We say it a lot. We say “Democracy is on the ballot.” It’s clear that some people don’t realize that we really mean it. Everything this nation is built on, it’s bedrock Constitutional foundations are crumbling. It’s all falling apart.
"He already has a Republican Party, a Congress in waiting, that is extremely pro-Trump," Vande Hei said. "All of the restraints, all of the people in positions of power who are his critics, his adversaries, his handcuffs — they're gone. This is a Trump Congress in the House, it's a Trump Congress in the Senate, and you look at what he said he's going to do with that Republican coalition, what he's going to now do with greater immunity. He's been very clear."
"Listen, he is going to use potentially the National Guard and the military to round up millions of people and remove them from the United States," Vande Hei added. "He's going to consider using the military to protect the southern border. He's been very clear that he is going to get rid of people that he deems disloyal, that are civil servants in the United States government.
"He is going to use a unique interpretation of law that he believes he would win in a challenge to get rid of them. They've pre-vetted thousands, potentially tens of thousands of people that they want to bring into the government to do his will, to do his wishes, so that he can move much more effectively and much faster, and imagine that he does win.
"If he wins, the two oldest Supreme Court justices, [Clarence] Thomas and [Samuel] Alito, 76 and 74, the possibility that they could retire in the next term is real. Then you'd have Trump being able to put in two Supreme Court justices, probably in their 50s or 40s, people who would be there for a long time. The end result would be you'd have five justices over the course of his two terms who were appointed by Trump."
Axios laid out the ex-president's plans for another term in a new article that quotes potential vice presidential pick J.D. Vance, a GOP senator from Ohio, saying that few Republicans would stand in the way of his agenda.
"The point of the column is that, love it or hate it, he'd come in as one of the most powerful figures, and he would stress test it immediately," Vance Hei said. "They have very specific plans. This is not the haphazard Trump we covered in 2017. This is a much more organized operation, at least the people in the institutions around him."
Brzezinski agreed that Trump posed a greater threat to democracy than he did the first time around because he didn't even expect to win his 2016 election.
"I think this is devastating and absolutely frightening and absolutely could happen," she said. "As you said, he came in haphazardly. Donald Trump didn't even know he was going to win. It was one day out of an entire year where everything fell into place, and he won the presidency.
"They were, at the last minute, writing a victory speech, you know, scrambling. That's not the case this time. That means every single person that is going to be around him, they're going to plan for that person to make sure that they take the oath."
So, using the Military against Migrants, Protestors and in “Democrat Cities.” Arresting and Prosecuting his enemies in Congress, the FBI and DOJ. He would nationally ban abortion. He would probably ban IVF, Contraception and Birth Control. He would ban DEI. He would institute a “Pro America” educational agenda which would enshrine the Lost Cause ideology. He would outlaw being LGBTQ, ban gender-affirming care, or even talking about the subject. He would ban, and perhaps burn, any book he disagreed with - particularly Science books about Evolution and Climate Change. Required Ten Commandments and School Prayer in the guise of Christian Nationalism and institutionalized bigotry. He would round up anyone who annoys him and dump them off in camps. All of this, and more, has already been implemented in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
And now, thanks the Right-Wing SCOTUS he could do all that with no fear of repercussions or prosecution.
In Sotomayor's view, the impact would be chilling. For the first time she said, in every use of official authority, the president "is now a king above the law."
"Looking beyond the fate of this particular prosecution, the long-term consequences of today's decision are stark," she wrote. "The Court effectively creates a law-free zone around the President, upsetting the status quo that has existed since the Founding."
FILE - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Aug. 17, 2019, at the Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson, Miss.
Sotomayor went on to highlight some of the more severe examples debated during the immunity arguments, saying the majority's guidelines for immunity would give former presidents legal cover in even those circumstances.
"The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the country, and possibly the world. When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority's reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution," she wrote. "Orders the Navy's Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune."
Many people have said when we talk about Trump abusing his power that the “system” will hold him in check. Well, during his first term, it did. People in Homeland Security and in the Pentagon pushed back. They told him “We can’t do that - it’s illegal.”
Now, it’s not illegal anymore.
Now, when they say that, he can say - “I don’t care.”
When they say “You’ll be Impeached.” He can legitimately say - “I already have been, twice.”
He won’t stop crime. He won’t stop drug abuse. He won’t solve homelessness. He won’t close the wage gap. He won’t close the wealth gap. He’ll just make everything worse.
Nothing will hold him back. Nothing will slow him down. Nothing will deter him.
He’ll openly engage in every wild and nutty fantasy he’s ever had. And there are lots of them. Dozens of his former staffers say that he’s totally unfit for office.
How did Biden react to this ruling?
He stated that he rejects this additional power. He will not push the boundaries of legal theory. He will not violate the law even if he has so-called “Immunity” for doing so.
The only person you can trust with the Keys to the Kingdom is the person who would put those keys away and not use them.
He’s not perfect, but he’s not the alternative.
I just found this interview of Biden by Propublica from 9 month ago (about the time he gave a deposition to Robert Hur) which shows just how present, conscious and attentive he was at the time. More than that he’s asked very specifically about Trump, MAGAs and their combined threat to Democracy. It’s interesting hearing how clear-headed he thinks.
He’s going to do another interview on ABC this Friday.
Dark Skies on the Horizon is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
You can join me debating the issues and the facts inside the belly of the beast on my Facebook Group: Army for Truth.
Have a listen to my new Vocal Cover — "Dreams" originally recorded by Van Halen with Sammy Hagar
And check out my new Patreon where you can download copies of my covers and original songs. You can also stream tracks from my previous Solo CD from ReverbNation.
Biden needs to give more speeches and have more talks like that. Preferably without any cold medicine in him.