating, is there a crowd, is there fact-checking, etc.). But for now, you bet it makes sense to say that Trump is scared to debate Harris; he does have a decent amount at stake if he loses definitively.
Edit: In your video at 3:17, I love how Laura Ingraham nervously laughs as she double-checks with Trump about him toooootally being fine with leaving office after another 4 years, if he wins. "You will leave office after 4 years, correct?" Yikes. It's insane that even Fox News needs to ask Trump that, to try to assure their viewers that he won't be the fascist he tries to be. And then Trump casually lies by saying "I did last time", as if he took his 2020 loss like an adult or a professional or a leader or any person with even a shred of dignity. He attempted to illegally keep power last time, and still continues to lie and complain about losing the 2020 election. Of course he'll attempt to illegally keep power again, if he ever wins the presidency a second time.
I think I understood Trump when he said "You do it once, and you never have to do it again"
It's like he is asking Melania for a golden shower.
He has no deep desire to end democracy in that moment, he just sees somebody who needs to do somthing for him, and his mind wandered to "just do it once, and you never have to do it again" to convince them.
"Hey babe, lets just try it in the shower! Only once, I promise you never have to do it again (if you don't like it)"
On July 31 2024 00:44 KT_Elwood wrote: I think I understood Trump when he said "You do it once, and you never have to do it again"
It's like he is asking Melania for a golden shower.
He has no deep desire to end democracy in that moment, he just sees somebody who needs to do somthing for him, and his mind wandered to "just do it once, and you never have to do it again" to convince them.
"Hey babe, lets just try it in the shower! Only once, I promise you never have to do it again (if you don't like it)"
This is uncalled for and just plain weird. There are plenty of things to attack Trump on without bringing Melania into it.