Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
Trump is doing a coup exactly the right way.
He didn't declare it, and he didn't look for a judicial approval for anything. He's moving fast on all fronts, too fast for an unorganized opposition to realize what's happening and do something.
He's already acting as if the coup has already happened. Him and his administration are already doing obviously illegal things, and even going directly against the constitution. (The president can not give orders that are in conflict with what congress has decided, so he can't just for example shut down the funding for anything that has congress approval.)
He could of course ask the congress to rubber stamp his decisions, but that would be a bad move, as it would imply the congress has power over his decisions.
The plan (certainly not his plan, but the plan of his administration) seems to be mostly working. People in government are already acting as if Trump has the power to do what he wants, and that belief is what makes power real.
Basically the plan I laid out in this thread at one point. Replace the government administration with loyalists who will do what they are told, and then all he needs from congress is to not get in the way. He doesn't even need a majority of the congress behind him, he just needs enough support to keep congress from actively getting in his way.
The way he's going after army and intelligence leadership is what makes it really, really obvious that he's doing a coup, because those are the other main organizations that could get in his way.
What ever happens, I think we can say goodbye to democracy as we knew it. Doesn't mean a different democracy won't come out of this crisis, but classical liberalism will not survive this challenge.
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Unorganized opposition is an understatement. Which inspirational leader is going to stop him? Chuck Schumer? T
The Democrats need to respond at both the micro and macro levels but probably view these tasks as too daunting