its a long way off and anything can happen but if dems get power back i hope they understand making the government authoritarian-proof is job number one regardless of how it polls or what it means for the next election
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I have a bad feeling that even if they do get power back they wont do anything with it. They certainly wont impeach trump or even Hegseth. They just let them continue on as they have been
That is job #1 which is why I have absolutely no faith in the Democrats to get it done. The right gets in power and pushes us as far right as they possibly can. The left retakes power, as the pendulum swings back, then just hold us there. Then the right takes power and pushes again…
1 revoke trump security clearance.
2 revoke all trump top secret retaining to national security
3 check all possible locations where trump may hide misappropriated documents.
4 revoke trump security details.
Wishful thinking. If they get it all back, they will have two years in which they will be bickering among themselves and get nothing done. We’ve been there before I’m sorry to say
The core problem is presidentialism. Doing all of these things via Congress handing everything over to the executive branch is inherently dangerous as impoundment has already shown while simultaneously inculcating a dangerous deference and laziness in the legislature.
Substantially all of these things should be done to the extent practicable by legislative agencies and congressionally-controlled corporations subject to legislative oversight and control.
If the only way to achieve something is to hold the presidency literally forever that's not a solution.
They need to be dictators on day one. Every single trump appointee from either term (SCOTUS included) needs to be reviewed for termination and the bar for doing so should be as low as it was for our federal workers.
Dem candidates (and the party) should be working on plans to restore our essential government services when they retake the majority.This is something that can’t wait until they’re back in the majority. Do it now, while Trump’s illegal power grabs are being challenged in the courts.
Ready Day One!
This is a misleading approach. You can't make the government authoritarian-proof. Certainly not in one (half) term.
There's no quick fix that will let us elect fascists, but keep them from doing damage while they control everything.
I think the only real way to fix fascism unfortunately is to experience it every once in awhile and realize just how destructive it is. I am resigned to the fact that this country won't get over it until we have consequences that we cannot ignore.
Not sure any democratic government can be made authoritarian proof. It’s up to the people who elect their leaders to make sure they don’t elect dictator wannabes.
That was a test we failed- but so did the people in Russia, Türkiye, Hungary and many other places.
I REPEAT! DEMOCRATS MUST GIVE AMERICANS A WAY TO EXPRESS THEIR ANGER! NOW! I have suggested a "Dollar for Democracy" nationwide campaign. Our leaders have failed & our allies think we don't care. GIVE US A WAY TO SAY "NO MORE." WE NEED MORE. We can't wait for the next election. WE NEED A WAY NOW!
Silly idea. People protect rights, not legislation by itself. You have many laws in place already, but it is the people - both legislators and regular citizens - who have been asleep at the wheel.
They should have a complete list of every EO.
They should know what changes have been made to government departments and budgets.
They should have plans in place to fix every one.
They won’t. They will come in and try to govern effectively for all Americans as always. Hopefully the press will get it. More importantly hopefully the electorate will never again forget that our democracy is worth saving and will vote accordingly.
And we need to break up the big tech companies, humble them. We need justice for those in the regime committing crimes against humanity by disappearing innocent people. And how about some retribution!
Fundamentally it’s about corruption. The US democratic system is too easy to buy. Too many narrow pockets of power.
- Tight $ gifts & donations controls
- Fixed term Supreme Court
- Fair and balanced reporting rules (including social media)
- President is a ceremonial position only, no power.
It would be a lot easier to keep people from buying elections if it were simply flat out illegal to give money to a campaign or a politician. Publicly financed elections would fix this. Then any cash handed to a politician could be treated as a bribe and both parties could be imprisoned.
I expected that to happen when Biden took office and when it never materialized, I figured it will never happen in my lifetime.
Hell, I've been watching Tx turn blue for 4 decades.🙄
I think the lesson liberals and progressives need to take away from the last few months is grassroots action works. Democrats need to call their representatives, attend protests, whatever is necessary to ensure politicians enact sensible reform. Activism works. Waiting for a hero does not.
Absolutely. If we’re lucky enough to win power back, it can’t just be about undoing damage—it has to be about building guardrails that can’t be ripped out by the next strongman. Democracy shouldn’t hinge on who’s in office. It should be built to survive them.
I don’t have a lot of faith left in most of the Democrats currently. If they want to keep business as usual after the Republicans implode, I’m not about it. They need to get aggressive now and change their strategy or we will be back to the same bs next election cycle….. this didn’t happen overnight
Dems need to educate Americans that what the felon & Mucus & billionaires want is not what we had before 2025. It’s simple & even lazy people should understand it.
a whole bunch of the current ones in office will need to die between now and then, or a few dozen militant leftists will need to be elected. enough to bully them into submission cause those old fuckers aren't changing.
when he didn't get impeached for a coup, that's when it was all over for this iteration of America. after the depression and inevitable bloodshed hopefully we contstruct something better
Right after Booker’s historic speech, Schumer granted unanimous consent for the Big Dick Toilet man to be sent to NATO. Schumer has learned nothing, unfortunately.
the level of damage being done right now means taking extraordinary steps to rebuild our society.
Spending years on simple steps because of 'process' that depends on a long stretch of Dem control can't be the standard.
My opinion, it's not a matter of making government authoritarian-proof, it's a matter of convincing more citizens to pay attention and participate. There are weaknesses inherent in democracy and dirtbags willing to exploit them.
The problem could be that the level of reform needed would to be forced through despite the resistance from the millionaire sellouts in Congress. The worse it gets under Trump, the more the rich will oppose re-establishing democracy and adding safeguards.
Trouble is, in a democracy the people can undo any law or constitution if enough of them want to. Maybe not in a day, but eventually. If they want to trash a democracy, they will.
..it starts with MUCH higher req for running for federal office...
- service in a state legislature or as a mayor or county exec
- 10+ years of tax returns publicly published
- pass a basic FBI background check
- all assets in a blind trust by Inauguration Day or forfeit the office to your opponent
Enshrine everyone’s voting rights:
Election Day should be a national holiday. Eliminate all impediments by any means necessary. Everyone should be automatically registered to vote the second they are old enough. Put voting history & present state in every school’s curriculum every single year K-12.
The Democratic Party can't be reformed in the way it would need to be.
If magically all representatives were replaced with D's today, you'd get Biden-style government ("we're going to appoint Republicans to cabinet!"). They'd do things like rehire 20% of fired employees and call it a day.
At some point you have to just stop wishing for the Democrats to do things that they simply are not going to do, We have had 50 Years of serious Neoliberalist Policy by the Ds' Establishment, they are not going to just change their Minds all at Once. #neoliberalism #CorporateDuopoly
I hope everyone worried / angry / frustrated about the attacks on our democracy turns out this Saturday (4.5.25) to protest the destruction of our democracy. State capitols and major cities.
Near DC? Join us at the Washington Monument at 12.
There is no way to “authoritarian proof” against an entire lawless political party if the electorate supports them. People have to remain vigilant and not, say, elect a convicted felon, known rapist, and insurrectionist and his merry band of hateful freaks to run the government. 1/2
legislative action is the key, I think. have to deal with citizens united, the scope of presidential immunity, clarifying the power of the purse and executive orders... unwinding all this is going to be a slog.
Shoulda done it in ‘21-‘24. The only way to limit government power is when you are the party in power. But you have to be willing to limit power for your side.
But it would take a massive exercise of government power to limit government power.
Nor can the President or Congress impose any real limits that another President/Congress can't undo.
Address the fundamental Constitutional flaw of gathering all enforcement powers under the Executive Branch. Court decisions need real teeth, not a milquetoast entreaty to “please don’t do that.”
The “gentlemen’s agreement” that underpins the law is feckless when people in power ignore it.
YES! But Schumer et al will have to go in order for that to happen. I’ve begun to believe that Nancy Pelosi made Chuck seem stronger than he actually is. She carried him.
Expand Supreme Court to thirteen Justices. Have every case decided by a Supreme Court of Nine chosen randomly. That ensures that no political party can be assured of a bias in their favor. Judges appointed for eighteen year terms with staggered terms. Two replaced every two years.
Any Dem holding national office, or hoping to, needs to understand this: They're first, most important job is to secure our democracy, even if it means impeaching Trump. Any Dem that doesn't understand this better start polishing up their résumé.
I'm not sure how to do that. My best guess is a Dem president comes out and will say, 'I will use the same powers of this office in the way Donald Trump used them until Congress passes a law that blocks me from doing so, at which point I will sign it and stop.'
But another round of corrupt POTUS and majority in Congress puts you right back in the same place. You can’t “authoritarian proof” forever if the electorate gets apathetic and lets a party of lawbreakers break everything again. The work of maintaining democracy is never done
Until The Heritage Foundation is destroyed I fear there will be no "get power" ever again. They are writing all of his EO's and have installed their theocrats and they control the narrative in almost every sector.
Disagree. We need to focus on making government conservative-proof. We must dismantle the conservative institutions and the billionaires that enabled this present moment. They seek to crush us, let’s return the favor.
The problem is that any system you devise requires people to WANT to prevent authoritarianism. There's an entire party right now that had the ability to stop this 4 years ago and impeach a treasonous criminal. And they didn't for political optics.
AGREED! I really wished the Biden admin had done it but I don’t think it had gotten bad enough for pols to be ready for the break glass actions. Seems like we’re getting there now. I really really hope we get a second chance !!!
This was a major failure of 2021-2023. The Dems really failed to force reforms that would have prevented this, like TAKING BACK THE ABILITY OF THE PRESIDENT TO UNILATERALLY ISSUE TARIFFS!!! FFS!
Democrats are fundamentally incapable of acting in a decisive manner. Their temperament dictates that doing too much, too fast, is bad in and of itself, no matter how good and necessary it is, and they'll let their momentum dissipate.
They could start by constraining the use of Presidental Executive Orders. Surely they should only be used in time of real national emergencies, such as war, actual terrorist attack (eg 9.11, not vandalism of Teslas) or national disasters (not just fictitious threats in the mind of a madman)?
Also deem all Neo Nazi white supremacy groups as well heritage foundation and other Anti-American groups as terrorists. Freedom is not free and hate speech is not free speech Evangelicals should be taxed as they act as political activist groups White collar crime is just a crime treat it as such!🇺🇸💪
One piece of that puzzle is greatly curtailing the president's emergency powers. For example, how long does an emergency last? I'd argue 48-96 hours, allowing for an immediate response, at which point Congressional action is required to provide long term solutions.
Yes! But the whole “Congressional action” thing is concerning. Get a fully red Congress like we have and suddenly California doesn’t need our help. There needs to be politics-proof mechanisms that prevent the extreme pettiness Trump encourages (it was there before him but insane of late).
Government Reform is the issue every Dem should be running on. Implement term limits, ban stock trading for those in office, place limits on lobbying, and take steps to ensure nobody else will run for office to get out of going to jail. Real systemic change is needed if we want to have any future.
Yes. But the main thing that must happen is the perpetrators must be punished. All the legislation in the world will not stop the neo-cons from trying again. They should be kicked to the curb and their faces should be kept in the gutter for generations.
they're going to have to hire some ringers from academia to get that done. I can't see a guy who got elected via name recognition because he owns his county's 2nd-largest car dealership having the necessary chops.
We will need to have a very powerful kind of 'truth and reconciliation' or 'presidential crimes' committee, with live hearings, to expose all the enablers w/in govt and media etc. who facilitated this coup.
- end the filibuster
- scotus expansion
- john lewis voting rights act
- arrest the people currently breaking the law
- an unprecedented investment in welfare and entitlements
- restoring the scientific community
SCOTUS expansion will just turn that institution into an arms race. Next time there's a GOP POTUS/Senate, it'll go from 13 -> 21 (or whatever is needed to secure a conservative majority).
One huge thing would be bumping the number of seats in the House. Change it from 435 to like 1,000. Makes the House more "actually representative" as well as the Electoral College (which you're not going to be able to get rid of, so don't even waste cycles on trying).
Maybe but we can't let the what the GOP may do in the future deter just from doing what is good. There are a lot of reasons other than 6-3 balance if the court to expand it.
But you have to ask yourself "is expanding the Court an inherent good", or is it trying to simply secure a political outcome by doing so?
Because there's no way to really perceive it as anything but the latter, in which case the Court will simply become more of a political football than it is now.
Ending the filibuster is necessary, but it actually makes it easier for authoritarians who gain control of Congress and the White House to exercise authoritarian power.
Similarly, SCOTUS expansion is needed, but it's needed to let Dems change laws. It doesn't block authoritarianism.
A great start but the list must start with arresting the people currently breaking the law first to send a swift message to any other potential neerdowells out there.
I see someone already mentioned ridding us of Citizens United but that could take time. Freeze all the oligarchs wealth first.
-Unpack Senate (DC & PR statehood; ideally, 3 Senators/state)
-Unpack House (cube root rule, some form of proportional representation, effectuate 14A2)
-Unpack courts (add new appellate courts; add new seats to all courts; eliminate single-judge divisions)
-Unpack presidential elections (NPVIC)
Yes, and do it regardless of what these fascist bootlickers whine and moan about!
Manchin folded to the VRA because it was "federal over reach," but trump trying to push an EO to control every lever is just fine! They have a MaNdAtE!111
instead simply change how campaigns are financed and ban anyone from giving money to a politician on the basis that it is bribery and we can't tell the difference between a campaign contribution and a bribe. Publicly fund elections. Make bribery a prison sentence.
Thanks for the clarification. Overturning a deeply flawed free-speech decision, while the DOJ engages in mass deportation of people, in the country legally, exercising their free-speech rights, would seem to me top of the list of things to "fascist proof" any government.
Unpacking SCOTUS is a mile above everything else. The most corrupt, fascist SCOTUS in our history can stop EVERYTHING the Dems try to do. I don't care if you have to add 100 judges! And we'll need someone much tougher than Biden or Obama to use the power they have.
Yeah, the problem there is that there are quite a few Laws and Rulings that led up to Citizen's United over 50 Years and you would have to amend them all, it is not just one Legal Precedent. It is like a Tapestry you have to undo not just overrule one Decision https://youtu.be/bbbgfnpJN9w?si=O5Q_RJn0diKUD-zU
Republicans showed us the way: Pass whatever laws you want, repeatedly, completely in defiance of any supposed "precedent," until a later court does what you want.
The roberts court approved of this peculiar jurisprudence, so that's what everything is now.
Yeah, the problem there is that there are quite a few Laws and Rulings that led up to Citizen's United over 50 Years and you would have to amend them all, it is not just one Legal Precedent. It is like a Tapestry you have to undo not just overrule one Decision. https://youtu.be/bbbgfnpJN9w?si=MVdCeFgfdBHv5kz_
You'll never get the 3/4 of states to sign onto an amendment to get rid of the electoral college. Trying to do so is a literal waste of energy that can be spent on things with non-zero chance of improving things. (Like, say, increasing the number of House seats, which then neuters the EC problems)
The GOP is resetting the board, including the what is possible and especially what is necessary right now. We genuinely do not know what Dems will be able to do when they regain power and we don't help anything by insisting it isn't possible.
You'll still never convince 38 states -- many of whom benefit disproportionately from the EC -- to give up an EC voting advantage. Humans act out of "enlightened self-interest" and it's not in (say) Iowa's, Nebraska's (pick your sparsely populated state) interest to give up that advantage.
It's textbook "work smarter not harder". That's not a battle that's worth spending energy on because it has such ridiculously low ROI. *ESPECIALLY* when you can accomplish the same outcome by simply bumping the House to 1,000 seats, which is a simple statute (ie, much more likely to succeed).
Much of what is in this list is the bare minimum of what our allies would demand of us to be considered anything approaching an ally again. As some European minister said, they can't trust their national security to the whims of voters in WI.
Don’t end the filibuster, but make people actually have to talk about the bill the whole time. If they want to pull a Cory Booker, that’s one thing, but they can’t just wave their hands and say “well we could”
Except the US will be in a balance of payments crisis and currency/bond market crisis when the Democrats regain control of the smoking ruins of the economy.
Progressives need to understand that making the presidency authoritarian proof also means you can't expect the executive to implement rapid social change, even for the betterment of society. Congress must take the lead on that with legislation.
We need to add protections to the Constitution to make sure Authoritarianism can’t happen AGAIN. No more CHEATING. Hand counted ballots for all elections (even if it takes two months to count 24/7, it’s worth it)! Trump seems like he WANTS to start WWIII. I hope we all SURVIVE this horror show. ☮️💔💙
The dems will be very happy with whatever authoritarian fuckery they inherit from Trump's time in office. Incoming govs rarely if ever rollback such things.
That Wisconsin supreme court seat is critical to preventing a majority of red states from essentially cheating their way to a permanent majority. It's narrow, and we'll have to fight like hell, but GOP doesn't have enough state-level power to rig the whole game... YET.
Bruh they’re not going to do any of that. One Democrat did one good thing for one day, they’re not suddenly going to stop insider trading and funding endless wars over this.
Yup. And even then, you can't really make it safe to let fascists control the government.
But most things we want them to do are absolutely not going to happen with a couple of votes margin. When one or two pols can derail everything, you don't get big change. Then we blame the whole party.
Even now, we're really not. We're ruled by the caprice of one demented dictator and entire majority party willing to back him.
The system can handle an authoritarian. It can't handle an major authoritarian party. I don't think any democratic system can.
Have you ever read Washington's Farewell Address?
Near the end of his speech he warns about a faction in the govt beholden to a foreign entity captained by an amoral demagogue who hijacks the republic. He (& Madison, who wrote the speech) assuages his audience that the possibility unlikely.
Comments
1 revoke trump security clearance.
2 revoke all trump top secret retaining to national security
3 check all possible locations where trump may hide misappropriated documents.
4 revoke trump security details.
The playing nice that was done under Biden IS why we are here today.
If the only way to achieve something is to hold the presidency literally forever that's not a solution.
Ready Day One!
There's no quick fix that will let us elect fascists, but keep them from doing damage while they control everything.
That was a test we failed- but so did the people in Russia, Türkiye, Hungary and many other places.
They should know what changes have been made to government departments and budgets.
They should have plans in place to fix every one.
If they don’t, they will not get my vote.
- Tight $ gifts & donations controls
- Fixed term Supreme Court
- Fair and balanced reporting rules (including social media)
- President is a ceremonial position only, no power.
Hell, I've been watching Tx turn blue for 4 decades.🙄
You can make governed t work for people and not corporations. That will not create the environment for authortarianism to thrive.
Govern!!!
All the laws in the world wont work when the party in charge of the government simply ignores the laws.
Red-state legislatures will eliminate Democratic-leaning districts, ensuring permanent Republican control.
By 2028, Trump (or his handpicked successor) will run unopposed.
https://medium.com/@aletheisthenes/on-april-20th-2025-the-united-states-will-cross-the-point-of-no-return-0aecac04cfc3
Spending years on simple steps because of 'process' that depends on a long stretch of Dem control can't be the standard.
- service in a state legislature or as a mayor or county exec
- 10+ years of tax returns publicly published
- pass a basic FBI background check
- all assets in a blind trust by Inauguration Day or forfeit the office to your opponent
Election Day should be a national holiday. Eliminate all impediments by any means necessary. Everyone should be automatically registered to vote the second they are old enough. Put voting history & present state in every school’s curriculum every single year K-12.
Job #3 is passing ERA.
If magically all representatives were replaced with D's today, you'd get Biden-style government ("we're going to appoint Republicans to cabinet!"). They'd do things like rehire 20% of fired employees and call it a day.
I hope everyone worried / angry / frustrated about the attacks on our democracy turns out this Saturday (4.5.25) to protest the destruction of our democracy. State capitols and major cities.
Near DC? Join us at the Washington Monument at 12.
Nor can the President or Congress impose any real limits that another President/Congress can't undo.
The “gentlemen’s agreement” that underpins the law is feckless when people in power ignore it.
make it so they can't act like Republicans even when Republicans are in office!
If people keep not voting and voting third-party, we can kiss it all goodbye.
They didn’t do nearly enough under Biden.
But that's no excuse. We have to do everything we can, even if we fail.
They should be already writing now.
#BuildBackEvenBetter
We need something new.
- scotus expansion
- john lewis voting rights act
- arrest the people currently breaking the law
- an unprecedented investment in welfare and entitlements
- restoring the scientific community
Because there's no way to really perceive it as anything but the latter, in which case the Court will simply become more of a political football than it is now.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Similarly, SCOTUS expansion is needed, but it's needed to let Dems change laws. It doesn't block authoritarianism.
-tax the rich
-once the rest of the things are on their way to getting fixed, universal healthcare.
I see someone already mentioned ridding us of Citizens United but that could take time. Freeze all the oligarchs wealth first.
-Unpack House (cube root rule, some form of proportional representation, effectuate 14A2)
-Unpack courts (add new appellate courts; add new seats to all courts; eliminate single-judge divisions)
-Unpack presidential elections (NPVIC)
-Ban police unions
-Professionalize policing
-Eliminate qualified immunity
-Ban police use of chemical weapons
-Eliminate qualified immunity
-Ban autonomous weapons
-Repeal shield law for gun makers
-Ban prison sub-min-wage
-Ban private prisons
-Ban price-gouging prisoners (phone calls, email, media, etc)
-Ban charging prisoners for probation, parole, ankle monitors, etc
-Aggressively enforce 14A3
-Legislate & prosecute stochastic terrorism
-Aggressively prosecute tip/wage theft
-Ban stock buybacks
-Ban NDAs to hide malfeasance
-Impose criminal liability on corp execs for corporate crimes
-Aggressively prosecute public corruption
-Ban & criminalize cryptocurrencies, or at least regulate as gambling
Manchin folded to the VRA because it was "federal over reach," but trump trying to push an EO to control every lever is just fine! They have a MaNdAtE!111
Get f***ed GOP, we're coming.
Because it's a 1st A. decision, it would take getting a similar case to a Court inclined to reject it or getting an Amendment ratified.
I don't disagree with what you're saying, but removing the corrosive effect of that decision isn't an easy project.
The cases that would give an opportunity to overrule CU would probably come quickly.
The roberts court approved of this peculiar jurisprudence, so that's what everything is now.
But most things we want them to do are absolutely not going to happen with a couple of votes margin. When one or two pols can derail everything, you don't get big change. Then we blame the whole party.
We will no longer be ruled by the caprice of one demented dictator.
The system can handle an authoritarian. It can't handle an major authoritarian party. I don't think any democratic system can.
Near the end of his speech he warns about a faction in the govt beholden to a foreign entity captained by an amoral demagogue who hijacks the republic. He (& Madison, who wrote the speech) assuages his audience that the possibility unlikely.