A Deeply Fractured US

[Oldgateboatdriver]

All the tools are already there if only every member of the three branches would abide by their oath to uphold the constitution, not to support their electoral party, but to honestly and impartially apply and abide by the words o the constitution and its spirit.

SCOTUS interprets the Constitution "congress has the power to tax and that includes tariffs - not the President". Fine! The President refuses to abide by the decision of SCOTUS? Congress impeach him and remove him from office and swear in the VP. the now ex-president doesn't want to go? The VP, now President enlists the various forces of government (FBI, Secret Service, Army?) to remove him physically.

No need for 2A, or for any constitutional amendment - just honest officials abiding by their oath of office.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Congress needs to grow some balls and get a grip on the office of the President.

Which Congress?

Democrats want a lot of legislation that won't be passed as-is by Republicans. They have nothing they're willing to trade away for compromise deals. Their work-around is to extend executive authority, and use whatever position they hold in Congress (House, Senate, Senate minority filibuster) to thwart attempts to exert congressional authority.

Republicans don't have a lot of new legislation they want. They mainly aim to restore the budgeting process ("regular order") and to reform big entitlements which are nearing the point at which benefits will be statutorily reduced (social security and medicare). They also want laws already written to be meaningfully enforced. None of these are arguably partisan aims. They, too, decline to check presidential authority, but mainly in order to support laws and programs already in place.

Democrats will one day hold the presidency and Congress again, even if only for a couple of years following a presidential election. I predict they will not act to restrain executive authority, just as they did not so act during the Obama and Biden administrations.

So American voters are left to choose between the Democratic bag of policies and Republican bag of policies. Voting on the principle of which party would restrain executive authority is almost pointless, with maybe a slight advantage to Republicans.

 

[FJAG]

I'm not so sure that it's just policies that matter . . . but the speed of action.

Congress, like any parliamentary system, acts slowly with lots of deliberation, and, if functioning properly, time to work out compromises. Executives can, and do, act quickly, often shooting from the hip with no desire to compromise with anyone.

The public has a short attention span. They'll cheer what appears to be quick decisive action without any appreciation of its second and third order effects. Add in a good propaganda campaign and Bob's your uncle. It's hard for a functioning legislature to get control of the executive. The US has been without a real functioning legislature for quite some time.

 

[Good2Golf]

"Existing policies". Very little binds one administration to maintain the policies of its predecessor. Which is a "pendulumic swing" - a policy that amounts to nullification of federal law, or one that enforces it?

One which endorses/directs actions that exceed authorities.

 

[Brad Sallows]

One which endorses/directs actions that exceed authorities.

Endorsement: presidents shouldn't exceed their authority, and should enforce all laws.

Observation and hypothesis: because past presidents exceeded their authority and insufficiently enforced laws and were not sufficiently reproached and controlled by their own parties and followers, people who agree with the current president no longer feel bound to sufficiently reproach and control him and are content to reap political advantage the same way others did.

People who want to reign in Trump have chosen the wrong fight. He's impulsive, irrational, erratic. Critics who want to correct the deficiencies in American government should focus on the alternatives, and should start immediately. Those who merely want to defend power for one side and restrain it for the other may carry on as they are doing.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I think if republicans can hold power until the democrats completely crash and burn, it'll help them come back to near middle. The absolute douchebaggery that has taken hold of the left is killing them. Trump is playing them like a fiddle. They need to die off and be reborn into something like they used to be. They need to be reborn. Maybe as a new party, with a new name. They need trust, which they've lost. Dignity, which has been missing for 20 years. One party, with one reasonable, coherent and popular platform. Get rid of the communist squad. Like our own liberals, they've had power too long and have grown accustomed to doing whatever they want, even if illegal and padding their pockets with taxpayer dollars like it was owed to them. I would like to see both stateside and here, full financial forensic audits of the POTUS on down through the legislators (PM and all MPs) every year.

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Definitions matter, Fishbone.

The current positions of the US Democrats can be considered right of center in most European countries and Canada. What we call the middle would be considered extreme left in the USA.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Roger that. Makes sense.

So, if our middle is their extreme left, what is our extreme left to Americans?

 

[FSTO]

Roger that. Makes sense.

So, if our middle is their extreme left, what is our extreme left to Americans?

Medicare