This is all assuming that Congress wouldn't (with some justification, frankly) view the maneuver as an unconscionable assault on the constitutional separation o

This is all assuming that Congress wouldn't (with some justification, frankly) view the maneuver as an unconscionable assault on the constitutional separation of powers and adopt a total war stance against Lessig. I have no trouble believing that it would be easier to get a veto-proof majority of Congress to pass enough funding to keep the government running than it would to get a simple majority to pass Lessig's platform. You'd end up with only bills that represented the bipartisan "center" in DC, which means lots of money for the security state and cuts for social services. No appointed offices that would require congressional approval would be filled (and would Lessig even appoint anyone?). It could very well be the biggest constitutional crisis since the Civil War, if things went badly.