I'm always happy to engage in friendly political discussion!
> I truly believe that Trump/Musk/Vance and the unitary-executive/techbro-cult, if they are not soon stopped in their tracks, will have subverted American political and economic power for generations.
I actually agree with this statement. The difference is that I'm not convinced that's a bad thing. From my perspective those power structures have been in the control of the left[†] for my entire life; they've had near-complete control since at least FDR, and substantial influence back to ~1900.
[†]: "the left" isn't a great descriptor here, but I don't really have an objective way to name the group I'm referencing. I think you know what I mean, if not feel free to ask and I'll expound on it.
--
Note: I wrote this section by doing my best to empathize with Trump and put myself mentally in his position. I'm assigning my own perceptions of his motivations and perceptions. Please don't take statements made here as my attesting to them being fact. When I make an assertion here, it's because I believe Trump himself would make it, not because I necessarily agree with it or believe it to be true.
Trump intended to "play ball" and steer the federal government through the normal mechanisms in his first term. He was met with far more substantial resistance than he expected and had little success. Then he lost a hotly contested election for a second term, hurting his ego - and I think we all agree that ego is a powerful motivator for Trump.
... but then the Biden administration took control of those same levers of power that Trump had difficultly moving, and turned them on Trump. He was smeared by the media, continued to be mocked even after serving as President, spied upon, and ultimately was the target of multiple political prosecutions. His wealth and his very freedom were directly threatened. This was an extreme escalation. His options in 2024 were binary: he could win the Presidency or have his life destroyed. He won, and now his actions are being driven almost exclusively by righteous indignation.
He's going scorched earth. He's using every available lever of power and pulling them as hard as he can. He's doing things he knows are going to get shot down in the courts and taking actions he knows are "gray" at best, and he's doing as many things at once as possible in an attempt to saturate both the other branches of government and the attention of the electorate.
His goal isn't to leave a legacy in the traditional sense, or to implement a typical policy agenda - he's trying to dismantle century-old entrenched systems of power that have cloaked themselves in the mantle of democracy in an attempt to take control of the same.
--
All of that said, I believe the American people elected him for the same reason I voted for him: because the status quo is unjustifiable, and no other path toward reform is apparent.
I want Trump to destroy the majority of government power and authority. My reasons for that are different than Trump's, and different from most Republicans I've met. Trump voters by and large are framing this as a fight against the "deep state", while I want to see a continuous, gradual reduction in government through redundancy. I'm an anarchist, but not "that kind" of anarchist - I don't want to murder the government, I want it to die of neglect because it's no longer necessary.
The methods he's using scare me. He's pushing the boundaries of Presidential power without question, and almost certainly exceeding them already in some ways. I fully expect that he will continue to do so in larger and more impactful ways.
Even if I'm 100% correct in inferring Trump's intentions, it's still a very dangerous approach. Those power structures are so entrenched because they have inordinate (and inappropriate) influence on the process in place to change them. They'll fight for their continued existence. However you want to phrase it, Trump is subverting, suspending, relaxing, ignoring, or destroying the protections built into our system of government.
The bet that we are making as a country right now is that Trump intends to use as little of that seized power as possible, that his intentions are what we believe them to be, that he has the honor necessary to release those levers of power, and that those he allies himself with along the way either don't attempt to or are unable to take over the movement.
Trump's actions are making us vulnerable to the destruction of the American system of government - but things have gotten to the point where a majority of voters feel that risk is justified when considering where we are today and where we're heading otherwise.
> Europe and Canada and the world can no longer trust the United States as a long-term partner. This isn't about subtle pivots and diplomacy. This is betrayal of values on our closest political, military and economic allies.
I think Trump believes this is larger than domestic corruption - that the US is so powerful economically, militarily, and culturally that the cancer in our government has spread to other Western governments.
As for the US as a long-term partner, that ship sailed long ago. Our system is structured so that the party with the power to set our foreign relations agenda changes every four years. A promise made by the US is only guaranteed for the current Presidential term. It may be honored by the next, or it may not.
> He is actively destroying the apolitical civil service and trying to gut the pipeline of young, skilled workers into federal government. The only motive for the actions they are taking are to destroy our government.
Agreed. That is his explicit stated intent. I believe him, and it looks like most voters agree with him, too.
Let's all just hope we're correct in inferring his motivations for doing so.
> I would not be shocked to hear reports in the coming months of military officers being asked who they voted for in 2024.
I'd be shocked if there aren't reports. I'd be more shocked if those reports turned out to be both true and directed by the administration rather than overzealous individuals or not explicitly intended to generate those headlines in an attempt to sway opinion - but as I've said elsewhere, the accusation is of a magnitude that I'll investigate them with an open mind.
> He is claiming (and trying to exert!) levels of executive power that generations of Americans were taught by Nixon were forbidden.
Yep.
> “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
> "If the will of the president is not implemented and the president is representative of the people, that means the will of the people is not being implemented and that means we don't live in a democracy, we live in a bureaucracy.”
> These quotes should frighten every American.
I agree - but I think the disconnect is in whether we believe the risk is justified.
Our Founders did things that were illegal. They even did things that were objectively vile - they deprived loyalists of their property. In some cases they tortured or even killed them. They didn't do so without justification, or without trying every other option available to them. They weren't enthusiastic for those things; they saw them as a duty. Their actions led to the overthrow of a tyrannical monarch, the creation of a truly revolutionary system of government, two centuries of relative prosperity, and ultimately the creation and maintenance of the longest period of relative peace the modern world has ever seen.
Some other quotes that would be just as frightening as the above in a contemporary lens:
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." ~ James Madison
"If this be treason, make the most of it!" ~ Patrick Henry
"But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." ~ John Adams
"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface. This will not be borne, and you will have to choose between reform and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country, the one or the other is inevitable." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~ Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson in particular is a treasure trove of quotes that illustrate this idea. Let's just hope that Trump is a better man than many believe he is. Personally, I think it will be a near thing, and am hoping he clears that bar - because if I'm wrong, we're in for a rough ride indeed.
I admire (though do not agree with) the spirit of your argument. What I don't understand is how, given everything we know and have seen about Trump and the content of his character, you could possibly expect him to do the "honorable thing" when push comes to shove.
The Founders fought and bled and sacrificed together for the free principles that this country was founded on. Trump has done none of these things. In fact, he goes out of his way to show contempt for large swathes of the citizenry on a regular basis. The man is famous for refusing to pay his bills. Why would one expect this nakedly self-interested man to show a shred of honor at the eleventh hour when he has the chance to become a powerful tyrant for the remainder of his life?
> I truly believe that Trump/Musk/Vance and the unitary-executive/techbro-cult, if they are not soon stopped in their tracks, will have subverted American political and economic power for generations.
I actually agree with this statement. The difference is that I'm not convinced that's a bad thing. From my perspective those power structures have been in the control of the left[†] for my entire life; they've had near-complete control since at least FDR, and substantial influence back to ~1900.
[†]: "the left" isn't a great descriptor here, but I don't really have an objective way to name the group I'm referencing. I think you know what I mean, if not feel free to ask and I'll expound on it.
--
Note: I wrote this section by doing my best to empathize with Trump and put myself mentally in his position. I'm assigning my own perceptions of his motivations and perceptions. Please don't take statements made here as my attesting to them being fact. When I make an assertion here, it's because I believe Trump himself would make it, not because I necessarily agree with it or believe it to be true.
Trump intended to "play ball" and steer the federal government through the normal mechanisms in his first term. He was met with far more substantial resistance than he expected and had little success. Then he lost a hotly contested election for a second term, hurting his ego - and I think we all agree that ego is a powerful motivator for Trump.
... but then the Biden administration took control of those same levers of power that Trump had difficultly moving, and turned them on Trump. He was smeared by the media, continued to be mocked even after serving as President, spied upon, and ultimately was the target of multiple political prosecutions. His wealth and his very freedom were directly threatened. This was an extreme escalation. His options in 2024 were binary: he could win the Presidency or have his life destroyed. He won, and now his actions are being driven almost exclusively by righteous indignation.
He's going scorched earth. He's using every available lever of power and pulling them as hard as he can. He's doing things he knows are going to get shot down in the courts and taking actions he knows are "gray" at best, and he's doing as many things at once as possible in an attempt to saturate both the other branches of government and the attention of the electorate.
His goal isn't to leave a legacy in the traditional sense, or to implement a typical policy agenda - he's trying to dismantle century-old entrenched systems of power that have cloaked themselves in the mantle of democracy in an attempt to take control of the same.
--
All of that said, I believe the American people elected him for the same reason I voted for him: because the status quo is unjustifiable, and no other path toward reform is apparent.
I want Trump to destroy the majority of government power and authority. My reasons for that are different than Trump's, and different from most Republicans I've met. Trump voters by and large are framing this as a fight against the "deep state", while I want to see a continuous, gradual reduction in government through redundancy. I'm an anarchist, but not "that kind" of anarchist - I don't want to murder the government, I want it to die of neglect because it's no longer necessary.
The methods he's using scare me. He's pushing the boundaries of Presidential power without question, and almost certainly exceeding them already in some ways. I fully expect that he will continue to do so in larger and more impactful ways.
Even if I'm 100% correct in inferring Trump's intentions, it's still a very dangerous approach. Those power structures are so entrenched because they have inordinate (and inappropriate) influence on the process in place to change them. They'll fight for their continued existence. However you want to phrase it, Trump is subverting, suspending, relaxing, ignoring, or destroying the protections built into our system of government.
The bet that we are making as a country right now is that Trump intends to use as little of that seized power as possible, that his intentions are what we believe them to be, that he has the honor necessary to release those levers of power, and that those he allies himself with along the way either don't attempt to or are unable to take over the movement.
Trump's actions are making us vulnerable to the destruction of the American system of government - but things have gotten to the point where a majority of voters feel that risk is justified when considering where we are today and where we're heading otherwise.
> Europe and Canada and the world can no longer trust the United States as a long-term partner. This isn't about subtle pivots and diplomacy. This is betrayal of values on our closest political, military and economic allies.
I think Trump believes this is larger than domestic corruption - that the US is so powerful economically, militarily, and culturally that the cancer in our government has spread to other Western governments.
As for the US as a long-term partner, that ship sailed long ago. Our system is structured so that the party with the power to set our foreign relations agenda changes every four years. A promise made by the US is only guaranteed for the current Presidential term. It may be honored by the next, or it may not.
> He is actively destroying the apolitical civil service and trying to gut the pipeline of young, skilled workers into federal government. The only motive for the actions they are taking are to destroy our government.
Agreed. That is his explicit stated intent. I believe him, and it looks like most voters agree with him, too.
Let's all just hope we're correct in inferring his motivations for doing so.
> I would not be shocked to hear reports in the coming months of military officers being asked who they voted for in 2024.
I'd be shocked if there aren't reports. I'd be more shocked if those reports turned out to be both true and directed by the administration rather than overzealous individuals or not explicitly intended to generate those headlines in an attempt to sway opinion - but as I've said elsewhere, the accusation is of a magnitude that I'll investigate them with an open mind.
> He is claiming (and trying to exert!) levels of executive power that generations of Americans were taught by Nixon were forbidden.
Yep.
> “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
> "If the will of the president is not implemented and the president is representative of the people, that means the will of the people is not being implemented and that means we don't live in a democracy, we live in a bureaucracy.”
> These quotes should frighten every American.
I agree - but I think the disconnect is in whether we believe the risk is justified.
Our Founders did things that were illegal. They even did things that were objectively vile - they deprived loyalists of their property. In some cases they tortured or even killed them. They didn't do so without justification, or without trying every other option available to them. They weren't enthusiastic for those things; they saw them as a duty. Their actions led to the overthrow of a tyrannical monarch, the creation of a truly revolutionary system of government, two centuries of relative prosperity, and ultimately the creation and maintenance of the longest period of relative peace the modern world has ever seen.
Some other quotes that would be just as frightening as the above in a contemporary lens:
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." ~ James Madison
"If this be treason, make the most of it!" ~ Patrick Henry
"But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." ~ John Adams
"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface. This will not be borne, and you will have to choose between reform and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country, the one or the other is inevitable." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~ Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson in particular is a treasure trove of quotes that illustrate this idea. Let's just hope that Trump is a better man than many believe he is. Personally, I think it will be a near thing, and am hoping he clears that bar - because if I'm wrong, we're in for a rough ride indeed.