I have been trying speculatively to figure out what sequence
of events might make things really blow up for Trump. I do not think crowds or crowd estimates or negative
signs or the like will do it, although I think all are useful. But there is one sequence of events that
could, I am guessing, really pay off. If
Trump were to try to do something that a court ruled illegal [such as the
current ban against immigration from a number of countries], if Trump ordered
Sessions as Attorney General to challenge the ruling at an appellate level, if
he were then ruled against all the way to the Supreme Court [as I think would be
likely if it was an open and shut case], I could really imagine Trump then declaring
that as President he is above the law, which would create a full blown constitutional
crisis.
Just a thought.
4 comments:
it's now reported that Trump didn't even consult his Office of Legal Counsel on his ban on Muslims traveling. A POTUS who habitually circumvents his OLC is a POTUS who is more easily impeached. It's widely argued that anything a POTUS did with the OLC's assurance that it was in the law would not be culpable. But Trump doesn't even wrap himself in this tissue.
But this Congress hasn't yet shown the will to acknowledge--much less oppose Trump's over-reach. So far of the Republicans, only senators Flake, Collins, and Sasse and representatives Dent and Amash have dared oppose Trump on this. That's not enough by my count to subpoena him.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/index.html
Barry H. Levine
This is worth reading on the subject of Trump's ban:
http://coreyrobin.com/2017/01/29/if-trump-is-a-fascist-he-may-be-the-most-backassward-fascist-weve-ever-seen/#comments
Professor, is what happened yesterday unprecedented in your lifetime? Can you recall anything like it?
I was in bed with a cold, and as I checked in on the internet, I learned that various acquaintances dropped everything and headed for the airport. Apparently about 3000 people assembled there, and before the evening was over people were conducting a sit-down strike before a security entrance. Eventually the crowd was dispersed, but some people were detained by the police.
Meanwhile, on the legal front, a whole host of officials jumped into action to prevent deportations of arriving passengers. (One person apparently was deported before Judge Zilly issued a restraining order.) Of course, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, whose activist experience is in precisely this area of protecting immigrants, was in the thick of things. She was joined by a Port Commissioner, the Governor, the ACLU, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, another member of Congress, and so on.
Our Governor, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump and is now known for saying, in effect, that if Trump's wall is anything like his crowd size, it will be eight inches tall, held a press conference at the airport with a host of local elected officials.
The demonstrating crowd included lots of ordinary people, but it also included elected leaders, including a School Board director and at least two City Council members.
In short, this is what I meant by fighting and organizing Democrats. I also note that people in this area reacted quickly, as they did in other parts of the country.
What is coming next?
David, I have never seen anything like the speed and spontaneity of these responses. If we can keep this going, we have a weapon of great power! It was astonishing and enormously invigorating.
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