Again yes I understand that the guy wearing the Hockey Mask and holding the machete isn't legally allowed to murder me.
I'm still worried that he might still do it though.
"He can't do that!" doesn't mean he won't.
Cont: The Trump Presidency: Part 24
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Again yes I understand that the guy wearing the Hockey Mask and holding the machete isn't legally allowed to murder me.
I'm still worried that he might still do it though.
"He can't do that!" doesn't mean he won't.
Craig4
Penultimate Amazing
One would think that a former editor of "The Harvard Law Review" wouldn't be stumped by this one.
Horatius
NWO Kitty Wrangler
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There are mechanisms that, if followed, can deal with the situation.
Sure, you can play the "What if...." game, and worry about what if no one follows those procedures, but at that point, no one really knows what will happen* - so why are you asking us?
*I expect it will be something like "And that's when American Democracy died", or "And that's when the civil war started", but again, that's just speculation. If you really don't think the established mechanisms are going to work, then the sky's the limit on what could happen. Stop pestering us about it, and start building a bunker.
Safe-Keeper
My avatar is not a Drumpf hat
I think the point of the metaphor is to ask what happens if the men and women who constitute the checks and balances simply don't care, ie. if enough the Republicans simply decide to try to not hold the election.
But yes, I do think it's a pretty unrealistic scenario.
timhau
NWO Litter Technician
Also,
DON'T ASK HIS RESIDENT SUPPORTERS WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THIS! They only want to engage in political discussion in good faith, and asking them about such stuff is only designed to make them feel bad.
chrispy
Graduate Poster
What a speech by Obama. Wow. Condeming everything Trump while celebrating the legacy of Mr. Lewis. I will need to rewatch multiple times. Please check it out. Just finished, so no link yet. Do yourself a favor and watch it.
Trebuchet
Penultimate Amazing
Republicans in Congress are anxious to distance themselves from his desire to delay the elction, right?
Yea, sure, right.
Yea, sure, right.
Safe-Keeper
My avatar is not a Drumpf hat
Related question: is there any particular reason why his musings about delaying the election have suddenly gotten him so much attention these days? Hasn't he been saying this on and off since before he even won the election in 2016? Also, the answer seems unchanged, given the Constitution hasn't changed or anything.
ETA
ETA
Well... declaring his statements 'jokes' or 'sarcasm' is how GOPers distance themselves from them. It's a clever post-fact way to do so without actually having to call the Boy King wrong, or saying he was out of line.
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Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
Ah, yes...that old fall back: he was joking. Must be nice to have a ready excuse for every time Trump says something stupid.
Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
USA Today, July 30, 2020
Would Cheeto Benito change it if he could? Probably, if he thinks he'd lose. But I just don't see it happening. Yeah, yeah, I know....I've heard all the reasons why some think it could happen. I just don't agree.
Probably why Trump made his outrageous suggestion about delaying the election, simply wanted to draw attention away from Obama's speech.
Given the number of times that Trump has done something that he 'couldn't' do because of 'checks and balances' I think its perfectly fair to worry about it.
Armitage72
Philosopher
The whole "Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote" reminds me of a science fiction setting in which a government agreed to give the top military commander absolute authority "for the duration of the current crisis". Several hundred years later his descendant was still running things, with no end of the "crisis" in sight.
kookbreaker
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Boss: Shut up. It's about your advertising campaign for Conquistador Coffee. Now, I've had the managing director of Conquistador to see me this morning and he's very unhappy with your campaign. Very unhappy. In fact, he's shot himself.
Frog: Badly, sir?
Boss: No, extremely well. (lifts up a leg belonging to a body behind desk, and holds up a card saying 'joke') Well, before he went he left a note with the company secretary (opens a nearby door; a dead company secretary falls out), the effect of which was how disappointed he was with your work and, in particular, why you had changed the name from Conquistador Instant Coffee to Conquistador Instant Leprosy. Why, Frog?
Frog: S. Frog, sir.
Boss: Shut up. Why did you do it?
Frog: It was a joke.
Boss: A joke? (holds up card saying 'joke')
Frog: No, no not a joke, a sales campaign. (holds up a card saying 'No, a Sales Campaign)
Boss: I see, Frog.
Delphic Oracle
Philosopher
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We are currently in a state of emergency that was declared in 1979 in response to the Iran hostage situation.
Paul2
Philosopher
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If a state didn't hold the November election, that would mean that Congressional candidates would not be elected, either; nor state, governors, other state officials, state propositions, etc.
Perhaps even trying to square the circle of holding state-level elections but not a presidential election because of covid and/or mail-in ballots is beyond them. Perhaps.
Sounds a bit like Ancient Rome.
Paul2
Philosopher
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You made me gulp really hard. There's still good news, though.
33 Dem Senators are not up for re-election. 30 Repub Senators are not. 2 Independent Senators (who caucus with the Dems) are not.
Even if you don't count the Independents with the Dems, it's still a total of 65 Senators with 33 Dems, a *bare* majority. If you count the Ind. with the dems, it's 35 Dems. Either way, Dems have the majority.
Sheesh. Whew.
The American revolutionaries admired a Roman called Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who was given dictator powers during an emergency and gave it up once the emergency was over. The city of Cincinnati is named after him.
It was an ideal both the Republican Romans and American revolutionaries strived towards. To always work for the good of the people and the republic, and not for personal gains or glory.
The ideal was forgotten during the late Roman Republic, and finally buried by Julius Caesar.
Let that be a lesson, Americans.
ETA: It's also why authoritarians have gone all in on the War on Terrorism. It's a war that can never be won, especially given that authoritarian governments can define terrorism as they like (See the campaign against Uighurs in China, Rohingyas in Myanmar, people who oppose Putin in Russia, etc..).
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