Our Current Constitutional Crisis is not Without Precedent

[Frank Underwood]

The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation practices, whether sending alleged gang members to a notorious El Salvadoran prison or rounding up foreign students for opposing Israel’s war in Gaza, have led many pundits and others to raise the alarm about a Constitutional crisis and the evisceration of due process. Their concern is certainly valid, but this crisis has been decades in the making. It was kicked into overdrive after 9/11 with the introduction of the so-called "Patriot Act," which trampled on civil liberties.

Incidentally, Joe Biden bragged about writing the Patriot Act in 1994. It was defeated at that time, but that changed during the "war on terror." Our Constitutional crisis continued into the Presidency of Mr. "Hope and Change" himself, Barack Obama. Some liberals pretend Obama's biggest scandal was wearing a tan suit, even though Nobel Peace Prize-winner Obama maintained a “kill list,” killed a 16-year-old American citizen by drone strike in Yemen, supported warrantless surveillance, and signed into law the virtual elimination of Habeas Corpus. His administration also built the cages that the Trump Administration was criticized for using to house undocumented immigrants.

Some may call this "WHAT ABOUTERY," even though former Presidents like George W. Bush, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama set the precedent for ignoring the Constitution at will. All President Trump has to do is cry “terrorism” and Constitutional protections fly right out the Oval Office window. That's why all Presidents should be held accountable.

Trump’s Constitutional Crisis Began By OBAMA!

 

[CeeCee72]

You are exactly right. Our constitutional rights have been eroded by every administration since 9/11 in the name of security. Obama & Bush both have a lot to answer for.

Having said that, Trump is upping the ante considerably and at a break neck pace - actually arresting people for protesting, going after judges for ruling against his administration, even documented cases of American CITIZENS being deported.

Yes, Bush and Obama helped create the monster, but that certainly doesn't excuse the monster's behavior.

 

[Frank Underwood]

You are exactly right. Our constitutional rights have been eroded by every administration since 9/11 in the name of security. Obama & Bush both have a lot to answer for.

Having said that, Trump is upping the ante considerably and at a break neck pace - actually arresting people for protesting, going after judges for ruling against his administration, even documented cases of American CITIZENS being deported.

Yes, Bush and Obama helped create the monster, but that certainly doesn't excuse the monster's behavior.

You're right that it doesn't excuse Trump's behavior, but this is the culmination of setting such a dangerous precedent. The erosion of our Constitution rights had a negative impact that was felt both immediately and into the future. Those who are staunchly partisan tend to look the other way when their party is in office and only become outraged when the other party takes over. Even Democrat-leaning media figures pretend that Trump is the first President to go against the Constitution and ignore previous norms. Some of them rightly called out George W. Bush for trampling on civil liberties when he was in office, but he's rehabilitated his image in their eyes since he despises Trump.

The fact that Presidents have gotten away with violating the Constitution for so long is why the present monster has been able to up the ante. There's simply no accountability.

 

[CeeCee72]

You're right that it doesn't excuse Trump's behavior, but this is the culmination of setting such a dangerous precedent. The erosion of our Constitution rights had a negative impact that was felt both immediately and into the future. Those who are staunchly partisan tend to look the other way when their party is in office and only become outraged when the other party takes over. Even Democrat-leaning media figures pretend that Trump is the first President to go against the Constitution and ignore previous norms. Some of them rightly called out George W. Bush for trampling on civil liberties when he was in office, but he's rehabilitated his image in their eyes since he despises Trump.

The fact that Presidents have gotten away with violating the Constitution for so long is why the present monster has been able to up the ante. There's simply no accountability.

It's not that I disagree with you - because I certainly don't, but Obama and Bush are not a threat to us NOW. It's fine to point out they started it,but we have GOT to understand that RIGHT NOW Trump is posing the greatest threat to our Republic that we have ever seen.

I, for one, am deeply terrified. Maybe it's because I have an autistic child. Or a non binary child. Or mixed taxes grandchildren. Or because I work as a member of the media who have been often vocally critical of Trump. Or am a woman. Or have a husband on social security.

But. I. Am. Terrified.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It's not that I disagree with you - because I certainly don't, but Obama and Bush are not a threat to us NOW. It's fine to point out they started it,but we have GOT to understand that RIGHT NOW Trump is posing the greatest threat to our Republic that we have ever seen.

I, for one, am deeply terrified. Maybe it's because I have an autistic child. Or a non binary child. Or mixed taxes grandchildren. Or because I work as a member of the media who have been often vocally critical of Trump. Or am a woman. Or have a husband on social security.

But. I. Am. Terrified.

Yes, but one has to consider that Trump gets different media coverage than his predecessors.

For example: Obama quietly deported ~12 million immigrants, while Biden deported ~10 million immigrants. But Trump, despite his image and braggadocio, deported far fewer in his first term.

And Obama built the cages that Trump got blamed for.

Not that I'm expecting anything good from Our Orange Hitler.

 

[Frank Underwood]

It's not that I disagree with you - because I certainly don't, but Obama and Bush are not a threat to us NOW. It's fine to point out they started it,but we have GOT to understand that RIGHT NOW Trump is posing the greatest threat to our Republic that we have ever seen.

I, for one, am deeply terrified. Maybe it's because I have an autistic child. Or a non binary child. Or mixed taxes grandchildren. Or because I work as a member of the media who have been often vocally critical of Trump. Or am a woman. Or have a husband on social security.

But. I. Am. Terrified.

Your concern for your family (and yourself) is certainly understandable. I myself am quite vulnerable, as I'm on SSI and Medicaid. Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that his mother-in-law wouldn't "call to complain" if she missed a social security check and would wait for it to arrive the following month. He said the only people who would complain are those who are guilty of fraud. Lutnick failed to mention his net worth is 3.1 billion, so it's not like his mother-in-law would be going without. It just goes to show what these pricks think of vulnerable people who are truly in need. Of course, neoliberal Dems like Biden also spent their career saying entitlements were on the table.

We haven't had proper checks and balances in years, and there doesn't appear to be anybody willing to stand up to Trump and put an end to his unconstitutional actions. Acknowledging that the erosion of our Constitutional rights has been decades in the making speaks to the dereliction of duty by those in government and the mainstream media. They're supposed to act as guardrails when it comes to presidential abuse of power. You're right that Trump is the current threat today, but contrary to the prevailing narrative in US media, our Constitutional crisis didn't start today. I still remember when the mainstream media pretended that Obama's only "scandal" was wearing a tan suit!

Bernie and AOC are doing their "fighting oligarchy" tour, but that seems completely toothless. It's also performative since they pretend that Dems are for the people.

 

[Frank Underwood]

Yes, but one has to consider that Trump gets different media coverage than his predecessors.

For example: Obama quietly deported ~12 million immigrants, while Biden deported ~10 million immigrants. But Trump, despite his image and braggadocio, deported far fewer in his first term.

And Obama built the cages that Trump got blamed for.

Not that I'm expecting anything good from Our Orange Hitler.

Yes, one generally has to look to independent media to find this out. I find Dems to be an insidious threat, which is why I often highlight their misdeeds.

There's a misconception among some people that anybody who exposes the hypocrisy and corruption of the Dems does so because they support Republicans. In reality, it's to show that Dems aren't the pro-democracy moral crusaders they're made out to be. They used to be pro-social democracy and pro-diplomacy, but those days are long gone.

That doesn't excuse Trump's own flagrant corruption, war mongering, and disregard for the American people, but it does show that it's not as unique as some make it out to be.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yes, one generally has to look to independent media to find this out. I find Dems to be an insidious threat, which is why I often highlight their misdeeds.

There's a misconception among some people that anybody who exposes the hypocrisy and corruption of the Dems does so because they support Republicans. In reality, it's to show that Dems aren't the pro-democracy moral crusaders they're made out to be. They used to be pro-social democracy and pro-diplomacy, but those days are long gone.

That doesn't excuse Trump's own flagrant corruption, war mongering, and disregard for the American people, but it does show that it's not as unique as some make it out to be.

Yes, the binary bubble thinking is almost impossible to get around (i.e., "if yer not wid me, yer agin me...!")

Most people just have "the way they think," and everything has to be filtered through the sieve of that perspective. Anything outside of The Box is instantly put back into that box, shoved into a predictable corner and foolishly re-categorized as something familiar-if-malevolent.

You just can't get around that psychology. So one's inability to talk about politics with most people has little to do with "differing ideology". It's their passive-aggressive compulsion to misinterpret -- not always innocently or as the result of genuine confusion -- almost anything you've said. Instantly re-configuring your comments, opinions and observations into something "familiar" to them (which has little to do with what you're saying, and may be precisely the opposite of what you're saying).

Simply dealing with different opinions is a breeze in comparison. Which is why it's often easier to deal with people whose political perspective is overtly opposed, because you can leave that junk at the door and sometimes get along. But people on your own side of the fence (more or less) have a misguided proprietary sense of "ownership" of you, and hence feel you're a "traitor" to the righteous cause when you disagree with even a smidgeon of their agenda (or simply define the details differently -- even the terminology must match exactly).

So the psychiatric control issues involved are more complicated than the actual politics or ideology. Often undermining even their own agenda, yet they can never process that.

I didn't word any of that all that well, but that's kind of the gist of the communication problems. And it's not really all that hard to figure it out. LOL!

 

[Seaviewer]

For example: Obama quietly deported ~12 million immigrants, while Biden deported ~10 million immigrants. But Trump, despite his image and braggadocio, deported far fewer in his first term.

It's not how many that's the problem, it's the how. The term 'disappeared' is being used and I think not inappropriately. There's a sense of cruelty here that's also quite unacceptable. Even one person deported under those circumstances is too many.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It's not how many that's the problem, it's the how. The term 'disappeared' is being used and I think not inappropriately. There's a sense of cruelty here that's also quite unacceptable. Even one person deported under those circumstances is too many.

The millions of deported immigrants under Biden and Obama probably thought it was pretty cruel, too. (You just didn't hear about it).

Remember: Obama built the cages.

 

[Seaviewer]

The millions of deported immigrants under Biden and Obama probably thought it was pretty cruel, too.

The cruelty was my second point. There's a real question of the legality of at least some of these cases. The glee with which they're being carried out just makes it that much worse.

 

[Frank Underwood]

The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation practices, whether sending alleged gang members to a notorious El Salvadoran prison or rounding up foreign students for opposing Israel’s war in Gaza, have led many pundits and others to raise the alarm about a Constitutional crisis and the evisceration of due process.

Trump's subverting the First Amendment by cracking down on those criticizing a foreign government (Israel.) Trump's "America first" rhetoric was a lie, as he puts Israel first.

MAGA is becoming increasingly divided over this. Some of them support Trump no matter what he does, while others are pushing back against his fascist tendencies.

Candace Owens CALLS OUT Trump! - YouTube

 

[CeeCee72]

Trump's subverting the First Amendment by cracking down on those criticizing a foreign government (Israel.) Trump's "America first" rhetoric was a lie, as he puts Israel first.

MAGA is becoming increasingly divided over this. Some of them support Trump no matter what he does, while others are pushing back against his fascist tendencies.

Candace Owens CALLS OUT Trump! - YouTube

I also saw Ann Coulter taking Trump over the coals recently. Oh, yeah, and even that nut Marjorie Taylor Greene went after him on Twitter.