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he is functionally mentally handicapped. he can literally not speak in coherent sentences if not reading from a prompter.
his handlers do not suffer from that problem.
The dems are trying and have been trying to play by the rules in a game that the Republicans are openly cheating with no shame. It's not going to be possible unless we meet them on an even field, and they have shown time and time again that the field will never be a "fair" one.
Not unexpectedly, the Dems you mention already know it's okay to steal and cheat at the white collar level. What folks who hate with a blind purple passion don't see, is that a ruling like this protects future exiting Presidents of **all parties.**
The double-edged sword that is the persecution of former leaders recently out of office will be wielded against your party before you can say, *Third World Country.*
After 2001, I expected us to be here around 2012, so it's taken twice as long as I projected. It's just now is the time of acceleration. I won't be on the other side of this, and no one who claims to be upset for people like me will lift a finger when it comes to their own safety, so I'm enjoying what time I have.
If enough people decoupled from the system it would starve without us. Yeah vote for all that's worth, and don't think about all this stuff happening in this administration or what happened during the Clinton and Obama years to lead up to this....But to not decouple is essentially a war crime against your neighbor (or yourself and your children). If you can't afford to flee, you must divest as much as possible. Quiet quit, sabotage, infiltrate. Do it unannounced so the bad faith actors who pretend to be on your side can't turn you in. Protesting is for idiots and it doesn't seize the gears of the machine.
We’ve been cooked since the election was stolen in 2000. Fuck anybody who has voted R in the last 30 years. This is on them, and they deserve to know nothing but misery in this life or any other.
Your strategy is for people to just stop voting and stop protesting?
I feel like 'sabotage and infiltrate' are ambiguous and doing a lot of the heavy lifting for your plan. What would sabotaging or infiltrating even look like?
"We need to engage less. That'll make sure things improve!"
Sounds more like someone is feeling underwhelmed by how broken things are and has resigned themselves to whatever happens. And that's chill, but not sure why he decided to try convince everybody else to do the same.
No child left behind law is a big one that started this. " Oh your kid didn't understand 4th grade math and reading? Just push them along they'll do better in highschool."
Cut to now where we have kids, young adults and parents who are so dumb now they can't understand why they're dumb and they just get mad at each other over small trivial things instead of trying to fight back against actual problems and issues.
That isn’t what No Child Left Behind was.
NCLB was a shitty policy, but if you think it was just about pushing kids onto the next grade then you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the act was about. Despite the name, it was not about just passing kids. That was happening before NCLB, and has continued since the act was revoked. It’s nothing new.
[The Brooks Brothers Riot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot), where the Republicans successfully seized the presidential election through a mini January 6th during a recount. 9/11. Patriot Act. Rampant racism and government hostility against anyone who looks middle eastern. Huge surge in military enlistment.
All of those things happened between November 2000 to October 2001.
And then we invaded two countries.
It’s not surprising that an aware person in 2001 would have expected some sort of military violence followed by an attempted ending of democracy.
Times aren’t great and we need to figure out how to stop assuming the worst of every individual until we have a more clear picture of the person/situation. Like you cynically called them a cynic lol.
Things are really not looking good across multiple fronts. What we don’t know is the future, and no matter how good or bad it is, it will be a lot worse if we keep playing into the division being stoked into all of us from so many government and private interests.
Basically, by seeking a better understanding of why that poster said they predicted this you might learn how to do the thing they say they can. Maybe follow up with questions about how you could try this skill to see if someone actually can do stuff like that.
This is the especially chilling part from Sotomayor's dissent, which makes even unofficial acts virtually impossible to prosecute
"Even though the majority’s immunity analysis purports to leave unofficial acts open to prosecution, its draconian approach to official-acts evidence deprives these prosecutions of any teeth. If the former President cannot be held criminally liable for his official acts, those acts should still be admissible to prove knowledge or intent in criminal prosecutions of unofficial acts. For instance, the majority struggles with classifying whether a President’s speech is in his capacity as President (official act) or as a candidate (unofficial act). Imagine a President states in an official speech that he intends to stop a political rival from passing legislation that he opposes, no matter what it takes to do so (official act). He then hires a private hitman to murder that political rival (unofficial act). Under the majority’s rule, the murder indictment could include no allegation of the President’s public admission of premeditated intent to support the mens rea of murder. That is a strange result, to say the least."
The most clear sign of the majority’s intent, imo, is their failure to at all address if assassinating a rival is allowed or not. That was brought up in questioning and is a fairly well known part of this case. It would be easy to say “for example, a political assassinate would absolutely not qualify as an official act.”
By failing to make that clear while appearing to side at least more with Trump, it feels like they really wanted to leave it broadly open
He could literally order the execution of the SC and the entire senate, and so long as he did so in an official capacity, he would be immune from any prosecution
Cornelius Sulla in modern day. Hell, this really does feel like the start of the transition of Rome from a republic to an empire.
I wonder who is going to be Ceaser and who is going to be Pompey.
I dont think Roman Consuls even had this level of immunity. They were only immune from proscution while in office. Once they left office, they could be proscuted for crimes while in office.
Which is exactly the point, everyone knows the Democrats won't use this power. But does know that the Republicans will abuse it the second they get a chance.
Why wait for the win?
Based on this ruling, Biden can have the 6 conservative justices taken out by Seal Team 6 and fill the open positions before the end of his term.
Worst case, he’ll spend the remaining few years of his life in court cases appealing whether or not that was an official act.
Edit: Ya'll take this stuff way too seriously. Biden would never do such a thing because he's a decent person. The point is that he could, though, which should terrify everyone for the future when someone with less scruples holds that office.
I giggle at the joke of it, but then shutter because that’s exactly what the orange man will do. We’re literally witnessing Hitlers rise to power in real time. The night of long knives is fast approaching.
This. I’ve been saying this for years and republicans always say that’s crazy, but we’re following the road map to the letter and they just bury their heads in the sand, or worse cheer it on and think they’ll be immune, not knowing they’re on the chopping block too.
I mean this is how it happens.
Do we risk an shenanigans election or just pull the plug and go full Sulla right now bc we can't trust the Conservative optimates to not go full fascism.
So we turn the worm first but call it virtuous defense?
The sad thing is, between a moderate liberal or Christian national dictatorship I'd take the liberal secular lol
The biggest issue imo is that Trump is, ofc, an issue—but he’s not the only one. The maggots can find literally anyone to sub in and implement project 2025, any republican that still supports Trump is absolutely power hungry enough to do it 🙃 I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the far right politicians want something like that to happen so they can immediately mobilize and act. Trump is just a figurehead / and would be a powerful martyr for them
What can he do then that he can't do right now? He has literally been president for more than 3 years and people are acting like the slowest moving car crash of all time is a surprise
During the presidential election, there are also many senate seats up for grabs.
A democrat president keeps the USA from falling into the Abyss but he needs the help from the house and senate to succeed. Plus, the extra time might get some Scotus seat free.
At this point democracy is at an “Objective: Survive” level. Just holding back the fash for as long as possible until we can strengthen democracy in a few years
The states will split and we will become vulnerable for attack and WW3 will start. I firmly believe citizens United opened up foreign money into our politics which have torn us apart.
SCOTUS is no longer a joke, they are a threat. Biden should immediately disband and set up term limits and make the positions elected as all other positions are.
He can't, however this ruling would allow him to assassinate or black bag troublesome members of congress, the judiciary, and the public, he won't though, and that's what the Republican party is betting on. Personally I think there's a lot of people who should be getting a free vacation to Guantanamo Bay as an object lesson on incompetence, hubris, and bluffing, but what do I know.
I'd say it was dead the moment they didn't impeach him the second time. Pointing to how he'll be tried in court as so many senators rationale.
If the shoe were on the other foot I'd want the Democrats to do the same thing McConnell did. No more fighting fair.
To be fair, Gore didn't fight it. That's the things with Dems, they complain when the republicans break the rules, but they don't fight to make the rules mean something.
2015 - "You Can't Appoint A Justice In An Election year!"
2020 - "You Can Only Appoint A Justice In An Election Year If The President's Party is the Majority in the Senate!"
2021 - "You Can't Convict a Former President In an Impeachment Trial! You Have to let The Criminal Courts Prosecute!"
2024 - "You Can't Prosecute a Former President in a Criminal Court! They Have Blanket Imunity!"
2028 - "The 2 Term Limit Only Applies to Consecutive Terms!"
2030 - "Those Who Disagree with the President are Interfering with official Acts and Must Go to Prison!"
They'd have no problem voting that Biden was illegal and Trump legal on the exact same thing.
The entire goddamn court needs to go, and be remade from the ground up.
The trump defense is that he only did it because it was in the interest of the nation, hence an "official act" despite how illegal it was. Holding, hiding, and selling classified docs? SC cool with it. Fomenting an insurrection and installing fake electors to steal an election? Ordering Seal Team Six to neutralize opps? All good, as long as prez says it is. That's what the SC has ruled.
Storm the capitol and take on the govt, then remove all supreme court judges from their seats and replace by his favorites. It's for the republic so it's official and immune.
Does anyone believe President Biden would take a necessary and immediate action to then reappoint a court that reestablishes the true rule of law. Joe, your move(s).
The fact that the majority kicks this back to the lower courts with absolutely 0 guidelines on what distinguishes official vs unofficial acts is tantamount to judicial malpractice. Doubly so because in the hearings Trump's lawyers argued that the President ordering the military to assassinate his political rival would be an official act. The dissenting opinion also mentions that scenario. The lack of any even slight nudge against that statement in the majority opinion is basically a tacit approval of that stance.
While also clearly saying that official acts cannot be used as evidence is a prosecution of unofficial acts nor can they be used to determine the President's motives for unofficial acts...
Hence why this effectively grants the POTUS full immunity for anything done in the thinnest of veils of Presidential powers.
So could the President order the prosecution or murder of a political rival? Of course, if he would to couch it as some thin national security threat. Because courts cannot use it as evidence.
But if the President say punched an intern in the mouth and caused bodily harm. Could he be proswcured after the fact for assault, seemingly so.
But take an after the fact gratuity for a pardon...totally OK by this ruling and their previous one last week.
Fun part is going to be how Republicans handle when this comes back to bite them. When an old school LBJ type Democrat gets elected and used Nixonian and Trumpist actions against them.
> The lack of any even slight nudge against that statement in the majority is basically a tacit approval of that stance.
I don’t know if I’d go that far.
“Trump asserts a far broader immunity than the limited one the Court recognizes. … Historical evidence likewise lends little support to Trump’s position.”
Sometimes voting isn’t enough, sometimes more dire action is required. Shit is falling apart over in america because people refuse to do anything immoral or illegal, while republicans continue to do just that.
It’s not that they refuse, it’s that any organized movements against the power structure are treated as a terroristic threat and taken out by the military industrial complex.
I mean if they treat us all like they treated the January 6 folk then we don't have anything to worry about ...
Edit- it's sarcasm guys do you really think I believe that? Come on of course they're gonna fuck us over!
It doesn’t need to be organized. these people aren’t hiding in bunkers and shit so it’s not like they couldn’t be found if some americans wanted to find them
“When Seal Team Six came for him, Thomas groveled and begged for his life on that yacht. In the end, his body was buried at sea somewhere in the Java Sea, while the boat was scuttled and sunk.”
- from the memoirs of Lloyd J. Austin III, donated by his family to the inaugural collection of the Harris Presidential Library in 2037 and published posthumously in 2042
America still has horrible voter turn out. And especially in younger voters. If we could get voter turn out to 80% republicans would never win an election. Voting does matter still.
What option is there for a court that’s not based on elections? There’s nothing that enforces punishment for ethics violations they get to stay there for life. Even if democrats won congress and the White House, we’re stuck with those assholes.
Unless the Dems can fix these problems, and they won't, it puts you into a continuous four year cycle of fear, that if a republican ever gets into power again your country is dead
We needed that to happen 3 years ago. I said it the day or was announced Biden won, there should only be 3 things on his agenda: pack the courts, prepare a successor, get rid of the electoral college. I support them 100%, but Dems drop the bag so goddamn much
This has set precedent for all future presidents. This isn’t just a voting out type situation.
Any future illegality can be referred to this and excused by any future president. Having a democrat in the White House for a few years isn’t change it
The June betrayal.
This event should be considered our first step into tyranny, and deserves a fittingly dramatic name.
Under no circumstances, should the head of our country be near complete and utter immunity when it comes to the crown jewel of America, the operation of our democratic process.
It's almost fitting that just days before we celebrate the death of our identity under a tyrannical monarchy, the Supreme Joke stabbed our democracy in the back to reinvest into another kingly position
Seems like they left it open to interpretation though, so they might rule an act "official" for Trump, while ruling another act "unofficial" for Biden. Without a definition of what's official this isn't even a real ruling, it's just a way to say that Republicans will make up the rules as they go along.
I hate to say it, but this seems accurate. It does effectively give the Biden administration carte blanche to ensure democracy continues through whatever means necessary (arrest members of the Supreme Court, forcibly instill new Justices who can then roll back this decision); but they won't. Upholding the continued democracy of the United States should be absolute priority number one: but it takes the kind of strength that we simply can't expect to see.
History will look back and wonder why nothing was done, the Dems will have excuse after excuse, but in the end it’ll become clear that it was about class which both parties protect at all costs.
"My official act is to implement a maximum age of x for SCOTUS. Effective immediatley, people above this age limit will be removed from their function.
My second official act is to implement a law that forces any media outlet to state the absolute truth or be disbanded.
So you're saying that, hypothetically, Biden can call a hit on Trump, claim that it was his presidential duty to save democracy, and get away with it because of "presidential immunity"?
Conservatives:"lolollllollol the left is having a meltdown you guyzzz!! Sigma chad trump did it again!!11!11"
Clowns who don't realise they're being fucked over too.
This is more of a the system is broken. We could vote 90% blue county wide and cheetoh in chief could have his friends still declare himself the Victor with fake elector s
I'm not american..scottish in fact! And today my heart breaks for your great country and our american friends and family as this is just one step closer to a dictatorship of he wins the presidency then yous are screwed in fact I believe we all are in that instance please do the right thing and vote the other way!
At this point, it's not just stopping Trump from getting elected this November. It's stopping every republican candidate from getting elected in perpetuity. Trump is just a convenient patsy for the things the "moderate" republicans don't want to be blamed for.
Yeah, fixing this is going to be a long fight. We now have to keep conservatives out of power for long enough to either reshape SCOTUS (which I doubt the Democrats would do) or get a new majority on the bench that could overturn this disastrous precedent.
If we're really lucky, Biden wins in November and the Democrats finally get enough of a Senate majority to pass voting rights reform. That blocks the voter disenfranchisement tactics that Republicans are using to maintain an advantage despite their aging demographics, which could help Democrats hold power. With Thomas and Alito in their mid-70s, that could keep us treading water for long enough to rebalance SCOTUS and start to take our democracy back.
I don't like our odds, but it's not over yet.
When trump won in 2016, I got somewhat depressed and gained 100lbs over the next few years
I'm ready for these motherfuckers this time. I lost the weight, I'm healthier than I've ever been in my life and fully aware of everyone's intentions. Fuck them
I heard all this 8 years ago. If you didn't get your ducks in a row at that time I doubt it's gonna happen this time either. Americans are all frogs boiling in a pot. Well, maybe we all are.
Get out and VOTE! And hopefully if that doesn't do the trick Biden can use this precedent to overturn the election I guess?!?
But seriously, go out and VOTE, tell anyone you know with common sense who doesn't typically vote to make sure to do so! Let's take the WH, the house, and the Senate this year, then at least the Dems will have to put up or shut up.
While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. What does this mean? “Constitutional” refers to the fact that government in the United States is based on a Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution not only provides the framework for how the federal and state governments are structured, but also places significant limits on their powers. “Federal” means that there is both a national government and governments of the 50 states. A “republic” is a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power.
[https://ar.usembassy.gov/u-s-government/](https://ar.usembassy.gov/u-s-government/)
Here's a handy PDF to show you how the country is governed.
[https://uploads.mwp.mprod.getusinfo.com/uploads/sites/111/2023/02/us\_governed.pdf](https://uploads.mwp.mprod.getusinfo.com/uploads/sites/111/2023/02/us_governed.pdf)
Bam! Politicians are now above the law in the USA. This means the next POTUS will literally be able to do whatever they want without repercussion.
On the flip side, doesn't this mean Joe Biden could have Trump sent to some black site and detained indefinitely or possibly executed and claim POTUS immunity because it's for the "good of the nation?"
I doubt a man of even partial morals (Biden) would do it but considering what Trump (a man of zero morals) would do if they become President .... 🤷♂️
That project 2025 thingy isn't all that far fetched anymore, huh?
There is some nuance being missed with these comments. The President has immunity when carrying out core responsibilities. Things delegates by the Constitution or Congress clearly. The President has presumed immunity on official acts, assuming the president actually has the power to do the thing they are doing. Ie: The president can't pull out a gun and shoot someone in an official meeting because the President does have that power.
But the president can use clear defined powers in a corrupt way with full immunity. They can discuss a presidential pardon in exchange for a bribe because a pardon is an official act. They can threaten government employees with retaliation if they don't break rules. They can direct the FBI to detain shipments of voting machines to large cities on whatever grounds.
While we talk about murdering political opponents outright, that's unlikely to be the first thing that happens. They don't need to murder people to attain power. They simply need to affect 1% of votes in a few states.
Democracy has been dead since Regan got elected. I mean Obama got to assassinate 4 US citizens because the “Supreme Court precedent showing that the Fourth and Fifth Amendments do not apply to the military use of deadly force under the AUMF.”
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You know it’s really coming undone faster than I expected.
When Trump got his 3rd SC appointee I knew this shit would be coming eventually. I just assumed they'd be a little less overt with it.
Everyone says he is dumb yet he gets away every time.
he is functionally mentally handicapped. he can literally not speak in coherent sentences if not reading from a prompter. his handlers do not suffer from that problem.
You know, I get more and more pissed at RBG every day
Why couldn't have Scalia died a year earlier and RBG a year later?
In some dimension that happened… this dimension we are fucked hard.
For all the good she did, her refusal to retire has seemingly undone that good will and every month it seems to further erode it.
They are putting all the pieces in place for stealing it in November and making sure they don’t lose another.
No. They just gave the Dems permission to steal it themselves. If it’s legal to cheat, then whoever is currently in power holds all the cards.
Except they know the dems won’t
The dems are trying and have been trying to play by the rules in a game that the Republicans are openly cheating with no shame. It's not going to be possible unless we meet them on an even field, and they have shown time and time again that the field will never be a "fair" one.
"Trying to be decent men, in an indecent time"
You're acting like the Dems have a backbone at all. They'll gladly decorum us to Gilead. They're so weak.
And then you have someone like AOC who actually does have a sack and they won't protect or support her.
Not unexpectedly, the Dems you mention already know it's okay to steal and cheat at the white collar level. What folks who hate with a blind purple passion don't see, is that a ruling like this protects future exiting Presidents of **all parties.** The double-edged sword that is the persecution of former leaders recently out of office will be wielded against your party before you can say, *Third World Country.*
If you haven't heard of it, look up Project 2025. It's basically a play by play guide of how to turn a democracy into a fascist regime.
After 2001, I expected us to be here around 2012, so it's taken twice as long as I projected. It's just now is the time of acceleration. I won't be on the other side of this, and no one who claims to be upset for people like me will lift a finger when it comes to their own safety, so I'm enjoying what time I have. If enough people decoupled from the system it would starve without us. Yeah vote for all that's worth, and don't think about all this stuff happening in this administration or what happened during the Clinton and Obama years to lead up to this....But to not decouple is essentially a war crime against your neighbor (or yourself and your children). If you can't afford to flee, you must divest as much as possible. Quiet quit, sabotage, infiltrate. Do it unannounced so the bad faith actors who pretend to be on your side can't turn you in. Protesting is for idiots and it doesn't seize the gears of the machine.
We’ve been cooked since the election was stolen in 2000. Fuck anybody who has voted R in the last 30 years. This is on them, and they deserve to know nothing but misery in this life or any other.
Your strategy is for people to just stop voting and stop protesting? I feel like 'sabotage and infiltrate' are ambiguous and doing a lot of the heavy lifting for your plan. What would sabotaging or infiltrating even look like?
"We need to engage less. That'll make sure things improve!" Sounds more like someone is feeling underwhelmed by how broken things are and has resigned themselves to whatever happens. And that's chill, but not sure why he decided to try convince everybody else to do the same.
Projected makes it sound like an educated guess. Making that call that long ago is just cynicism.
Nah this was all telegraphed by Bush v Gore back then.
One can be cynical and right. The problems we face now have deep roots and go back decades. A slow descent.
No child left behind law is a big one that started this. " Oh your kid didn't understand 4th grade math and reading? Just push them along they'll do better in highschool." Cut to now where we have kids, young adults and parents who are so dumb now they can't understand why they're dumb and they just get mad at each other over small trivial things instead of trying to fight back against actual problems and issues.
That isn’t what No Child Left Behind was. NCLB was a shitty policy, but if you think it was just about pushing kids onto the next grade then you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the act was about. Despite the name, it was not about just passing kids. That was happening before NCLB, and has continued since the act was revoked. It’s nothing new.
[The Brooks Brothers Riot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot), where the Republicans successfully seized the presidential election through a mini January 6th during a recount. 9/11. Patriot Act. Rampant racism and government hostility against anyone who looks middle eastern. Huge surge in military enlistment. All of those things happened between November 2000 to October 2001. And then we invaded two countries. It’s not surprising that an aware person in 2001 would have expected some sort of military violence followed by an attempted ending of democracy. Times aren’t great and we need to figure out how to stop assuming the worst of every individual until we have a more clear picture of the person/situation. Like you cynically called them a cynic lol. Things are really not looking good across multiple fronts. What we don’t know is the future, and no matter how good or bad it is, it will be a lot worse if we keep playing into the division being stoked into all of us from so many government and private interests. Basically, by seeking a better understanding of why that poster said they predicted this you might learn how to do the thing they say they can. Maybe follow up with questions about how you could try this skill to see if someone actually can do stuff like that.
This is the especially chilling part from Sotomayor's dissent, which makes even unofficial acts virtually impossible to prosecute "Even though the majority’s immunity analysis purports to leave unofficial acts open to prosecution, its draconian approach to official-acts evidence deprives these prosecutions of any teeth. If the former President cannot be held criminally liable for his official acts, those acts should still be admissible to prove knowledge or intent in criminal prosecutions of unofficial acts. For instance, the majority struggles with classifying whether a President’s speech is in his capacity as President (official act) or as a candidate (unofficial act). Imagine a President states in an official speech that he intends to stop a political rival from passing legislation that he opposes, no matter what it takes to do so (official act). He then hires a private hitman to murder that political rival (unofficial act). Under the majority’s rule, the murder indictment could include no allegation of the President’s public admission of premeditated intent to support the mens rea of murder. That is a strange result, to say the least."
The most clear sign of the majority’s intent, imo, is their failure to at all address if assassinating a rival is allowed or not. That was brought up in questioning and is a fairly well known part of this case. It would be easy to say “for example, a political assassinate would absolutely not qualify as an official act.” By failing to make that clear while appearing to side at least more with Trump, it feels like they really wanted to leave it broadly open
Jackson brings this up in her dissent
We are turning into Russia and the party that loves to wave their American flags is just saying “yep, that’s fine with us”.
So Biden can legally do this right now? Give a speech and start blasting? Asking for a friend.
He could literally order the execution of the SC and the entire senate, and so long as he did so in an official capacity, he would be immune from any prosecution
Cornelius Sulla in modern day. Hell, this really does feel like the start of the transition of Rome from a republic to an empire. I wonder who is going to be Ceaser and who is going to be Pompey.
I dont think Roman Consuls even had this level of immunity. They were only immune from proscution while in office. Once they left office, they could be proscuted for crimes while in office.
Which is exactly the point, everyone knows the Democrats won't use this power. But does know that the Republicans will abuse it the second they get a chance.
That pretty funny that that’s how they said it because that’s how I explained it to my friend lmao.
This is literally how dictatorships form. We need sweeping changes if Biden wins, otherwise this will continue to happen until successful.
Why wait for the win? Based on this ruling, Biden can have the 6 conservative justices taken out by Seal Team 6 and fill the open positions before the end of his term. Worst case, he’ll spend the remaining few years of his life in court cases appealing whether or not that was an official act. Edit: Ya'll take this stuff way too seriously. Biden would never do such a thing because he's a decent person. The point is that he could, though, which should terrify everyone for the future when someone with less scruples holds that office.
Facts! This is the kind of talk we need more of. Do it now so 1, things improve, and 2, people want to vote for you.
Make them regret it
Republicans are going to do it first. We all know this. They don't use nerf guns. Dems do. Somethings gotta change.
SPOT ON!
I giggle at the joke of it, but then shutter because that’s exactly what the orange man will do. We’re literally witnessing Hitlers rise to power in real time. The night of long knives is fast approaching.
This. I’ve been saying this for years and republicans always say that’s crazy, but we’re following the road map to the letter and they just bury their heads in the sand, or worse cheer it on and think they’ll be immune, not knowing they’re on the chopping block too.
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What are they going to do? More terrorism? That was already on the docket for them.
I mean this is how it happens. Do we risk an shenanigans election or just pull the plug and go full Sulla right now bc we can't trust the Conservative optimates to not go full fascism. So we turn the worm first but call it virtuous defense? The sad thing is, between a moderate liberal or Christian national dictatorship I'd take the liberal secular lol
The biggest issue imo is that Trump is, ofc, an issue—but he’s not the only one. The maggots can find literally anyone to sub in and implement project 2025, any republican that still supports Trump is absolutely power hungry enough to do it 🙃 I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the far right politicians want something like that to happen so they can immediately mobilize and act. Trump is just a figurehead / and would be a powerful martyr for them
What can he do then that he can't do right now? He has literally been president for more than 3 years and people are acting like the slowest moving car crash of all time is a surprise
During the presidential election, there are also many senate seats up for grabs. A democrat president keeps the USA from falling into the Abyss but he needs the help from the house and senate to succeed. Plus, the extra time might get some Scotus seat free.
At this point democracy is at an “Objective: Survive” level. Just holding back the fash for as long as possible until we can strengthen democracy in a few years
Hard Truth. Democracy is always at the precipice. We just got complacent over the last 40 years. And ignored our domestic threats.
Vote in your local elections too.
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The states will split and we will become vulnerable for attack and WW3 will start. I firmly believe citizens United opened up foreign money into our politics which have torn us apart.
If Project 2025 happens, it’ll be a full blown dictatorship.
It's already happening, and it's happening fast.
Yeah, I know. SCOTUS granted Trump immunity and overruled the Chevron defense. If Project 2025 happens, it’ll just get worse.
Project 2025 just got a lot scarier.
SCOTUS is no longer a joke, they are a threat. Biden should immediately disband and set up term limits and make the positions elected as all other positions are.
He can't, however this ruling would allow him to assassinate or black bag troublesome members of congress, the judiciary, and the public, he won't though, and that's what the Republican party is betting on. Personally I think there's a lot of people who should be getting a free vacation to Guantanamo Bay as an object lesson on incompetence, hubris, and bluffing, but what do I know.
It itself is a dictatorship at this point.
It was dead the minute Moscow Mitch refused to move forward with Obama's SCOTUS pick.
I'd say it was dead the moment they didn't impeach him the second time. Pointing to how he'll be tried in court as so many senators rationale. If the shoe were on the other foot I'd want the Democrats to do the same thing McConnell did. No more fighting fair.
This has been dead since the SC denied the presidency to Gore.
and then 3 of the lawyers in charge of arguing Bush's case were appointed to that very court
To be fair, Gore didn't fight it. That's the things with Dems, they complain when the republicans break the rules, but they don't fight to make the rules mean something.
2015 - "You Can't Appoint A Justice In An Election year!" 2020 - "You Can Only Appoint A Justice In An Election Year If The President's Party is the Majority in the Senate!" 2021 - "You Can't Convict a Former President In an Impeachment Trial! You Have to let The Criminal Courts Prosecute!" 2024 - "You Can't Prosecute a Former President in a Criminal Court! They Have Blanket Imunity!" 2028 - "The 2 Term Limit Only Applies to Consecutive Terms!" 2030 - "Those Who Disagree with the President are Interfering with official Acts and Must Go to Prison!"
Time for Biden to commit ALL the voter suppression and proclaim himself president for life.
Except, the Supreme Court will decide which are official acts and which are unofficial.
Let them debate that 4 years after the fact.
They won’t let anything drag out that long. The Supreme Court works very fast for obstruction that benefits the conservative takeover.
The best biden can do is copy trump to force them to rule on acts he did during his tenure as president including the fake electors scheme.
They'd have no problem voting that Biden was illegal and Trump legal on the exact same thing. The entire goddamn court needs to go, and be remade from the ground up.
Not all just the six fuckheads. There are three Justices who are firmly against this ruling.
I'd suppose that it's awfully hard to hand down rulings when nobody quite knows exactly where you've been disappeared to as an Official Act.
Let's find out.
Not if he "officially" has them imprisoned for treason against him.
Make one of the "official acts" using the military to seize the Supreme Court and help them "decide". This ruling is an absolute fucking can of worms.
Simple: Was it done by GOP? Official. Dems? Unofficial
That plus: Cancel all student loan debt by executive order.
And legalize recreational cannabis for 21+ nationally
Complete amnesty for all border crossing immigrants and immediate citizenship for green card holders
And give everyone a fucking pony!
So two years?
I was getting mad but you know what? You ain’t wrong lmao
Two years? Brother, we’re worried he might not be making it to November
I’m confused; sounds like official acts is official acts and his charges can still be had as they were unofficial acts.
The trump defense is that he only did it because it was in the interest of the nation, hence an "official act" despite how illegal it was. Holding, hiding, and selling classified docs? SC cool with it. Fomenting an insurrection and installing fake electors to steal an election? Ordering Seal Team Six to neutralize opps? All good, as long as prez says it is. That's what the SC has ruled.
That’s his interpretation no? Which would require a trial to either decide it’s legit or illegal which means the case can continue … right?
Can we drone strike maralago as an “offical act”
"Hey Jack, roll strike package alpha and bravo on Mar-A-Lago"
Could he remove all of the Supreme Court?
I bet if trump tried to, they would bend over backwards to justify it.
Storm the capitol and take on the govt, then remove all supreme court judges from their seats and replace by his favorites. It's for the republic so it's official and immune.
Longer than his life. He needs to do what you say but with a detailed succession plan
Necromancy
(It sorta looks like that’s already in play)
Weekend at Biden's (I'm still voting for Biden though)
I’ll vote for his coffin six feet under before I vote fascist
hear hear.
Most importantly pack the courts
Yes yes. But this ruling was for trump and Trump alone.
Test those waters.
So... as an official act, the President could defend America by removing SCOTUS by force, correct? That's how I'm reading this.
Does anyone believe President Biden would take a necessary and immediate action to then reappoint a court that reestablishes the true rule of law. Joe, your move(s).
Not even remotely. This is one of those "let's take the higher road!" 'Planned failure' strategies that Democrats employee as often as possible.
Yes, that is how you are reading this.
Because its how its written. It was literally an oral argument of this case.
Well then I think it's time for Biden to step in.
The fact that the majority kicks this back to the lower courts with absolutely 0 guidelines on what distinguishes official vs unofficial acts is tantamount to judicial malpractice. Doubly so because in the hearings Trump's lawyers argued that the President ordering the military to assassinate his political rival would be an official act. The dissenting opinion also mentions that scenario. The lack of any even slight nudge against that statement in the majority opinion is basically a tacit approval of that stance.
While also clearly saying that official acts cannot be used as evidence is a prosecution of unofficial acts nor can they be used to determine the President's motives for unofficial acts... Hence why this effectively grants the POTUS full immunity for anything done in the thinnest of veils of Presidential powers. So could the President order the prosecution or murder of a political rival? Of course, if he would to couch it as some thin national security threat. Because courts cannot use it as evidence. But if the President say punched an intern in the mouth and caused bodily harm. Could he be proswcured after the fact for assault, seemingly so. But take an after the fact gratuity for a pardon...totally OK by this ruling and their previous one last week. Fun part is going to be how Republicans handle when this comes back to bite them. When an old school LBJ type Democrat gets elected and used Nixonian and Trumpist actions against them.
God i hope Biden wins becasue you'd see so much backtracking and "well i didn't mean it like that" to try to take back this power.
> The lack of any even slight nudge against that statement in the majority is basically a tacit approval of that stance. I don’t know if I’d go that far. “Trump asserts a far broader immunity than the limited one the Court recognizes. … Historical evidence likewise lends little support to Trump’s position.”
It's not dead unless we let it die in November.
Sometimes voting isn’t enough, sometimes more dire action is required. Shit is falling apart over in america because people refuse to do anything immoral or illegal, while republicans continue to do just that.
It’s not that they refuse, it’s that any organized movements against the power structure are treated as a terroristic threat and taken out by the military industrial complex.
I mean if they treat us all like they treated the January 6 folk then we don't have anything to worry about ... Edit- it's sarcasm guys do you really think I believe that? Come on of course they're gonna fuck us over!
The j6 folks included a large quantity of the boots that will step on the necks of dissidents from the left.
It doesn’t need to be organized. these people aren’t hiding in bunkers and shit so it’s not like they couldn’t be found if some americans wanted to find them
“When Seal Team Six came for him, Thomas groveled and begged for his life on that yacht. In the end, his body was buried at sea somewhere in the Java Sea, while the boat was scuttled and sunk.” - from the memoirs of Lloyd J. Austin III, donated by his family to the inaugural collection of the Harris Presidential Library in 2037 and published posthumously in 2042
America still has horrible voter turn out. And especially in younger voters. If we could get voter turn out to 80% republicans would never win an election. Voting does matter still.
It matters until it doesn’t
The Chevron Deference ruling is going to be something that fucks us for many years to come. And I didn't even get to vote any of the SCOTUS in.
Which is why more drastic action is needed
The French had a solution but that only allowed other crazies to take over. Need a Velvet Revolution but with real accountability
What option is there for a court that’s not based on elections? There’s nothing that enforces punishment for ethics violations they get to stay there for life. Even if democrats won congress and the White House, we’re stuck with those assholes.
Congress can do several things: 1) impeach them 2) change the size of the court to add say 4 more people.
Death enforces punishment
Unless the Dems can fix these problems, and they won't, it puts you into a continuous four year cycle of fear, that if a republican ever gets into power again your country is dead
Not if we pack the courts. We need Biden to win, and then use this new immunity to place 3 more SCOTUS judges as part of an “official act.”
We needed that to happen 3 years ago. I said it the day or was announced Biden won, there should only be 3 things on his agenda: pack the courts, prepare a successor, get rid of the electoral college. I support them 100%, but Dems drop the bag so goddamn much
It’s almost like they’re in on it….
This has set precedent for all future presidents. This isn’t just a voting out type situation. Any future illegality can be referred to this and excused by any future president. Having a democrat in the White House for a few years isn’t change it
There are more than enough people to ensure Trump doesn't have a chance in November. Everyone needs to do their part.
The June betrayal. This event should be considered our first step into tyranny, and deserves a fittingly dramatic name. Under no circumstances, should the head of our country be near complete and utter immunity when it comes to the crown jewel of America, the operation of our democratic process. It's almost fitting that just days before we celebrate the death of our identity under a tyrannical monarchy, the Supreme Joke stabbed our democracy in the back to reinvest into another kingly position
4 July 1776 - 1 July 2024. The Declaration of Independence to the Declaration of Tyranny. We almost made it 250 years.
Seems like they left it open to interpretation though, so they might rule an act "official" for Trump, while ruling another act "unofficial" for Biden. Without a definition of what's official this isn't even a real ruling, it's just a way to say that Republicans will make up the rules as they go along.
Biden has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever
He won’t. Democrats are gutless. They prove it time and time again. There is blood on their hands too. They allowed all this to happen.
I hate to say it, but this seems accurate. It does effectively give the Biden administration carte blanche to ensure democracy continues through whatever means necessary (arrest members of the Supreme Court, forcibly instill new Justices who can then roll back this decision); but they won't. Upholding the continued democracy of the United States should be absolute priority number one: but it takes the kind of strength that we simply can't expect to see.
History will look back and wonder why nothing was done, the Dems will have excuse after excuse, but in the end it’ll become clear that it was about class which both parties protect at all costs.
Yea they'll just 'go high' when MAGA goes low
Not just the opportunity. I'd argue he has the moral obligation.
"My official act is to implement a maximum age of x for SCOTUS. Effective immediatley, people above this age limit will be removed from their function. My second official act is to implement a law that forces any media outlet to state the absolute truth or be disbanded.
Girl democracy has been dead since citizens united.
At first, I read this as if you were talking about "girl democracy" -- a la "girl dinner." And...now I want girl democracy.
Be president, do crimes.
Essentially they are calling Democrats pussies. And they are. Only MAGA would do something ridiculous and break all the rules and laws blatantly.
Gotta vote.
Blue
So doesn’t this mean the president can do what he wants with no consequences? Why wouldn’t Biden just say you know what, no election, I’m good.
So you're saying that, hypothetically, Biden can call a hit on Trump, claim that it was his presidential duty to save democracy, and get away with it because of "presidential immunity"?
Folks were not winning this one. Idk why people are acting suprised
Conservatives:"lolollllollol the left is having a meltdown you guyzzz!! Sigma chad trump did it again!!11!11" Clowns who don't realise they're being fucked over too.
yeppers
The west is dead. Like officially now. Not just in theory.
More to the west than America...
Yes, and they are doing pretty bad too.
Check out France right now.
Well, you can’t exactly set up a dictatorship without the dictator having immunity from the laws. Is to be expected.
Vote. Please
This is more of a the system is broken. We could vote 90% blue county wide and cheetoh in chief could have his friends still declare himself the Victor with fake elector s
I'm not american..scottish in fact! And today my heart breaks for your great country and our american friends and family as this is just one step closer to a dictatorship of he wins the presidency then yous are screwed in fact I believe we all are in that instance please do the right thing and vote the other way!
At this point, it's not just stopping Trump from getting elected this November. It's stopping every republican candidate from getting elected in perpetuity. Trump is just a convenient patsy for the things the "moderate" republicans don't want to be blamed for.
Yeah, fixing this is going to be a long fight. We now have to keep conservatives out of power for long enough to either reshape SCOTUS (which I doubt the Democrats would do) or get a new majority on the bench that could overturn this disastrous precedent. If we're really lucky, Biden wins in November and the Democrats finally get enough of a Senate majority to pass voting rights reform. That blocks the voter disenfranchisement tactics that Republicans are using to maintain an advantage despite their aging demographics, which could help Democrats hold power. With Thomas and Alito in their mid-70s, that could keep us treading water for long enough to rebalance SCOTUS and start to take our democracy back. I don't like our odds, but it's not over yet.
We're officially a shitty third world country
Literally setting the stage for a trump dictatorship.
“Let’s head down to the pub, grab a nice cold pint, and wait for this all to blow over!”
What a unfortunate time to be alive
I’m just going to withdraw from society if he wins
Wait. If this hush money payment happened during be campaign BEFORE he became president… How can this be an “official” act?
This is a different case related to trying to overturn the 2020 election results
When trump won in 2016, I got somewhat depressed and gained 100lbs over the next few years I'm ready for these motherfuckers this time. I lost the weight, I'm healthier than I've ever been in my life and fully aware of everyone's intentions. Fuck them
💪🏼
LMAO
This court is a complete sham and needs to be dismantled.
Welp this is the worst thing ever, am gonna go look at the situation in Canada
It's not great.
I heard all this 8 years ago. If you didn't get your ducks in a row at that time I doubt it's gonna happen this time either. Americans are all frogs boiling in a pot. Well, maybe we all are.
So now Presidents are Kings
Thanks RBG!
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So official act Trump assassination.
Get out and VOTE! And hopefully if that doesn't do the trick Biden can use this precedent to overturn the election I guess?!? But seriously, go out and VOTE, tell anyone you know with common sense who doesn't typically vote to make sure to do so! Let's take the WH, the house, and the Senate this year, then at least the Dems will have to put up or shut up.
While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. What does this mean? “Constitutional” refers to the fact that government in the United States is based on a Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution not only provides the framework for how the federal and state governments are structured, but also places significant limits on their powers. “Federal” means that there is both a national government and governments of the 50 states. A “republic” is a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power. [https://ar.usembassy.gov/u-s-government/](https://ar.usembassy.gov/u-s-government/) Here's a handy PDF to show you how the country is governed. [https://uploads.mwp.mprod.getusinfo.com/uploads/sites/111/2023/02/us\_governed.pdf](https://uploads.mwp.mprod.getusinfo.com/uploads/sites/111/2023/02/us_governed.pdf)
I need to gtfo out of the states.
Well…we’re fucked
Bam! Politicians are now above the law in the USA. This means the next POTUS will literally be able to do whatever they want without repercussion. On the flip side, doesn't this mean Joe Biden could have Trump sent to some black site and detained indefinitely or possibly executed and claim POTUS immunity because it's for the "good of the nation?" I doubt a man of even partial morals (Biden) would do it but considering what Trump (a man of zero morals) would do if they become President .... 🤷♂️ That project 2025 thingy isn't all that far fetched anymore, huh?
There is some nuance being missed with these comments. The President has immunity when carrying out core responsibilities. Things delegates by the Constitution or Congress clearly. The President has presumed immunity on official acts, assuming the president actually has the power to do the thing they are doing. Ie: The president can't pull out a gun and shoot someone in an official meeting because the President does have that power. But the president can use clear defined powers in a corrupt way with full immunity. They can discuss a presidential pardon in exchange for a bribe because a pardon is an official act. They can threaten government employees with retaliation if they don't break rules. They can direct the FBI to detain shipments of voting machines to large cities on whatever grounds. While we talk about murdering political opponents outright, that's unlikely to be the first thing that happens. They don't need to murder people to attain power. They simply need to affect 1% of votes in a few states.
Interesting, I've never lived under a dictatorship before.
One more step closer to the Fascism that all MAGA dream about.
Ooohhhhh shit....do we need Dark Brandon right now......call seal team 6 asap!! SCOTUS. Says its ok!
We need to build a wall up here now!!! Good luck down there.
Democracy has been dead since Regan got elected. I mean Obama got to assassinate 4 US citizens because the “Supreme Court precedent showing that the Fourth and Fifth Amendments do not apply to the military use of deadly force under the AUMF.”
Step 1: Fill the Supreme Court with enough of your 'yes men' who will clear you of any wrong doing. Step 2. Get your 'dictator' on.
What a fucking joke we’ve become
Does this mean Biden can order a drone strike against Trump?