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Love him or hate him, it will be fascinating to see if the democratic institutions of the United States can endure this. He has made it very clear he wants to d
by grecy 2y ago
Love him or hate him, it will be fascinating to see if the democratic institutions of the United States can endure this. He has made it very clear he wants to dismantle as much as he can, including term limits.
Time will tell if the US really is the greatest democracy and can withstand a wannabe dictator, or if he really can subvert it all. It’s going to be a wild four years, and I fear more wall building.
- gadders 2y agoYou think congressional term limits would be a bad thing?
- bagels 2y agoOp is saying that presidential term limits will be removed/ignored, following Russia's example.
- readthenotes1 2y agoHistrionic, but understandable given how many people have stridently compared Trump to Hitler. He's not that powerful
- kzrdude 2y agoThe same thing was done in China a few years back
- sixothree 2y agoHe’s 78. Trump isn’t the real threat too democracy. It might be what he sets in motion that is.
- gadders 2y agoJD Vance?
- gadders 2y agoOP is inventing things. Got it.
- bagels 2y agoThe pieces are all in place. Supreme Court granted immunity, control of Senate and a willingness to recklessly wield power.
- scbrg 2y agoFor someone who doesn't follow US politics that closely (yes, we exist), in what way has he made it clear that he wants to dismantle democratic institutions? Any concrete examples?
- EdwardDiego 2y agoCan the President commit crimes with impunity is pretty anti-democratic. Unless you think Robert Mugabe was democratic?
- mbg721 2y ago[flagged]
- sumo89 2y agoAre you forgetting the whole removing classified documents and storing them in your club house thing?
- mbg721 2y agoYou mean his sports car?
- junon 2y agoYou mean the valid prosecution of crimes Trump committed, for which he was tried and convicted?
- bagels 2y agoThose are only the crimes that have been committed and charged so far. Asking for and being granted immunity, retroactively, is pretty undemocratic. There are more crimes on their way.
- bagels 2y agoHe tried to lead an insurrection four years ago. Has stated that if elected, you won't have to vote again. Has called for removal of broadcast licenses for the press. Has said he'd be pleased if the press were murdered.
- TomK32 2y agoWorst-case we finally find out what Gödel's loophole is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_Loophole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_Loophole
- Blammar 2y agoJesus fucking christ don't give them ideas.
- rkagerer 2y agoSo this guy supposedly found a loophole in the Constitution that would facilitate a legal transformation of the US into a dictatorship, and talked to Einstein about it, but the specific loophole/concern has never actually been published? Sounds like clickbait was already alive and well in the 1940's.
- cardboard9926 2y ago“This guy” revolutionized mathematics and logic by proving Incompleteness Theorems
- timomaxgalvin 2y agoHe was also completely mental.
- TomK32 2y agoDepression as Gödel did suffer from and developed massive anxiety after the murder of Moritz Schlick, deserves a little more respect and above all help. Calling him "completely mental" doesn't help at all.
- joegibbs 2y agoI’m sure there are a thousand ways that the US could become a dictatorship by technically legal means. I’m not sure why Gödel was so concerned about this one method. After all, all governments are made of people and accountable to people - if the people are fine enough with a dictatorship then it could come into existence regardless of legality, and if they hate the idea then they won’t let it happen even if the method is technically legal.
- defrost 2y agoIt's had a good run to date, perhaps even longer than expected. and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administred for a Course of Years, and can only end in Despotism as other Forms have done before it, when the People shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other. ~ Benjamin Franklin, Closing Speech at the Constitutional Convention (1787)
- lawn 2y ago> Time will tell if the US really is the greatest democracy The US voting scheme is far from being the most democratic.
- aucisson_masque 2y agoI think when they say USA is the greatest democracy they re speaking of its size, land size. It's always been a kind of mix between an oligarchy and democracy, just look at the 2 party voting system, extreme wealth required to candidate and the lobbies expenditures. That's very close to the antiquity democracy, they just need to remove woman right to vote (next one after abortion). At least with trump we will have a good laugh once again.
- postingawayonhn 2y ago> I think when they say USA is the greatest democracy they re speaking of its size, land size. I would say it's the greatest based on how long it has endured for and the impact it has had on the world.
- mbg721 2y agoThe things he says he wants to dismantle are bloated executive-branch bureaucracies. If he actually manages to do it (which he didn't during his first term), it would be traumatic for a lot of federal employees, but not exactly the death of democracy.
- defrost 2y agoHe's also clearly stated he wants to remove the licences from media companies that have been critical of him. There's a check list of similar statements he's on record making.
- mbg721 2y agoIf he removed licenses from media companies that were critical of him, there would be approximately 0 media companies, and yet he's on track to win. One of the biggest takeaways from this election is that the populace largely doesn't trust the media.
- ghssds 2y agoUSA's clear separation of powers is a liability in this case. In parliamentary system, where executive and legislative branches are not that well separated, if the executive branch misbehave, a simple vote from the parliament can disband the government. In USA, the impeachment process is lengthy and hard to apply.
- m11a 2y agoIn a typical British parliamentary system, the executive also has majority in Parliament. If the executive doesn’t have parliament, they lose the executive. ‘Impeachment’ in Parliament systems only works when MPs are willing to think for themselves.
- ghssds 2y ago> If the executive doesn’t have parliament, they lose the executive. Not automatically. A minority government of course more at risk of losing the confidence of parliament but it's also a powerful incentive for such a government that want to survive to use cooperation and compromise with the opposition.
- mbg721 2y agoIn a British system, isn't the head of state hereditary, and in theory has no majority or minority because they have a divine right to be there?
- amadeuspagel 2y agoWhich they are apparently are, given how many chancellors the UK went through. Thinking for yourself is a lot easier if the guy you're thinking about is removed from power when you've finished your thoughts.
- dingdingdang 2y ago"and I fear more wall building." - more wall building was instigated under Biden, this is practical reality rearing it's head not the political left/right. *https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67015137 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67015137
- vote4felon 2y agoWe’ve had four years of this man as President. This seems like FUD?
- xenospn 2y agoAmerica as we know it had a good run. But nothing lasts forever.