Experts in constitutional law and the military say the Insurrection Act gives presidents tremendous power with few restraints. Recent statements by former President Donald Trump raise questions about how he might use it if he wins another term.
  • Ranvier@sopuli.xyz
    323·
    1 year ago

    Too bad the house is controlled by fascists who will prevent any amending of this law. And shame on the democrats for not foreseeing this and trying to get some amendments through when they had the chance (assuming the Republicans in the senate would have let them, since Manchin and Sinema refused to buck the filibuster for any reason).

      • Ranvier@sopuli.xyz
        51·
        1 year ago

        You’re right, I forgot about that case. Though that was a weird one that didn’t hinge on those two, and was a one time deal struck with Mitch McConnell and ten other Republicans. And so would have been able to overcome a filibuster anyways. So the bill for the filibuster one time exemption had technically 61 in support, so was a bit of a fake exemption. It was a way for Republicans to vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling but technically they could say they didn’t, because the debt ceiling bill itself they later voted against (even though they had voted to lift the filibuster requirement from that bill). It was all optics. I doubt the Republicans would have allowed an insurrection act amendment to be tacked on.

        Manchin and Sinema also did oppose filibuster exemptions when it actually counted for many other things, including voting rights, abortion rights, DC and Puerto Rico state hood, among other democratic priorities.

        • burntbutterbiscuits@sh.itjust.works
          33·
          1 year ago

          And Joe Biden never called them out on it either. In fact as they voted against so called priority after so called priority, Biden called them his good friends again and again.

          • Ranvier@sopuli.xyz
            4·
            1 year ago

            He was trying to get them to go along with his plans? He was initially attacking them openly and got nowhere. Playing nicer worked in the case of Manchin. Manchin initially told Republicans he was done and wouldn’t work with Biden on a deal any longer. Then he came around and finally agreed to a $739 billion deal with Biden, including the most funding for climate change ever passed. I suppose Biden could have kept trash talking from the bully pulpit to make you feel better, but I’d prefer the hundreds of billions in climate change spending. I’m surprised Biden got anything through at all with Manchin and Sinema obstruction.

            We’re very lucky Manchin or Sinema didn’t just switch parties outright and totally kill chances of passing anything at all. It was a tenous situation. The pivotal senator switching parties and giving control to the other party has happened before in a split senate like that (50-50 Republican Democrat). Biden hurling insults at them wouldn’t have accomplished anything. He even tried it for a bit and Manchin just clammed up. You can bet the Republicans were offering both of them tons of benefits to switch.

  • silence7@slrpnk.net
    4·
    1 year ago

    This is incredibly concerning because he’s also planning to purge the civil service and military of anybody who might object. It’s a recipe for a rapid and total end to democracy in the US.

    • Gumby@lemmy.worldEnglish
      291·
      1 year ago

      Just like he was never going to win in 2016 in the first place?

    • AliLunaCat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      271·
      1 year ago

      His supporters tried to forcefully make him president when he lost the election in 2020. If he loses this next election, they’ll probably try again, and possibly with better results since it’s clear we won’t try very hard to stop them

      • IamRoot@sh.itjust.works
        610·
        1 year ago

        It is not clear that “we won’t try very hard to stop them”.

        In fact, we are now prepared to stop them.

          • donuts@kbin.social
            71·
            1 year ago

            Not to mention a SCOTUS who he appointed 33% of, and potentially more if he takes power again.

    • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
      211·
      1 year ago

      He will not return.

      Up to you Americans to ensure this will be true.

    • AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world
      174·
      1 year ago

      Why? Because the US is noble and benevolent?

      Please. Go to your nearest ALL AMERICAN tent city where we leave our own neighbors to die of exposure and police brutality for the crime of being sub optimal capital batteries and then wax poetic about how we’ll do the right thing in the end.

      I’ll vote for Biden again, just as I did Clinton before that. I do so as if I am attending a funeral. There is never a candidate in either of the only 2 major parties worth voting for, only degrees of greed enablers. I do so out of a feeling of duty to try to influence the least harm of all bad options.

      Most Americans don’t have such a sense of duty in the face of bleak options though. I’m voting for Biden, but I’d bet on Trump winning, because our people are awful.

      Not their fault, our owner class has used their media they own and educational curriculum they set from Kindergarten to Colleges of Economics to turn us into greedy little gremlins that hate and work against one another (muh healthy capitalist competition!) for private profit and necessary division of their livestock. But we still are horrible, hateful, petty, spiteful, selfish people, not a society in any meaningful sense as a result. Thats why we got Trump once, that’s why he has a strong chance again. Remember what his brand is. Remember what his gameshow was about? Yeah, that’s who we are. Wealth class sycophants begging for daddy oligarch’s approval. Then we wonder why our leaders are almost entirely for sale through their pacs.

      • centofEnglish
        61·
        1 year ago

        Damn that last paragraph is spot on.