BREAKING: Speaker Pelosi to establish a "Commission on Presidential Capacity"

[brooklynite]

[madaboutharry]

1. This tells us that the public is aware of only a fraction of Trump's insanity.

They must have knowledge of behavior that is truly frightening, beyond him saying nutty stuff on Fox and in his twitter videos.

[TheRealNorth]

4. Thats what I have to believe

I don't see them doing this so close to the election unless they have information that says Trump has proposed some seriously scary shit (like declaring martial law).

[wnylib]

81. How about encouraging militias to

start a civil war, as in Michigan? The FBI investigated. Maybe they informed Pelosi and/or other members of Congress on what their investigation found. Info not yet made available to the public. ??

[lindysalsagal]

5. Speaker P wouldn't do this unless she had enough support. She's a strategist, not a fool

The woman knows how to hold her cards, and when to put them down on the table.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

37. This is how I see her, too. Good, that's what I want.

[pandr32]

57. Agreed 100%

[onetexan]

58. Spot on. I'm so glad Madame Speaker is in charge. We are now without a functioning leader.

[Drunken Irishman]

9. I don't think so. It's subtle shade at Trump but not about Trump.

It's a generic commission that will request the opportunity to examine presidents to make sure they're physically and mentally fit to handle the job. It's certainly shade but not an actual commission that will oust Trump.

[TimeToGo]

12. Yes

[iluvtennis]

22. I agree with your interpretation. Just having the commission will drive him batty. nt

[dianaredwing]

67. wait I missed something

He wasn't batty already?

[iluvtennis]

69. No he is...but this will just wind him up more.

Welcome to DU dianaredwing.

[Ilsa]

70. Trump will become even more paranoid and self-centered. nt

[soldierant]

46. I don't know that it matters.

It's a win either way.

[wnylib]

82. Seems to me that this would be a very

risky game of brinkmanship, aka, playing chicken, if it is just shade. It would be like goading him to escalate his threats on arresting people or calling on militias to take action.

My perception might be wrong, but I don't see Pelosi as a shade thrower on something this serious.

[peggysue2]

32. I agree!

We're getting little snips here and there. But when aides are presumably begging for intervention, something is very, very wrong.

[getagrip_already]

34. read between the lines - this is an impeachable condition in the end.....

The president can be removed from office for being incapacitated. High crimes and misdemeaners is a very mutable term, and could easily be applied to failure to honor his oath of office due to infermity or mental illness.

Yes, there is a 25th amendment, but that was meant to avoid impeachment of a sick potus where possible and allow a temporary transfer of power to the vp. It doesn't limit impeachment in any way.

And pelosi has specifically said she might use impeachment before the election if warranted.

So even realizes the senate will neve pass a bill to create this body, and trump would surely veto it, beginning the process does get wheels rolling.

Just sayin.......

[MFGsunny]

40. For HER to take this step at THIS time ... remember she's a hell of a 4-dimensional chess player.

AND she has been strategically perfect in reading Trump, each and every time so she could get optimum results!

PLUS she knows how to count votes and knows legislative/protocol moves in the U.S. House like a boss!

At mininum ... this move of hers will let the super-duper medical cocktails and dexamethasone combos show and glow their combined effects!

p.s. that was a heckuva PUBLIC statement out of Moscow Mitch re: his decisions about COVID and the Senate!

[AkFemDem]

2. We are so close to being this nightmare on November 3rd...

I have mixed feelings about this.

[getagrip_already]

35. nothing ends on 11/3....

We will have to endure his revenge and mania until 1/21/21.

[Moostache]

56. AMEN to that! The election is only the beginning of the end...

Trump will trash around like a hooked fish for all he can...he'll dispute the vote, he'll sue Biden (nevermind on what grounds, he may file a dozen suits or more), he'll threaten Dem's, he'll look to start wars, he'll ram through whatever he thinks he can get away with...and then, right before the Inauguration of Joe Biden, he will resign the Presidency to Pence with a full-Presidential pardon in hand thinking it will protect him (it won't)...

My biggest fear is his intense desires to do two things - 1) go down in history, no matter the reason and 2) his willingness to entertain the use of nuclear weapons for no deterrence or rational reasons. He will see this as his last chance to go out with a literal bang...

[King_Klonopin]

83. I know this sounds ghoulish, but . . .

the best thing that could happen for the country and all people living in it
would be if DJT had a massive stroke or heart attack before election day.

He is not going to act appropriately or even marginally sane because he is
incapable, and he has no desire to be.

People are going to get hurt, some may get killed, because of his sociopathic
disregard for other human beings, the law, rules, decency, civility, public safety,
etc. etc. You are right: His behavior during this "lame-duck fuck-you farewell
pity party" is going to be so horrifying that it would make Caligula blush.

He is completely unstable. . . and sincerely dangerous -- whether by the spreading
of COVID directly or by misinformation, by withholding relief for the economic
fallout of COVID, or by the bullets fired from the weapons of his "supporters".

[BComplex]

98. That's why we all need to pray for this virus to take him out.

I really don't think this country can survive another 3 months of this insanity.

[whopis01]

66. I agree

I trust Pelosi. But this worries me a bit.

It is totally justified and probably should have been done a long time ago. But so close to the election it will be easy o spin it as a political tactic to undermine the election.

It is more chaos and Trump thrives in chaos.

[lindysalsagal]

3. Even just talking about this is revolutionary

Bravo, even if it fails.

[onenote]

93. Essentially the same legislation was introduced 3 years ago.

It's not so much "revolutionary" as it is good politics.

[Sogo]

6. Is this legislation she expects the Republican Senate to agree upon, pass, and then Trump to sign?

[honest.abe]

23. I think its going to be an investigative hearing that will result in some sort of document...

that may or may not be submitted as legislation. More like some guidelines or recommendations that should be followed when we have a situation like a President who becomes ill with COVID or some other disease or calamity that affects their capacity to do their job.

[Sogo]

29. Oh, well the announcement in the OP talks about establishing a

Commission through legislation.

[honest.abe]

30. Indeed you are correct.

However as you suggest it probably wont ever be actual legislation. But I think that's not the point. Pelosi has submitted tons of legislation that has never become law.

[superpatriotman]

7. Let me save you some time, Nancy...

His capacity is too diminished to continue his job. Fire him.

[Yonnie3]

8. This will wind up the Orange Baboon Rectum bigly n/t

[NotASurfer]

10. I wondered if that's what she was up to

The part of the Amendment that says "... or of such other body as Congress may by law provide" as one option for -with the Vice President - removing a President on the grounds of incapacity.

Bear in mind, this kind of direct attack on crazy is for the purpose of keeping the attention of a certain "stable jenius" focused on something other than sowing chaos and spreading Covid. The best that the House can do is to approve a bill - the "by law provide" requirement - and send it over to the Senate for McTurtle to ignore.

And even if Sen. Schumer were able to force a vote, the best result would be party-line rejection.

And even if the stable jenius started wandering the grounds of the White House, eating random leaves off the ground and complaining that "mommy can't protect me from all the nasty lizards" to everyone within earshot, resulting in a horrified Senate voting to pass the House Bill, that same stable jenius holds the veto pen.

However, this does start steering discussion down the road toward addressing this situation if it should occur in the future. How do we keep it from happening again and what do we need to put in place to support that? Maybe Star Trek will once more have predicted the future if we end up with something akin to a Chief Medical Officer with the authority to recommend to the VP that the President is unfit on medical grounds, with a full report to the American people of the reasons why. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this

[Mr.Bill]

14. And do you know when it will be used in the future?

The next time there's a Democratic President and a republican Congress.

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me, but I trust Nancy Pelosi and await more details.

[regnaD kciN]

31. If the Senate doesn't pass it by the end of the year...

...it's dead, and would have to be reintroduced at a later date.

Also, keep in mind that it really couldn't be used in that fashion, as it would also require the assent of the VP (presumably of the same party as the POTUS), and that person would take over in those circumstances.

[LudwigPastorius]

61. If such a commission were established by law...

it would need the VP's assent in order to take over the president's duties.

I can't see a scenario in which a bill like this would ever become law, regardless of the different combinations of party control of Congress and the White House.

So, why is she introducing this? Probably just to fire up the base to vote, and to get a small amount of media time reminding everyone that, yes, Donald Trump is indeed completely off his rocker.

[NotASurfer]

62. Vice President still has to agree, that's the backstop

I have no good idea how to make the evaluation non-partisan myself, or legislate in advance the limited circumstances under which Congress would be authorized to act. So it'd still basically for situations where the cabinet and VP are going to act anyway. I think right now the object is to focus part of Donnie's attention on something other than doing damage or killing people with Covid.

The immediate intent is to form a committee, which does nothing in and of itself. They will probably arrive at your conclusion, too dangerous for Congress to have unlimited oversight authority to do the part they actually could do under the 25th. I'm going to just watch and see what plays out, in case there's actually a good idea along the way

[niyad]

49. Well, we know that the current. Chief medical officer will do not.hing of the kind.

[dalton99a]

11. Kick

[Laelth]

13. Showboating. Campaigning.

Nothing better to do, I suppose.



-Laelth

[Hekate]

39. Amazing. After all these years Nancy Pelosi is still a mystery to you...

Mme Speaker of the House does not waste time on meaningless gestures

[MFGsunny]

44. This! a 1,000,000 times this. n/t

[Laelth]

48. Poking at Trump ... campaigning ... isn't meaningless.

As I said, there’s nothing better for her to do at the moment.

But this “commission bill” has no chance of passing in the Senate (not until late January, in any event).

-Laelth

[Sherman A1]

86. Agreed

[LanternWaste]

97. Or allowing some members of the GOP to save face during the lame duck session.

"has no chance of passing in the Senate (not until late January, in any event)..."

Nov-Jan is going to be a period of realignment and distancing themselves from trump for the GOP. No better way to illustrate that than this.

But mine is merely speculation. I'm not pretending to have absolute knowledge, that's better left to others.

[Marius25]

15. Republicans aren't going to approve it.

[Captain Zero]

47. To paraphrase LBJ: Make the sons a bitches deny it

Or vote it down.

At least its out there still as a historical document and precedent for another way to use the 25th Amendment.

[dianaredwing]

68. Absolutely

Flood them with paperwork.

[lindysalsagal]

80. That's the point. They have to own everything the monster did.

[onenote]

74. If Biden wins Repubs might support it so it could be used against Biden

Be careful what you wish for.

[Generic Brad]

78. Unless they asked for it

Trump is a madman and no one is safe from his wrath. He’s slowly killing people with virus - like a chemical attack on his ally’s in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue I am hoping this is the precursor to pulling the plug on him.

[crickets]

16. Excellent! K&R

[paleotn]

17. Heard about that earlier....

He's entered the seventh level of psycho. Time for Donnie the Kook to be removed. By force, I hope.

[Initech]

19. Seventh level? He's a screeching violin short of full blown Bates Motel psycho.

[Initech]

18. Oh man I can already hear the MAGA heads exploding!

[jcgoldie]

20. So whats the angle here?

I don't think Nancy would do this just to let that whiny bitch cry about how angry Democrats are picking on him again. Did someone in the cabinet reach out and give indication there may be support for 25th Amendment or is it perhaps a way to tie up congressional business for a couple of weeks and delay the ACB hearings?

[Demsrule86]

27. Pence cancelled his trip to Indiana tomorrow.

[LuvNewcastle]

28. I think that tying up business is probably part of

the reason for this, but I think another big reason for it is to push Trump even further over the edge. Pelosi knows that he makes mistakes when he loses it. We want him to keep making mistakes from now until Election Day. We can have a major landslide this year if we play our cards right.

[jcgoldie]

33. Any chance she has the dirt on when he 1st tested positive?

If that was before last Wednesday he's completely fucked.

[MFGsunny]

50. That, and/or she knows he's not been tested daily, and/or when he tested negative last.

It's above my pay grade for sure, but MAYBE the Gang of 8, for national intelligence/security purposes, has more access re: medical data of a sitting President than all of the other congress critters.

[chriscan64]

71. There has to be something unknown at play here.

Pence skipping voting to fly back to Washington in a shroud of mystery the same day as this announcement is too weird to be a coincidence. Could he be going there to fight it, or be ready to step in? This may be about tidying up the process, but I can only speculate. I agree with those who say Nancy would not do anything like this as a random political gesture this close to the election that looks like it will go her way. Something is afoot, watch the news tomorrow.

[RainCaster]

21. Link to the actual Congressional Bill

Last edited Thu Oct 8, 2020, 08:55 PM - Edit history (1)

Here

Edit:
This bill came up from Google, but the date is wrong, so it can't be what's on the docket for tomorrow.

[reACTIONary]

52. Thanks! It seems like a sound idea. nt.

[onenote]

76. In all likelihood the bill unveiled tomorrow will look very much like this bill from 2017

[MoonlitKnight]

24. We need to fix the current process

It’s a step in the right direction. The pandemic has highlighted a flaw. We almost ended up with the entire executive branch incapacitated and unable to set the 25th in motion.

Unwillingness of Pence aside, what if we had a VP willing to invoke but the cabinet was also incapacitated? This would address it. An amendment would be needed to cover for both a President and VP being incapacitated and unable or unwilling to invoke 25th at the same time.

[Demsrule86]

25. She will drive him mad...oh wait I meant madder...hehe.

[Renew Deal]

26. Is this a legal requirement?

[FBaggins]

38. No. It's a ridiculous notion that we should never support...

... but holding hearings to discuss it is a great way to yet again draw the public's attention to the fact that he's nuts.

[reACTIONary]

53. The actual legislation ...

... is linked to in this post

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=14249514

It may or may not be a good idea but, as written, it is far from ridiculous.

[FBaggins]

63. No... I've read it... it's ridiculous

Congress has sufficient authority already to remove a crazy president. There’s no way this wouldn’t be misused/abused the next time there’s a republican majority.

[reACTIONary]

65. Are you referring to impeachment?

[FBaggins]

95. Of course

[BlancheSplanchnik]

36. She means business!

[UserNotFound]

41. Yep,

I have to believe that The Speaker knows something; she's pretty thorough. I don't see this action as a PR stunt. We'll see....

[onecent]

51. Could it be because the FBI will pick Trump up and want to question him about

the woman from Michigan?????

[wnylib]

84. That's my guess. Might be totally wrong,

but it has occurred to me.

[Marius25]

42. Pence abruptly cancelled his planned trip to Indiana

with no reason why.

So either he's part of these 25th Amendment talks, or he has Covid.

[ananda]

59. Or both.

..

[GoCubsGo]

43. It's about fucking time.

[warmfeet]

45. The current pResident

has endless capacity for bullshit and insanity.

Get rid of this asshole already. He is an immanent threat to the life of everyone on this planet. We have all been warned - for more than 3-1/2 years.

Act! Well past time to justify action.

[bucolic_frolic]

54. Speaker Pelosi's strategy will be studied for hundreds of years

Timing, issues, pieces of an interlocking puzzle, psychological conflict that appears part of normal political discourse. She is the best. Leaving this out on a Thursday afternoon to dangle into Friday and dominate the news cycle into next week chews up another weekend where Trump is hog-tied like a holiday roast. You just can't skate this rumba with any better panache.

[Mr.Bill]

96. Easily the most effective female elected official in our

nation's history.

[BumRushDaShow]

55. ...

[ouija]

60. My best guess

Pelosi will give McConnell a hammer to hold over Trump. If Trump does something completely crazytown, McConnell then has the power to remove him. Please just keep him away from the nukes until January 20.

[Evolve Dammit]

64. He is a threat to our democracy and the Constitution. Does it get any more "serious"??

[cbdo2007]

72. She's trying to get an independent medical examination...

On grounds that Trump isn’t honest about his health and for National Security purposes it’s is their right to know if he is healthy or not.

[onenote]

92. Not really. She knows this will never become law and apply to Trump. It's a political move

and not a bad one since it keeps the idea of Trump's health and mental issues in the news.

[ecstatic]

73. He'll no longer be president by Saturday night.

Bookmark this.

[onenote]

77. bookmarked.

But out of curiosity, what will happen between now and Saturday night that will cause him not to be president?

[ecstatic]

89. 🤐

🤐🤫

[onenote]

99. I've got to run some errands. Will he stop being President before Saturday Night Live starts?

[ecstatic]

100. Looks like my sources were wrong

I'm disappointed and embarrassed! 😤

[Lucinda]

75. ❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[OneBlueSky]

79. not a good idea, imo . . .

to the crazies, this will be interpreted as a coup attempt against their leader . . . and they may well decide it's time for that civil war they're all waiting for . . . the 25th Amendment stuff should be handled as quietly as possible to avoid other governors being kidnapped or killed and other un-pleasantries . . .

[DFW]

85. What this move is really meant to accomplish is not what it appears to be on the surface

Pelosi is nothing if not a realist. She knows there is no way any initiative emanating from a Democratic House will be acted on by Pence and a Republican cabinet.

However, Trump will not miss the headlines, and it will bother the hell out of him. As if he weren't already just a little distracted right now. It's to goad him into some more outlandish statements and tweets, and with his babbling, he already has half his party scared he'll start frothing at the mouth in the middle of his next live event (the other half will cheer him on, and start chewing on baking soda to froth at the mouth just like he does--forget trying to reach them).

The Republicans can't very well admit less than 4 weeks before an election that they are running a man whose illness and drug cocktail have diminished him to some unacceptable percentage of his normal capacity, which was never vast to begin with. Pelosi is trying to force them out of that corner they're hiding in, and make them lay their cards on the table. They don't want to do that, because that royal flush they have been boasting about is really a pair of twos, and they want to put off having to show their cards until after the election.

[onenote]

91. She's just trying to get undecided voters' attention. She doesn't really want this legislation

to become law.

[orangecrush]

87. It seems to me there has been

communication with people around Trump leading to this.

[onenote]

90. Almost certainly not.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

88. She'll need a second one, a "Commission on Presidential Emptiness"....

findings from which would fill a library.

KY.......

[Nitram]

94. Ratcheting up the pressure on a demented narcissist why can barely hold it together.

This may very well push him over the edge - a self-fulfilling prophecy.