Saturday, September 19, 2020

The Danger Of Fascism With The Death Of RBG

 I try to avoid these terms like "fascism," but it has become clear that Donald J. Trump actively seeks to become an at least authoritarian leader of the US, indeed openly arguing that the Constitution's limit of only two terms should not hold for him.  We face a clear danger of a contested election that may end up in the Supreme Court. If Trump can put a flunky into the court before the election we may have them putting him in despite a situation where he has clearly lost. And given his recent behavior, backed by a friendly SCOTUS, he would be in position to impose a fascist dictatorship in this nation.

I also note that she died on Rosh Hoshanah, and in the Jewish tradition this is a portentious time to die, with one doing so being especially blessed.  I do not know how all this will turn out, and I can think of scenarios where her death at this time may lead to a more progressive future, but she was a very great woman deserving of the most profound respect and admiration, who should rest in the greatest of peace.

Clearly Mitch McConnell hypocritically seeks to impose a Trump appointee before the election, or if not then, during the following lame duck session.  So far Romney (R-UT) and Murkowski (R-AK) have said they will not go along with this, but two more GOP Sens must step forward to block this. That may happen.  But if it does not, then the Dem senators must simply shut the Senate down, which I think is about the only thing they can do, given that the filibuster was abolished (by Dems)for judicial appointments. But I think they can simply bring the whole place to a halt, and it may come to that.

Barkley Rosser

12 comments:

Fred C. Dobbs said...

R.I.P, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 'Notorious R.B.G.'

Polls Have Shown Voters Prefer Biden to Pick Next Justice

NY Times - September 19

... in the aftermath of the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There’s no way to know exactly what will unfold, but a closer look at recent polls, including new New York Times/Siena College surveys, does provide reason to think that Joseph R. Biden Jr. might have as much — or more — upside on the issue than President Trump.

What voters say on picking the next judge

In Times/Siena polls of Maine, North Carolina and Arizona released Friday, voters preferred Mr. Biden to select the next Supreme Court justice by 12 percentage points, 53 percent to 41 percent. In each of the three states, Mr. Biden led by just a slightly wider margin on choosing the next justice than he did over all.

Similarly, a Fox News poll last week found that voters nationwide trusted Mr. Biden over Mr. Trump — by seven points — to nominate the next Supreme Court justice. Here again, Mr. Biden led by a slightly wider margin on this issue than he led Mr. Trump.

Among issues favorable or unfavorable to the two candidates, appointing a Supreme Court justice ranked somewhere in the middle of those tested by the survey. It was a better issue for Mr. Trump than handling of the coronavirus or race relations, but a much better issue for Mr. Biden than the economy or law and order.

So far this year, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump have tended to gain when the national political conversation focuses on their best issues. If the pattern holds and the most recent poll results are representative, it’s not obvious whether either candidate will benefit from a focus on the Supreme Court.

A closer look at the results suggests there might be some upside for Mr. Biden among persuadable and low-turnout voters. Voters who either weren’t backing a major-party candidate or who said they could still change their mind said they thought Mr. Biden would be better at choosing the next justice by an 18-point margin, 49 percent to 31 percent. And voters who said they weren’t “almost certain” or “very likely” to vote said they thought the same by an even larger 52-23 margin.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Mr. Biden will retain a lead on the issue. Perhaps Mr. Trump’s standing on the issue will benefit if he rolls out a popular nominee. But another divisive fight over the Supreme Court might also prove to be the kind of exhausting, partisan conflict that leaves many voters seeking a more bipartisan approach to politics. That might be good news for Mr. Biden, who enjoys a commanding lead on which candidate would do a better job of unifying America. ...

Fred C. Dobbs said...

Trump says supporters could 'demand' he not leave office after two terms

via @usatoday - June 16, 2020

WASHINGTON — In tweets on Sunday morning (June 14), President Donald Trump suggested supporters might not want him to leave office after two terms.

"The good news is that at the end of 6 years, after America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT)," Trump wrote.

The president had also been criticizing the Washington Post and the New York Times, calling them "both a disgrace."

Trump has talked about the issue before. In March last year, according to a recording obtained by CNN, he told a closed-door fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago that "maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day," in reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping's abolishment of term limits. It was unclear if the comments were made in jest. ...

Fred C. Dobbs said...

Trump suggests he would 'negotiate' a 3rd term as president

because he is 'probably entitled' to it

via @businessinsider - September 13

President Donald Trump on Saturday once again suggested interest in serving three terms in office, telling attendees of a campaign event in Nevada that he was "probably entitled" to an additional four years following a hypothetical second term.

"And 52 days from now we're going to win Nevada, and we're going to win four more years in the White House," Trump told the mostly maskless, non-socially-distant crowd of his supporters on Saturday. "And then after that, we'll negotiate, right? Because we're probably — based on the way we were treated — we are probably entitled to another four after that."

Trump has frequently argued that he's been treated unfairly in comparison with his predecessors, often pointing to the Russia investigation and his impeachment. Throughout his first term as president, Trump has also frequently floated the idea that he will attempt to serve more than two terms in office. ...

2slugbaits said...

In the past Sen. Grassley said that he would not go along with it as well. And Sen. Collins has expressed reservations. Indeed, in Collins' case she has every reason to see that McConnell never gets the nomination to the floor. Regardless of how she votes she will be toast. If she votes against the nominee, then she'll lose her GOP base support. If she votes for the nominee, then she'll almost certainly lose her re-election given the overall strength of the Democrats in Maine this year. FWIW, I think Collins' best bet would be to tell McConnell that if he goes forward with the nomination, then she will announce before the election that if re-elected she will join Sen. King and switch to an independent and caucus with the Democrats in 2021. That's probably the only way Collins survives if the nominee comes to the Senate floor for a vote. And Democrats should quietly make it clear to McConnell that D.C. and Puerto Rico would like to become states.

Fred C. Dobbs said...

Biden "approves" clip of Trump saying "you'll never hear from me again" if Trump loses

Newsweek - September 20

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has welcomed President Donald Trump telling a rally "you'll never see me again" should he suffer defeat in the 2020 election.

Addressing supporters in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Trump raised the prospect of losing to Biden—telling supporters he would not know what to do in such a situation.

"If I lose to him, I don't know what I'm gonna do," he said. "I will never speak to you again, you'll never see me again." ...

Fred C. Dobbs said...

(Just spit-balling here...)

"Trump suggests he would 'negotiate' a 3rd term as president

because he is 'probably entitled' to it

President Donald Trump on Saturday once again suggested interest in serving three terms in office, telling attendees of a campaign event in Nevada that he was "probably entitled" to an additional four years following a hypothetical second term." ...

(Sometime late in his second term, Trump could use one of
his secret powers, issuing an executive order creating the
post of 'Chairman of the Board of the USA', and appoint himself
to the position, which would be lifetime obviously, ceding the
presidency to Mike Pence. If done before his second term is
half-over, Pence would be eligible to serve as president
for 10 years altogether. Perhaps he might then take
over the Chairman's seat after that.)

Fred C. Dobbs said...

Democrats See a Glimmer of Hope Over Supreme Court Fight

in Arizona’s Senate Race

TUCSON, Ariz. — Democrats have almost no power to stop a pre-election vote on President Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, but they see a glimmer of hope in a bank-shot scenario if they capture a Senate seat in Arizona in the November election.

If Mark Kelly, the Democratic nominee, wins, he could be seated in the Senate as early as Nov. 30, six weeks before the other winners are sworn in, according to elections experts from both parties. Mr. Kelly currently leads Senator Martha McSally, a Republican, in the polls.

There are many ifs: If the Arizona results can be rapidly certified, and if Senate Republicans hold a confirmation vote in the postelection lame-duck session and if three Republicans defect, Mr. Kelly could cast the deciding vote to defeat Mr. Trump’s as-yet unnamed pick to the high court.

Such a scenario is possible (if not probable) because Ms. McSally, who was sworn in in 2019, was appointed, not elected. The Arizona Senate race this year is a special election, and under state law the winner can be seated pending a final review of the election results, known as a canvass, completed at the end of November. ...

Fred C. Dobbs said...

"If done before his second term is half-over,
Pence would be eligible to serve as president
for 10 years altogether."

Correction: If done after Trump's 2nd term
is half-over, un-elected President Pence could run
for election & re-election, and possibly serve as
president for ten years, under the 22nd Amendment.

marcel proust said...

Read the text of the 22nd amendment (Yeah, yeah, wikipedia, but I think it is safe to cite it here. Also I include only section 1 as section 2 is irrelevant to my point).

Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Consider the following scenario. Trump wins the electoral college in 2020, so serves a 2nd term through 1/19/2025. If a Pence-Trump ticket were to win in 2024, Pence could be sworn in at noon on 1/20/2025 and resign immediately. Trump having been sworn in as vice-president immediately beforehand would then be sworn in as president, legally if not legitimately, since he would have been elected to the office of president only twice. He could do repeat this stunt as often as he pleased. could this go on all day and night it could you know and it just might

rosserjb@jmu.edu said...

It now looks like Trump will ram through a nminee who will get onto the SCOTUS prior to the election, which heightens the probability of him messing with the election and staying power even if he loses. The scenario of him halting vote counting and being backed by SCOTUS if he is ahead on election eve, quite possible given his backers voting on election day, looks more likely now.

Anybody who wants their vote counted better go vote in person on Nov. 3. No others may get counted. I shall be doing so.

Fred C. Dobbs said...

Battlelines are being drawn over Judge Barrett’s nomination

NY Times - September 26

... While it is possible that the nomination could energize Democratic opposition amid a presidential campaign, Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in an appearance on MSNBC that Mr. Trump’s choice could improve his chances of re-election.

“This pick helps,” he said. “I think the Biden campaign and the Democrats need to be smart about how they approach this nominee.”

In a tweet on Friday, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, called Judge Barrett “a legal trailblazer” who respected the country’s founding principles.

Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, a teacher’s union, said in a statement on Friday that Judge Barrett had “sided with the powerful against workers, allowed racially segregated workplaces, ruled in favor of Trump policies harming immigrants, and against those seeking to protect women from sexual assault.”

Fred C. Dobbs said...

"If done after his second term is half-over,
Pence would be eligible to serve as president
for 10 years altogether."

It has been suggested elsewhere that there is a
loophole in the 22nd Amendment which would permit
Trump to run as Pence's VP in 2024, and resume the
presidency once Pence steps aside.