I can imagine Nancy Mace out there slashing her own tires as we speak.
It’s a pretty awful dynamic. If it actually does blow over, then you’re seen as a chicken little, and the “cool heads” become even more complacent, paving the way for even more outrageous power grabs involving even worse harms.
And when it actually happens, you’ll point out that this happened due to the complacency of people like him, and the answer will be “we’re in a crisis and all you can do is rehash old arguments? Typical liberals. If you hadn’t provoked them so much, we might not be in this situation.”
“You can’t complain about something that hasn’t happened yet!” but also “It must be o.k. for him to do it , otherwise you would have said something beforehand!”…often from the same people.
Don’t forget:
“As long as the Constitution is in place, we’ll all be fine,”
and
“The Supreme Court will overrule him if he goes too far.”
Stranger
So what can be done by the Democrats to prevent the military coup you describe?
One answer: The Democrats can run next year on a platform of increasing National Guard salaries. Then it will be in the interest of the NG to defy illegal Trump orders.
I’m not saying the Democrats should do that. I am saying that’s the most practical way to reduce the chances of a coup. Or am I missing another way?
No, then they will only be paid more for supporting Trump’s illegal orders.
DC has been a National embarrassment for most of my life. Renember Mayor Marion Barry? and his drug charges. Went to prison and then reelected.
Democratic Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar was carjacked at gunpoint near his residence in the Navy Yard area of Washington, D.C. just blocks from the Capitol.
I won’t bore everyone with other fine tales of our Nation’s Capital.
There are currently 184 foreign representations in Washington, D.C.
Washington should be the pride of our country. The seat of the world’s largest and oldest democracy. The foreign dignitaries that visit should feel safe and impressed with the order and cleanliness of the city that hosts our government.
I’m not happy to see troops on the streets and I’m certainly dismayed at the current homeless and crime problems.
Somehow it’s has to get cleaned up. I don’t know how or who can do it.
By garnering enough popular support that it just becomes politically infeasible for Republicans to attempt such a maneuver. Unfortunately, Democrats have largely been squandering goodwill even faster than Republicans on a federal slash’n’burn bender.
But Baltimore next door is just fine, right? Seriously, most major cities have serious crime problems, and it takes a concerted effort—not just policing, but community building, urban renewal, diversified employment, managed public spending, and good education across demographic lines to built and maintain a low crime city. New York (despite what Trump says) did a great job of that after decades of being one of the worst in the nation, albeit with a health influx of foreign money being laundered and mass violation of civil rights. DC has always lacked in financial resources and autonomy, and has a highly transient wealthy segment of the population that isn’t much interested in community building beyond their well-scrubbed townhouses and private schools.
Stranger
The National Guard is the Army. When you are in the National Guard you get paid the same as any soldier depending on rank and time in service. Non-active duty time is prorated by the number of training days you perform during the month. There is no “National Guard salaries” there is just military salaries. The military gets pretty decent raises as it is and has since Reagan.
As I recall during the January 6th attack on the Capital, Trump stated he did not have the authority to call in the National guard. What changed that now allows him to do it? Also Washington wasn’t Shangri-La" back then either, So why is this take over so pressing? It’s a smoke screen to get Epstein off everyone’s lips , The damage Tariffs are going do on pricing of products bought by all middle class families and the fact that when Trump shows his cards Putin and Russia will win the Ukraine jackpot. The only thing folks from other nations laugh at more than our 37 trillion dollar debt is Trump and his appalling behavior!
National Guard troops are there mostly for show. Is it still true their lethal weapons are unloaded? Their tactical, riot gear includes tear gas and other non-lethal tools.
No soldier wants to repeat the mistakes made at Kent State. It would be a political disaster for the military.
The Guard’s presence can make it safe for police to dismantle homeless camps, clean the city, and maybe reduce drug dealing and gang activity.
That’s a temporary, cosmetic solution. I agree with other posters that it would require enormous resources and money for long term solutions. There is no quick fix for improving the schools, creating meaningful jobs and breaking the cycle of poverty.
Really? You mean the city that is one of the top 10 visited and annually hosts the largest Japanese festival? The city with one of the oldest (if not the oldest) professional tennis tournaments in the US. That city?
As someone who has relatives who live there, has gone to clubs there and has worked in the district, I did not feel unsafe. The same cannot be said of Baltimore, that while it does have its nice spots, it was easy to go from, really nice, to really dodgy from one block to another. Yes, there are homeless people there and places you would not want to frequent, but there is also a lot to see, with the monuments, the museums and all the other things that make it a nice place to visit and no more hazardous than any other urban place.
This idea that Washington DC is a particularly unsafe place is fiction. The orange one referred to Bogotá in his speech, another city I am familiar with, and the comparison is laughable considering that probably the image he has of Bogotá is not of today which safer than many other cities in South America and even some in the U.S. The Bogotá that he remembers is probably that of the 80s which was very violent and certainly much more unsafe than DC has ever been. It is telling that he used it as an example because it not only shows his age, but also his lack of clear knowledge of reality.
I heard someone say that he rules by anecdote and no truer thing can be said.
//i\\
Have you actually spent much time in Washington, D.C.? There are poor areas. There are areas with a high crime rate. However, the area (and it’s a large one) where a tourist or a foreign diplomat spends their time is a well-off safe area. The only real problem in that area is finding a parking space. There are corrupt politicians there just as there are anywhere. There are poor areas in most cities. There are areas with a lot of crime in most cities.
What is the answere then? How do we stop this rocket sled to hell?
Weird, I tried to fix my misspelling of “answer,” but the system couldn’t find my post.
I don’t know…a mass uprising that lets Congressional Republicans know that if they don’t start representing all of their constituents and hold Trump et al accountable for their corruption they are going to get the bum’s rush en masse, a kind of #Occupy movement except with real leadership and teeth? I don’t see that happening, though; do you?
We certainly can’t rely on Nancy Pelosi, performatively tearing up an opponent’s speech while quietly passing insider information to her husband to make profitable trades, or Chuck Schumer, assuring us that he’s really going to write an extra-stern letter once Trump’s polling drops below some arbitrary threshold. These people are way too invested in the existing system to ever really challenge it even as it is on fire. The handful of actual contrarian voices are being marginalized and drowned out. If I could grant superpowers, I’d give Liz Warren some Lady Hulk serum, Tammy Duckworth an a War Machine suit, AOC a pair of Glocks and some shock-sticks, and Sheldon Whitehouse a battleaxe forged from the heart of a dying star, but unfortunately I don’t think we’re going to punch our way to a good ending.
But hey, next week Trump is going to host his second favorite war criminal on American soil to negotiate a “peace settlement” with the aggrieved party absent, so everything is coming up Milhouse, right? With Trump’s famous deal-making skills we’ll probably end up selling Alaska back to Russia at a discount and paying a bullshit restocking fee in the process.
Stranger
Everything he has to give. I don’t know who will stop Trump, but it obviously won’t be Americans.
A reminder that violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low. Seems like it’s been getting cleaned up without the National Guard getting involved.
This is practically poetry - the visuals in my head are glorious.
DC is seen as a black city and therefore inherently dangerous to a certain type of American.