Question for the smarter members?

[DewGuy]

I'll admit I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I'm not the dimmest either. I know that many of the members here are smarter than me, better educated than me, etc.

That brings me to my question: Since Congress seems to be letting him do what he wants, and he is ignoring the Judiciary, etc., is there anything that anyone, the Congress, the Judiciary, the voters can actually do to reign in this insanity?

[numbered]

DewGuy wrote:
...is there anything that anyone, the Congress, the Judiciary, the voters can actually do to reign in this insanity?

It is gonna eventually depend on the Supremes....

--The GOP in congress is afraid of primaries (and maybe even physical violence from the MAGAs) and is unwilling to stand up. There is a bit of leverage for the Dems over the budget in March, but it is going to take an election to have any impact.

--I was encouraged recently by a post about contempt sanctions available to judges (but rarely used.) In particular, judges are able to seize or freeze assets of folks in contempt. Imagine a judge freezing SpaceX finances. There is nothing Trump can do about a judicial contempt citation. And other businesses/banks will follow a judge's orders or find themselves in contempt. (Appellate courts and the Supremes might intervene though)

--the Bond market/stock market might have an impact if things become grave enough. Trump pays attention... and,

--I think citizens will eventually end up in the streets. We shall see if he tries to use the military

I admit these are fairly thin reeds.

[bfd]

Much of this will be adjudicated in lower courts than the SCOTUS. They don't have room on their docket to deal with all the appeals and nonsense are moving through the system right now.

Still, SCOTUS will have plenty of choices when it comes to what they are willing to make a decision about - and it will certainly be a big enough issue that it will subsume some - but likely not all - of these lower level rulings. And those will take months by themselves.

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine. The biggest problem will be just how much of a "wait" will the public will "tolerate". And how much permanent damage to the country and the notion of democracy will be accomplished by these criminals in the meanwhile…

[mattkime]

I worry the only real check is Fox News. Or people turning away from it.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

Sometime all it takes is one person to change history.

[special]

I think citizens will eventually end up in the streets. We shall see if he tries to use the military


This

[mrbigstuff]

He will sign all of the EOs that his henchmen stick in his face (knowing next to nothing about them).

But the test will be of how to fund some of these things that he wants to implement. In other words how does he add and not just subtract? The mechanism of funding the government goes through Congress but if he's able to sidestep that process, no more need for Congress! Ta da! Once it reaches that point we are full on South American kleptocracy.

[Fritz]

-I think citizens will eventually end up in the streets. We shall see if he tries to use the military

yea, that's my discomfort as well. I do not doubt for a second that equalizer practice being held in the forests of our nation are partisan only.
People who are angry all the time are not nearly as adrenalized as those newly angry and displaced.
A purple state is a bad place to be.

[sekker]

The bond market is going to be the real judge of any economic progress - or lost progress - in the next 1-3 years.

Just like the insurance industry is the real judge of the ongoing negative effect of climate change.

If the budget plan follows the Senate proposal, there will be a path forward for citizen input.

But the House budget bill is a middle finger to much of the country and surely looks to be more $$ for the wealthiest.

Ironically, the current resident of 1600 Penn Ave's stated policies are NOT what's in the House bill.

I will follow how the proposal to cut the tax loophole for venture capitalists (the carried interest loophole) fares. 45 and 46 both tried to close it, but special interests kept it alive. Will 47 follow through when he as a VP that's a former VC?

[Fritz]

Vance is VietCong?!?!?
I knew there was something odd about him.