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This should be upvoted way higher. The US Executive's power is being taken over y a small cabal of extremists and kleptocrats. There is extensive history on th

This should be upvoted way higher. The US Executive's power is being taken over y a small cabal of extremists and kleptocrats. There is extensive history on this type of takeover.

maxerickson 10y ago
US executive power is vested in a single individual to begin with. The issue is whether they are following the law or not. (Advice and consent of the Senate for cabinet positions isn't meaningless, but they instruct the executive by statute not by directives given to cabinet members)
- Daishiman 10y ago
  The Executive has already made the DHS disobey a court order. If that's not a Constitutional Crisis I don't know what it. This is literally a textbook example of how autocrats take over. It has happened before and all the rules for that game are being played out right now.
  - LyndsySimon 10y ago
    This is not new. It's interesting to note that Trump has placed a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office, as there are many parallels between Trump's rise to power and Jackson's. > In a popular quotation that is believed to be apocryphal, President Andrew Jackson reportedly responded: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" This derives from Jackson's comments on the case in a letter to John Coffee, "...the decision of the Supreme Court has fell still born, and they find that they cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate". source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia#Effects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia#Effects A President wielding Presidential authority is not a coup, it's acting within the authority given to the office via the Constitution and Congress. If you believe the President has too much power then I would urge you to be doing all you can to limit the power of the office, not just change who is in it.
    - maxerickson 10y ago
      it's acting within the authority given to the office via the Constitution and Congress There's a bunch of stays issued by federal courts that are based on questioning whether the administration is doing that.
      - LyndsySimon 10y ago
        From my perspective - good. I don't mind sharing that I voted for Trump. I'm not a cheerleader for him, though, my reasons for doing so are limited in scope and he has yet to act to support my interests. That said, all signs seem to indicate that he will do so. The absolute best thing that could come from a Trump presidency is if Congress and the courts were able to significantly restrain the authority of the Executive Branch in general and the President in particular. It has grown far beyond its Constitutional bounds.
        maxerickson 10y ago
        So, uh, what if he is acting outside the scope of the powers given to him by the Constitution and Congress and the courts and Congress don't do enough to stop him? (You know, the premise of the link)
        LyndsySimon 10y ago
        If that's the case, we're too far gone to save the Republic. Do you think we'd have a better chance to save it in four years? or forty? We've clearly been trending toward increased executive power since our founding. If it's too late now it'll be too late later.
        macintux 10y ago
        "I'll vote in a morally bankrupt populist kleptocrat and then argue that if the system can't restrain him it's not my fault."
- 0max 10y ago
  Please refer to the rules for rulers by CGP Grey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs
pasbesoin 10y ago
Two other HN threads with a combined 128 net upvotes were declaried "dupes" and "merged" into this thread. This thread, having right now 8 net upvotes. I agree that the OP post would seem like a conspiracy theory, except that he supports it all with cited reporting. And his point is valid: If and as this does indeed appear to be a coup d'etat, it makes sense to sow deliberate confusion and misdirection (the recent executive orders and rapid retrenchments) while racing to outpace the possible organization and execution of an effective opposition. What the author describes, is aligning with other reporting I'm encountering, although that reporting is not presenting this over-arching perspective on it. It appears Trump is moving to make himself into the U.S.'s Putin.
- LyndsySimon 10y ago
  TFA's cites do not reinforce the primary assertion, that this was a trial balloon for a coup. I honestly see this as a case of a populist President using the levers of power to their full extent, when Presidents have traditionally done so very slowly and carefully.

This should be upvoted way higher. The US Executive's power is being taken over y a small cabal of extremists and kleptocrats. There is extensive history on this type of takeover.

maxerickson 10y ago

US executive power is vested in a single individual to begin with. The issue is whether they are following the law or not. (Advice and consent of the Senate for cabinet positions isn't meaningless, but they instruct the executive by statute not by directives given to cabinet members)

Daishiman 10y ago
The Executive has already made the DHS disobey a court order. If that's not a Constitutional Crisis I don't know what it. This is literally a textbook example of how autocrats take over. It has happened before and all the rules for that game are being played out right now.
- LyndsySimon 10y ago
  This is not new. It's interesting to note that Trump has placed a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office, as there are many parallels between Trump's rise to power and Jackson's. > In a popular quotation that is believed to be apocryphal, President Andrew Jackson reportedly responded: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" This derives from Jackson's comments on the case in a letter to John Coffee, "...the decision of the Supreme Court has fell still born, and they find that they cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate". source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia#Effects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia#Effects A President wielding Presidential authority is not a coup, it's acting within the authority given to the office via the Constitution and Congress. If you believe the President has too much power then I would urge you to be doing all you can to limit the power of the office, not just change who is in it.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    it's acting within the authority given to the office via the Constitution and Congress There's a bunch of stays issued by federal courts that are based on questioning whether the administration is doing that.
    - LyndsySimon 10y ago
      From my perspective - good. I don't mind sharing that I voted for Trump. I'm not a cheerleader for him, though, my reasons for doing so are limited in scope and he has yet to act to support my interests. That said, all signs seem to indicate that he will do so. The absolute best thing that could come from a Trump presidency is if Congress and the courts were able to significantly restrain the authority of the Executive Branch in general and the President in particular. It has grown far beyond its Constitutional bounds.
      - maxerickson 10y ago
        So, uh, what if he is acting outside the scope of the powers given to him by the Constitution and Congress and the courts and Congress don't do enough to stop him? (You know, the premise of the link)
        LyndsySimon 10y ago
        If that's the case, we're too far gone to save the Republic. Do you think we'd have a better chance to save it in four years? or forty? We've clearly been trending toward increased executive power since our founding. If it's too late now it'll be too late later.
        macintux 10y ago
        "I'll vote in a morally bankrupt populist kleptocrat and then argue that if the system can't restrain him it's not my fault."
0max 10y ago
Please refer to the rules for rulers by CGP Grey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs

pasbesoin 10y ago

Two other HN threads with a combined 128 net upvotes were declaried "dupes" and "merged" into this thread. This thread, having right now 8 net upvotes. I agree that the OP post would seem like a conspiracy theory, except that he supports it all with cited reporting. And his point is valid: If and as this does indeed appear to be a coup d'etat, it makes sense to sow deliberate confusion and misdirection (the recent executive orders and rapid retrenchments) while racing to outpace the possible organization and execution of an effective opposition. What the author describes, is aligning with other reporting I'm encountering, although that reporting is not presenting this over-arching perspective on it. It appears Trump is moving to make himself into the U.S.'s Putin.

LyndsySimon 10y ago
TFA's cites do not reinforce the primary assertion, that this was a trial balloon for a coup. I honestly see this as a case of a populist President using the levers of power to their full extent, when Presidents have traditionally done so very slowly and carefully.