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Post 31 Jan 2017, 2:39 pm

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... source=fbb

Elsewhere, RJ asked for parallels for what Trump might bring. David Frum has come up with a set that are similar to what I would have given - Hungary and Poland I had thought of, anyway.

The US has has 200 years of democracy (or 50 of full suffrage), and a long tradition of institutions. Most other examples do not have that, or did not, before sliding into to a form or tyranny. On the other hand, institutional strength relies on the will to retain it. And checks and balances rely on people to activate them. The length of time that the US has been able to avoid tyranny may just lead to complacency.

There have been times when Presidents have over reached - Lincoln and FDR did it - but had the cover of real crisis, wartime or major economic crisis. The US is engaged in hostilities and there are threats, but not perhaps enough to justify suspension of habeus corpus, or internment as the Japanese-Americans were subject to. And the economy is not in crisis, nowhere nearly where it was 9 years ago or in the 1930s at any rate.

My concern, I guess, is that the partisanship that has grown and deepened will mean that Democrat reaction will give Republicans an excuse to forgive or demur over Trumpian overreach, and weaken some of the checks on the Executive.
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Post 02 Mar 2017, 7:56 am

danivon wrote:Democrat reaction will give Republicans an excuse to forgive or demur over Trumpian overreach, and weaken some of the checks on the Executive.


I agree. One thing that has amazed me is how easy of a time Trump has had it with some Republicans, who should be hating him, but are not. Since Dems hate him, Republicans that should be hating him, can't because then they're acting like Dems.

We'll see if this Russian influence business takes us anywhere, because that may be something that will bring some Republicans out, but it remains to be seen if that scandal fully flowers.
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Post 02 Mar 2017, 8:59 am

geojanes
We'll see if this Russian influence business takes us anywhere, because that may be something that will bring some Republicans out, but it remains to be seen if that scandal fully flowers.


If there is an independent prosecutor, then there is every chance that it will. There's certainly enough already known, even without getting Trumps tax returns.
And with Sessions problems today (perhaps unto perjury) more Republicans are calling for an independent prosecutor.
I was stunned by Darryl Issa on Friday calling for just that (before Sessions perjury problems) AND suggesting that health care needs to be modeled after other nations that have been more successful than the US in delivering health care. When Darryl Issa starts sounding like Bernie ...

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/ ... index.html
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Post 03 Mar 2017, 12:22 pm

geojanes wrote:
danivon wrote:Democrat reaction will give Republicans an excuse to forgive or demur over Trumpian overreach, and weaken some of the checks on the Executive.


I agree. One thing that has amazed me is how easy of a time Trump has had it with some Republicans, who should be hating him, but are not. Since Dems hate him, Republicans that should be hating him, can't because then they're acting like Dems.
Indeed. The Democrats have responsibility for how they react, but also the Republicans have a responsibility for how they do as well - or fail to.

We'll see if this Russian influence business takes us anywhere, because that may be something that will bring some Republicans out, but it remains to be seen if that scandal fully flowers.

I think it is unlikely to fully flower, let alone bear fruit, to be honest. I am sure there are links and circumstance, but there won't be a smoking gun. Unless someone has been incredibly stupid, and that presumes there is something to find in the first place.

To be honest, I think that Trump's business dealings, especially those where he stands to profit while in office, will be the Achilles Heal for him. And that could involve any foreign nation, not just Russia.