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> The legislature Congress 53/45 R; House 219/215 R > creates the laws, the executive Donald Trump (R) > executes the laws, and the judiciary SCOTUS (5-4 R

by pjc50 9mo ago

> The legislature Congress 53/45 R; House 219/215 R > creates the laws, the executive Donald Trump (R) > executes the laws, and the judiciary SCOTUS (5-4 R) > interprets the laws. So Republicans create, execute, interpret, and enforce the laws. Congratulations on discovering how the party system works. Guess you're Big Poland (PiS) now. You can watch this on the news: Fox (R-Murdoch), CBS (R-Weiss), or read about it in the Washington Post (R-Bezos) (snark aside, the situation where there's popular demand for authoritarianism is very dangerous, difficult to unravel, but like in Poland, it can be done once the public realize their mistake)

Braxton1980 9mo ago
Republicans don't have a sufficient majority in the Senate.
- ViewTrick1002 9mo ago
  They do. The 60 votes requirement is just a handshake agreement 50 votes + the vice president can remove at any moment.
  - klooney 9mo ago
    It's so maddening. They just decided in like 2010 they didn't want to ever do anything again.
    - int_19h 9mo ago
      Doing things puts you on the hook when those things fail. Politically it's much better to keep the limit in place so that you can make virtue signalling votes that are guaranteed to fail. That way you're seen as "doing something" but without having to be responsible for it.
km144 9mo ago
But there is a way for even an aligned federal government to fight back against the slide into authoritarianism, even with an authoritarian president expanding the powers of the executive, and that is for the other branches to strongly advocate for their own power. The problem as I see it is that Congress literally does not care that they are ceding more power than ever before to the executive. Mostly I think this is due to the cult of personality aspect of Trumpism and the idea that you're basically either with him and in the party or against him and out of the party, so it's impossible to drum up support within the party to fight back against the wresting of power. But also it's because the Republican party has no interest in actually passing legislation because most non-budgetary directions they can go will result in incredible cross-pressure (healthcare reform, federal abortion bans, etc). They believe they are better off not doing policy and letting Trump do whatever.
GetTheFacts 9mo ago
>> The legislature >Congress 53/45 R; House 219/215 R It's the Senate, not "Congress". Colloquially, "Congress" usually refers to the House of Representatives. >SCOTUS (5-4 R) > interprets the laws. Actually, it's 6-3, not 5-4. I get that you're not from or live in the US. Please understand, I'm not trying to insult or demean you. But you're making statements that are not true. I believe the term is "FTFY." And you're welcome.
- llbeansandrice 9mo ago
  You are also wrong. Congress is both houses of the legislature. It’s the senate and the house of reps. FTFY
  - GetTheFacts 9mo ago
    cf. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47004438 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47004438
    - llbeansandrice 9mo ago
      If you're going to be snarky you should try being right. You said > "Congress" usually refers to the House of Representatives. Which is incorrect and what I was responding to. Reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your strong suit either eh?
      - GetTheFacts 8mo ago
        Who is your congressperson? I needn't say any more, do I?
      - GetTheFacts 8mo ago
        I'd also add that I said: Colloquially, "Congress" usually refers to the House of Representatives. Colloquial (adjective):[0] 1a: used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation Did you just not know the meaning of that word or did you intentionally decide to ignore it? [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquial https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquial

by pjc50 9mo ago

Braxton1980 9mo ago

Republicans don't have a sufficient majority in the Senate.

ViewTrick1002 9mo ago
They do. The 60 votes requirement is just a handshake agreement 50 votes + the vice president can remove at any moment.
- klooney 9mo ago
  It's so maddening. They just decided in like 2010 they didn't want to ever do anything again.
  - int_19h 9mo ago
    Doing things puts you on the hook when those things fail. Politically it's much better to keep the limit in place so that you can make virtue signalling votes that are guaranteed to fail. That way you're seen as "doing something" but without having to be responsible for it.

km144 9mo ago

But there is a way for even an aligned federal government to fight back against the slide into authoritarianism, even with an authoritarian president expanding the powers of the executive, and that is for the other branches to strongly advocate for their own power. The problem as I see it is that Congress literally does not care that they are ceding more power than ever before to the executive. Mostly I think this is due to the cult of personality aspect of Trumpism and the idea that you're basically either with him and in the party or against him and out of the party, so it's impossible to drum up support within the party to fight back against the wresting of power. But also it's because the Republican party has no interest in actually passing legislation because most non-budgetary directions they can go will result in incredible cross-pressure (healthcare reform, federal abortion bans, etc). They believe they are better off not doing policy and letting Trump do whatever.

GetTheFacts 9mo ago

>> The legislature >Congress 53/45 R; House 219/215 R It's the Senate, not "Congress". Colloquially, "Congress" usually refers to the House of Representatives. >SCOTUS (5-4 R) > interprets the laws. Actually, it's 6-3, not 5-4. I get that you're not from or live in the US. Please understand, I'm not trying to insult or demean you. But you're making statements that are not true. I believe the term is "FTFY." And you're welcome.

llbeansandrice 9mo ago
You are also wrong. Congress is both houses of the legislature. It’s the senate and the house of reps. FTFY
- GetTheFacts 9mo ago
  cf. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47004438 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47004438
  - llbeansandrice 9mo ago
    If you're going to be snarky you should try being right. You said > "Congress" usually refers to the House of Representatives. Which is incorrect and what I was responding to. Reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your strong suit either eh?
    - GetTheFacts 8mo ago
      Who is your congressperson? I needn't say any more, do I?
    - GetTheFacts 8mo ago
      I'd also add that I said: Colloquially, "Congress" usually refers to the House of Representatives. Colloquial (adjective):[0] 1a: used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation Did you just not know the meaning of that word or did you intentionally decide to ignore it? [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquial https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquial