Congress has to act. I can’t believe I’ve been teaching US politics all these years, not through rose colored glasses, but with the sense that Congress at least wouldn’t lay down and die.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS!!!!! Be clear. Most clueless people are oblivious that it is Congressional REPUBLICANS. And just saying Congress is misinforming them.
Just like the German parliament in 1933 with the Enabling Act.
The Enabling Act of 1933 was a law passed by the German Reichstag that allowed Chancellor Adolf Hitler to enact laws without the approval of parliament.
It’s a testament to how wrong we can be when overestimating how fukn shitty some people are. A lesson we will continue to learn for the foreseeable future.
You really think any of these clown criminals in the Republican Party are going to stand up against him now. When the human trafficking cases, insider-trading cases and conspiracy cases start coming down most of them are going to jail.
That is never going to happen. They will not be charged with any crimes. They didn't get charged under Biden's admin. That was when that had to happen. Now it is too late. Dems will never win the presidency in dirty elections which is 90% likely now.
But, if I may, you're making the case that it's not too late.
In an autocracy or the like, the legal cases would just hit 'traitors' and enemies of the regime, not most of the ruling party's leaders
That said, I'm really not sure what should be a good comparison.
In all somehow comparable international cases the US were always a factor, often both for stabilizing and destabilizing.
Brexit UK had some extreme rhetorics, but even their wildest dreams of humiliating their neighbors, like German car makers begging for mercy on day one etc., were relatively mild - they were vile towards Ireland and their own peoples but not like the US
No need to call anyone stupid. Perhaps you can share a possible course to get us out of this? The GOP is entirely complicit. The DNC is spineless. The military have forgotten their oaths. It IS too late for millions already. Those of us not yet severely impacted by this shit will be soon enough.
We only need a 3-4 GOP members in each chamber to say “No” and a lot of this can be stopped. They won’t speak up. They are in a death cult and they are taking the country down with them.
Reading Dobbs ruined a lifetime of admiration for hundreds of opinions & dissents I've read.
I expected stare decisis and got a lie about originalism.
Expected erudition and logic.
Expected that SCROTUS wouldn't act like the hateful fuckers they are.
On what..addressing the 37 trillion deficit ..the waste mismanagement and fraud of your services..the woke disease that's kept your country back.. to try and stop WWlll breaking out and end conflicts...you should thank god he's here to save you
Of course they didn’t lay down and die, they stood strong and made trump2.0 a reality. They are complicit criminals hell bent on causing harm to Americans.
They're all multi-millionaires. They'll still have their cushy high-paying jobs. There won't be any more legit elections so it doesn't matter what the public thinks.
It shows the world how Authoritarian Dictatorship is embraced by the Millionaires & Billionaires they crave the power of a society that only cares about them.
May the American Populous rise up & remove every representative from both parties who are NOT working for WE THE PEOPLE & replace them with actual CIVIL SERVANTS who will
We have never had a fascist congress before. No one envisioned actual KKK members, Nazis, and political Evangelicals being voted into power, nor that they would actively work to enable a coup of the constitution and attempt to install a dictatorship.
The House is the worst, imo. They have been overrun with MAGA. Due to a Trump slip-up, Gaetz is out and Stefanik nearly was. That is one place I WOULDN'T want to be a fly on the wall. Mike Johnson should be impeached for treason. He doesn't want to do anything but rubber-stamp a MAGA agenda.
People need to form state and local community based social care systems e.g. co-operative health care systems, community farms,food banks and other social care provision distribution systems to replace the ones the state is destroying
They need to target specific individuals like GOP congressmen who are up for election. They need to fear us more than Trump. General protests let people know we are pissed, but if you are outside the offices or homes of selected people, it tells them we mean you.
I don't understand it. At this point isn't there some rule that if the President is acting against the people, or tanks the economy by a certain amount, Congress can remove him from office or something? They'd been NOTHING but destruction of the people and only miniscule reaction.
It's not Congress broadly. It's Republicans in Congress deliberately surrendering the legislative branch's authority to the executive. Democrats aren't the ones abandoning their constitutional role. Let's name the problem accurately. It matters.
Yes, the Republican party, which controls Congress, is surrendering their power to an autocrat. The Republican party are currently in the process of betraying our country.
The People’s House has MAGA politicians that spout Kremlin Propaganda. With MAGA GOP we are as good as dead. Russia sitting on the sidelines eating popcorn watching US-All burn from their schemes and GOPs greed!
Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson are where we need to focus our wrath. They're not upholding their oath of office. They're cowards, capitulating to the fat orange fucks every whim.
Let's let them know, Do your jobs on behalf of the American people or you won't have one to do!
Read these books by Dr. Bandy X. Lee: The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump and her follow up book: The More Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. Psychiatrists discuss his severe mental illness. He is unhinged and can’t function in the real world. What Trump is doing is madness. Please tell people!
Protests are great, and I'm so proud of what everyone has done so far, but our representatives need to do their jobs: represent us. As of right now, we absolutely have taxation without representation. It's sad, that Americans (including myself) are literally hoping for the stock market to fall...
... hoping that the entire world gives us the biggest fuck you ever and just sanctions us completely to the point where we reach the breaking point because things have gotten so bad. This cannot continue. We're 4 months into this presidency, and we've already almost reached that breaking point.
I expect Republicans will put forward a bill that very lightly and narrowly slaps down Trump's (current) attempt, and it will be loaded with poison pills like "the Department of Education is here by abolished" or "not signing up for self deportation is a deportable felony."
Checks and balances only work when the party in control of implementing them isn’t owned entirely by 47. When we do govt reform, we need to we need to install automatic circuit breakers to prevent this kind of corruption.
Our political and legal systems were not designed to deal with the corporate cost of business culture. Trump acts like most business owners. He decided what he wants to do and then he does it. The courts tell him he can't, so he says "fine me". That's how most CEOs work. They consider the fine a
Part of the cost of doing business. Our legal system can't keep up with him. It wasn't designed to be ignored. Unfortunately, most rich people can afford to ignore the law and pay the fines. This is what happens when you run the country like a business.
I know my congressman isn’t going to act. He supports every single thing the Trump Administration is doing. Then again, Ken Calvert has been a GOP yes man with no independent thought for 30 years.
That said, I’ve made it my mission to chastise him on every platform I can find him on that I have access to. Yes, even Twitter. Letters, emails, phone, social media. And people say be nice but he since he doesn’t listen, do I really need to be nice when pointing out his corruption?
What Congress? In what year? My understanding of civics when the majority rules, the ball is in their court! Please explain to me as your students what power/leverage does the minority party in both HR/Senate have? IMO, explaining the consequences of a vote is more important & why? Just a 💭
Republicans have to act. Please make this clear when talking about what's happening (and what's not happening). It is Republicans in Congress who are letting this happen.
So what is the plan when this is over? New Constitutional Convention so this mess does not happen again? Parliamentary System to force parties to work together? And what about the collaborators? Where will the trials be held?
Those of us who took high school civics and basic college political science flailed for a little bit, and cried out, "but separation of powers!" That's just too naive for the current situation.
We have a separation of parties, not a separation of powers. And institutions (presidentialism, two parties) not designed for that.
Some of the American Gov't (Madisonianism, etc) I was taught as a UCLA poli sci major late last century was already pretty wrong. We just didn't know it yet.
What do you teach about how powerless the minority is and how it’s up to the majority. And what do you teach about what happens when the majority (republicans) are hell-bent extremists who want to accomplish destruction of everything?
The Iraq War was a hint, though. The American separation of powers system is just poorly designed for the modern world. I think political scientists need to spend a lot more time studying why it's a failed system for these times.
It's going to be an interesting historical question to decide what the pivotal points were in the GOP surrendering to Trump and becoming fascist. Paul Ryan and McConnell looking the other way during Russian investigation? 1st impeachment? Jan 6th 2nd impeachment? We can't go back, it's broken.
I’m upset because they won’t act because they actually believe Trump created a great economy, but for Covid. When the actual fact is he did very little when you adjust for Covid!!!! They believe the rhetoric!
Have you considered that a great many of the Democrats in congress actually like that Trump is making the rich even richer, and that they are pretending to be powerless so that they're judged less harshly than they deserve, for enabling such a wannabe tyrant?
Not every Republican is a MAGA; not Grassley, not even McConnell, who, I suspect, might some sort of fear of Hell going on. There are others, too. They just need to see that they need to break ranks
They’ve all pledged fealty and marched in strict formation. Rand Paul might be the only one on tariffs who came out swinging with actual evidence on how damaging they can be. But his worry about not having any majority for 50 years is probably the consequence that haunts him most.
How did you think/talk about the difference between parties? I could see where you'd expect dems to act rationally. Why did you expect republicans to do the same? it seemed pretty obvious they have been on board since 2015 even to a person w/o a strong background in politics.
Before Trump, I believed that both Republicans and Democrats believed in the US Constitution. Now, it is clear that Republicans actually hate our Constitution.
Harriet Tubman 1822-1913 escaped slavery, and helped others do the same while carrying a pistol. She would shoot anyone that did not comply.
During the Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, she was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.
Not laying down dying; actively working to enact Proj 2025 FULLY as they believe to the depths of their craven, rotted souls, it will bring about the 2nd coming of Christ. Convinced that “God” is on their side, they literally anointed that Thing & his narcissism is all they need to push this through
We must empower those govt employees who had their jobs stolen from them to flood the playing field at midterms. Remove all MAGA from Congress! We no longer can allow complicit members of Congress to remain employed while the rest of the country suffers! Period
Republi-CON party has totally ceased to exist. It is now totally the Trump Party. Anyone who doesn't bow to their dear leader is purged..... you know, just like what fascists do!
You poor sweet summer child, Congress right now is like Elon Musk, a ketamine addicted addict, only Congress is huffing exhaust fumes.
Only a small part of its brain is still functioning, and sadly, that part of its brain doesn't have enough ability to shut the car off and open a window.
I really thought capitalist greed would do us a solid with it using the state to protect their wealth- oh my god, does this mean we need to take the state back out? Of all the things I didn’t think Marx was wrong about.
I had this argument with my pops on Nov 5th. He said don’t worry they only care about money. I laughed for 3 minutes solid and cleared a tear from my eye. White adopted dad… you can’t hate money. They are a hate machine first. A ponzi sheme second and incompetent third. No money no matter just hate
I just wish you, the people with no power, would move past your egos just long enough to actually listen to the bad people while they monologue about why they are about to do bad things, instead of thinking they are too dumb to listen to.
Yes! They started dismantling FAA and the airlines have been silent. Medicaid/Medicare and not a peep from the hospitals. FDA and the pharma companies are crickets.
Do they all just think they can ride the dragon and find some upside to the chaos??
Feels hopeless with those fools but truly believe there is still a chance to salvage lots of relations and alliances if they would do what’s best for the people. They have been effectively neutralized no doubt
Not ALL of congress - only the entirety of the gop (except #MoscowMitch) and HALF of the #DNC - the @schumer.senate.gov #Appeasers (AIPAC) and #DoNothings…
Other than a few progressives; MOST of Congress…
Those that did not vote for Trump
That tried to warn what he would do
I do not think that we even thought it could get so bad so quick
We believed that we had three separate branches of Government
We could never imagine that Congress would willing give up their power
And the judiciary would waiver
It would be a good idea for the Musk and side kick Trump Vance regime to step down and let educated and responsible people that KNOW how to run a government put back in charge!
Have been trying to. Heck, even Ted Cruz (THAT guy), said tariffs were bad. I have sent faxes through Franklin’s Kite, because you can’t actually talk to his office. I’ve gotten polite letters back from the feckless John Cornyn in response. I’ve called others,too
..important topics, but all flawed in one way or another.
Good pedagogy would include letting students ruminate on each of these but also revisiting each topic in a follow-up to ensure they understand the reasons why each is flawed.
Mike Johnson abdicated his role. The Republicans have followed him like lemmings. Dems would have to flip some of these cowards. Don’t call it “Congress” it is Speaker Johnson and Congressional Republicans who are water boarding the United States government & its people.
The Supreme Court gave "The President" immunity, not Trump specifically... only. But decorum and a peaceful transfer were more important than protecting human lives??? -They knew what was coming.
Biden should have shot the SCOTUS justices who ruled in favor of immunity, then asked the four surviving justices for a re-count.
-
He was old, and AFAIK verging on senility. Dems could have run a younger candidate, back in 2000.
1/2
Oh, fuck THAT noise. Sanders was too cool for Democrats for decades, then offered to join, but only if Democrats catapulted them to the top of the party, only if he never had to treat Democrats as _peers_, as equals, as colleagues. That's fucking arrogance. You STILL haven't learned the lesson.
2/2
Bernie isn't too left for me. I respect his voting record as Senator. But he is WAY too fucking arrogant, to serve as a Democratic President. HRC was willing to interact _as peers_ with her fellow Democrats; Sanders was not.
-
You're clinging to a Dolchstoßlegende.
to see a female President in my lifetime, I would much rather not have Tr*mp been elected either time.
I'm curious about the German term you used: it translated as
"stab-in-the-back legend." Can you explain what you meant by that?
2/2
I said what I did not because I think Bernie is the end-all, be-all epitome of what the President should be, but because 20/20 hindsight from the past 3 elections shows that Tr*mp was 100% successful against female opponents and 100% unsuccessful against male opponents. And as much as I want 1/
I'm not convinced that everything would be perfectly fine if we had nominated Bernie, but I don't think "He wasn't playing along with our super special secret club!!" is a strong argument against him.
That would indeed not be a strong argument. It's also not the argument I made. If your local farm community needs scarecrows, go help them with your amazing straw-man-creation skills!
Like, they just fully embraced the superego of 1950s segregationist America
Performing hypergender with their tradwife nonsense and TRT. It's soooo transparent. The fact their top intellectual for YEARS was literally a Jungian psychologist is just icing on the cake
The way they project "identity politics" on everyone else, while quantifiably lacking empathy... It's WILD.
Imma just say it. The "eggs" they were complaining about? Yeah, they thought the black lady was talking their huevos 🥚🥚 (okay I'm reaching here, same egg stuff got pushed in UK b4 brexit lol)
Luckily, rfk jr is making "mental health" farms where people with such mental illness can be sent... Who needs migratory workers when you can enslave Americans for wrongthink?
Who cares that our high-skill jobs were actually much more productive! Insiders get free slaves, fuck your 401k
Why would you expect Congress to act? Power concentration is complete—in one man. The end result of a TWO-choice, two-party system the founders warned us against.
Here’s one of the founders, 👇Pres. Washington in Farewell Address, warning us we’d end up with a Trump (“individual”) if we screwed up and allowed power concentration in, first, party orgs, second, in hyper-powerful leadership positions, and then, in the presidency. Fix it!
They have security details. The trans man tortured and murdered in upstate New York earlier this year did not. I have zero sympathy, they need to do their damn jobs.
Far too many fellow sociopathic sadomasochists elected to office by their submissive. The submissive hoping someday to be in congress or sumpin. Dumbasses, you can be a gladiator and fight lions with a pocket knife, that's the closest you'll get to glory.
You didn’t factor in heritage foundation setting us up for all this. From supreme court appointments and decisions, to finding the right Russian asset/stooge they plotted and planned for decades. How do we undo all this now??
Comments
It’s trump or democracy, you can’t have both.
The Enabling Act of 1933 was a law passed by the German Reichstag that allowed Chancellor Adolf Hitler to enact laws without the approval of parliament.
Sitting on their hands is doing the same thing.
If we survive to the midterms, ALL 220 republicans in the house have to go along with 20 in the senate that are up for reelection.
These people are too dangerous to leave in power.
They are all unfit & unqualified.
Don’t be stupid.
In an autocracy or the like, the legal cases would just hit 'traitors' and enemies of the regime, not most of the ruling party's leaders
In all somehow comparable international cases the US were always a factor, often both for stabilizing and destabilizing.
Sorry, I hope we all get thru that somehow
From SCOTUS.
Reading Dobbs ruined a lifetime of admiration for hundreds of opinions & dissents I've read.
I expected stare decisis and got a lie about originalism.
Expected erudition and logic.
Expected that SCROTUS wouldn't act like the hateful fuckers they are.
What appears to be "laying down and dying" is their way to fight for Trump.
If Johnson won't bring some kind of sanity vote to the floor... will there be a call for his ouster?
Worms win.
Now those in his own party either support or fear him. Especially in the House with there 2yr election cycle.
If the House Republicans will not act then Congress neutered.
Not lying bank account fillers
THAT Congress? lol
Need list of top 25 #Republicans w/ most convictions
{past behavior -> present behavior}
With this list we start collecting info on them
Think Hegseth's PUBLIC venmo & transactions with United Health
Anything illegal can be sent to their state AG
Reshare
it's SO FUCKING STUPID!!! GET REAL, America.
He must not be allowed to get away with it.
Money buys the media and propaganda
Money buys the politicians
Money buys power
If you want a democracy that represents the people not the oligarchy
You have to overthrow the oligarchy
When you do, it shows people that they're not alone or powerless, and that people agree with them.
Then, you use that collective pressure to get things done.
Let.their system burn down
Build your own
Then when the.time.is.right
Unify to take.power back.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5236142-congress-tariff-bill-trump/amp/
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5236142-congress-tariff-bill-trump/amp/
https://bsky.app/profile/kyledcheney.bsky.social/post/3lmddtesyts26
Economy deliberately crumbling, global relations souring, stump speeches seem insufficient.
Dems: align, litigate, work the press, reach / engage across political divides.
#makeaplan #takeastand
Let's let them know, Do your jobs on behalf of the American people or you won't have one to do!
Then they'll blame Dems.
To think that business interests would come and save us belies your faith in government.
Some of the American Gov't (Madisonianism, etc) I was taught as a UCLA poli sci major late last century was already pretty wrong. We just didn't know it yet.
Unfortunately.
They know what they are doing.
They have been planning this - literally - for years.
Congress is watching us. For what?
1. Was Saturday a one day event?
2. Assuming they continue, will the events grow in size?
3. What else will we do besides making catchy signs?
I’m a retired engineer, but if you need a sub, let me know.
3.
If Congress would do its job, none of this would be happening.
That’s the Achilles heel of the professors argument.
The entire system is based on everyone doing their jobs.
Especially us.
During the Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, she was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.
I mean, basic concept right? Know the job you are taking.
Then choose a few others and using a city and ZIP Code from their district or their state reach out to more
When it comes to these federal policies that are hurting everyone, anything goes
Only a small part of its brain is still functioning, and sadly, that part of its brain doesn't have enough ability to shut the car off and open a window.
I just wish you, the people with no power, would move past your egos just long enough to actually listen to the bad people while they monologue about why they are about to do bad things, instead of thinking they are too dumb to listen to.
Do they all just think they can ride the dragon and find some upside to the chaos??
I've been stunned the capitalists aren't crying.
Then the funding came back.
Other than a few progressives; MOST of Congress…
That tried to warn what he would do
I do not think that we even thought it could get so bad so quick
We believed that we had three separate branches of Government
We could never imagine that Congress would willing give up their power
And the judiciary would waiver
WE THE PEOPLE ARE F-ING PISSED!
That is different from studying the machinations of governance and having constitutional expertise.
And theories based on "cycles"? They always rest on a single repetitive force.
Reductionism ?
Structuralism ?
Economism ?
Dialectics ?
Good pedagogy would include letting students ruminate on each of these but also revisiting each topic in a follow-up to ensure they understand the reasons why each is flawed.
Advocating exceptionalism?
It is a sophist's dream.
-
He was old, and AFAIK verging on senility. Dems could have run a younger candidate, back in 2000.
Oh, fuck THAT noise. Sanders was too cool for Democrats for decades, then offered to join, but only if Democrats catapulted them to the top of the party, only if he never had to treat Democrats as _peers_, as equals, as colleagues. That's fucking arrogance. You STILL haven't learned the lesson.
Bernie isn't too left for me. I respect his voting record as Senator. But he is WAY too fucking arrogant, to serve as a Democratic President. HRC was willing to interact _as peers_ with her fellow Democrats; Sanders was not.
-
You're clinging to a Dolchstoßlegende.
I'm curious about the German term you used: it translated as
"stab-in-the-back legend." Can you explain what you meant by that?
2/2
Pure id/superego shit. Those memes + the nature of our media makes this super unsurprising.
Their voters are driven largely by their white supremacist identities. Explains why they think tariffs will work, & why they hate experts
Performing hypergender with their tradwife nonsense and TRT. It's soooo transparent. The fact their top intellectual for YEARS was literally a Jungian psychologist is just icing on the cake
Reich was right about fascism
Imma just say it. The "eggs" they were complaining about? Yeah, they thought the black lady was talking their huevos 🥚🥚 (okay I'm reaching here, same egg stuff got pushed in UK b4 brexit lol)
Calling empathy a woke mind disease.
Who cares that our high-skill jobs were actually much more productive! Insiders get free slaves, fuck your 401k
I am kicking my own ass up one side of a Gulag and down the other for not leaving when I could.
http://www.realindependent.com
FTFY
Horrifying.