Seems that the media has started playing catch up

[Cyrano]

I was watching the news last night and all the cable stations and networks are in a panic that we may be losing our democracy. I'm shocked.

Actually, I've been shocked for the last six or seven months, (during which time many of us here on DU have been discussing a fascist takeover, passports, where we'd go, etc.), that the media has virtually ignored the dangerous path we are on. Especially after Jan. 6, when anyone with a brain had to see the magnitude of this deadly threat to our freedoms.

I heard that Trump is going to be "reinstated" in the White House in August. I wonder how big the ceremony will be and if the crowd will be the largest in the history of the world. I also wonder how he got this rumor going with his Facebook and Twitter accounts shut down. Seems he still has many evil elves out there doing his bidding.

You've really got to wonder how many people are paying attention to this for the first time because the media has elevated it to the top of the news. And you've really got to wonder how strong the stupid is in America. I often think that a population this unaware of reality deserves the fascism that is rapidly approaching.

So now that the media and Joe Biden are talking publicly about fascism, what do they intend to do about the insane voting laws being passed in far too many states? Seems to me they're getting into the "game" a bit late. And it also seems that they've become aware that the "game" is actually a war for the soul of America.

[OLDMDDEM]

1. I may be naive about this but

Can't Biden issue an executive order that covers the to voting bills that passed the house?

[zaj]

2. Why do you think he can do that?

He's not a dictator. Executive orders get their power from actual laws that give him powers. What laws would he use?

[OLDMDDEM]

7. Just asking.

I don't know.

[zaj]

11. Ok, cool

I wondered if you had some specific justification. If he could have he would have. But I don't think there's anything that can be done without passing a law.

[OLDMDDEM]

13. Thank you

Now I know.

[The Magistrate]

3. He Cannot, Sir

Executive orders direct how a Federal law is to be executed by employees of the Executive branch. There is no law which could be enforced by employees of the Executive branch, in any manner, on this subject.

[OLDMDDEM]

8. Thank you

[Cyrano]

4. No, voting laws are decided by the states.

However, the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 under Lyndon Johnson put a limit onto the kinds of laws the states could pass.

In 2013, the right wing Supreme Court gutted that Act and states have been fucking minority voters more and more every year.

And today's Supreme Court is even crazier that the one which gutted the Act, which makes it unlikely that any new law passed by congress would remain in place.

Seems that the Republican theft of the Supreme Court is going to haunt us for decades to come.

[OLDMDDEM]

9. Thank you

[KPN]

16. Downright scary times ... and the media is just now noticing it

and perhaps already too late as you say.

Want to put an end to it? Charge, prosecute and appropriately punish someone with treason. Just because we haven’t recognized it (the blatant GOP assault on our Constitution and democracy in pursuit of fascism) as a war doesn’t mean it isn’t and hasn’t been.

My suggestion — go after Flynn right now. Recall him, charge and put him on military trial for treason, and punish him to the highest possible extent. Someone needs to be made a harsh example of ... now before it becomes too late.

[calimary]

22. Can Flynn be court martialed and stripped of his rank?

He made a huge mistake sanctioning an actual Myanmar-style coup here.

I hope there are co sequences for that. Bigtime horrible consequences. And the Orange one can’t pardon him and give him another “get out of jail free” card.

[GB_RN]

24. Technically, Yes

He retired - he did not resign from the military. Therefore, he is still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and thus can be recalled to active duty for violations of any provisions of the UCMJ. Until or unless he resigns his commission and all his benefits, he’s at risk.

[housecat]

18. Was the act completely gutted or are there remaining morsels to work with?

[GB_RN]

26. They Gutted The Enforcement Provision

[jaxexpat]

20. USSC has been co-opted by the oligarchy. Simply that.

It means a full 1/3rd of our government is currently lost to fascism. If through some miracle we can return the court to sanity without mass violence it will take at least a decade or so. Meanwhile we are in the fight of our American lives to retain the executive and thwart the evil prowling the halls of congress. The governments of red states are maneuvering to retain their redness even if all three branches of the federal government were pruned of the GQP's minority power to obfuscate and obstruct. Joe Biden must use all his power and imagination to multi-task when every task is an on-going emergency. And it's not to set up committees and fact finders and exploratory water testing missions of eternal inconsequence. The list of required victories must be established, actions taken and executed, checked off the list as completed, done.

IF Biden has the compliance of law enforcement on his side he needs to use them to arrest, in a most public fashion, the Flynn's and Greene's, the "my pillow's" and Goetz's. Use the constitution's guarantee of "speedy trial" and get these characters off the air waves. They should be afraid to show their heads in public but they, instead, recklessly flaunt their parade of lies along the cutting edge of free speech, sewing insurrection in their wake.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

21. the electoral college helps cons rig easily enough

Their greed knows no bounds and leaps over laws.

[uponit7771]

6. No, constitution only allows congress to do such

[OLDMDDEM]

10. Thank you

[Haggard Celine]

5. So many of these problems would be fixed if

the Senate did away with the filibuster. Manchin and Sinema are allowing the fascist takeover by ceding power to McConnell. Manchin claims that he doesn't want to blow up the government by ending the filibuster, but his refusal to vote for that is the very thing that will bring on the the end of the government as we know it.

[Cyrano]

12. Manchin and Sinema need to be convinced

I, for one, don't care what it takes to "convince" them that the filibuster must go. Photos of them in a hotel room with a goat would be helpful. But, realistically, Schumer and the other Democrats in the senate must bring all possible pressure to bear on these two to kill the filibuster.

And you're right, Haggard Celine. If the filibuster stands, our democracy is over.

[lagomorph777]

17. I think it's going to require organized protests against Manchin and Sinema in WV & AZ

[Eyeball_Kid]

14. We pay through our taxes for a legal system designed to respond...

... to violations of and attacks on our legal framework and social order.

We should EXPECT that the DOJ and state attorneys respond in an appropriate and effective manner.

Thus far, we've seen little action by those agencies entrusted with preserving the stability of our legal system, our voting system, and our social norms in the best traditions defined in our founding documents.

That's where the problem lies, IMO.

Trump and his band of sycophants have been violating major laws for years, even decades, with no consequences. He has never been stopped. He has never been indicted, arrested, convicted, or jailed. Never.

One of the major players in these unfolding legal dramas, Cy Vance, Jr., gave Trump's daughter and son-in-law a sweetheart deal a few years ago, just after they gave his backers a major donation. Vance showed what money does to his judgement, and shouldn't be trusted to make professional, nonpartisan decisions if he displays this major weakness in his performance. That sweetheart deal was made "under the radar", however, and there's NOTHING Vance can do right now that could be hidden out of the public view.

But there are likely other "deals" that Vance made before he became a media headliner. His announced retirement at the end of the year may well be his move to get out of the public sphere before other "deals" become public and his reputation turns to shit.

As for the federal DOJ, we've yet to see Garland face Trump's treasonous actions head-on. Treason, in case you haven't realized, is "so 18th century" that bringing it back into the public sphere would be akin to any attempts to re-popularize the minuet. Trump? Treason? Oh, come on. You can't be serious, Merrick. THAT'S part of the problem. "Treason" is something that a scriptwriter tosses into a pirate movie script. TREASON! MUTINY! Where's Russell Crowe? Get him out of his trailer and on set!

Merrick Garland must take the Treason codes out of the DOJ's hope chest and hang it up for display. It's real and it's dangerous, but the DOJ appears to be pretending that it's out of fashion.

[Cyrano]

15. I believe that Garland is moving as quickly as possible

However, the American "wheels of justice" turn slowly. Especially when a former president may be among the biggest criminals in the world.

And if/when Garland indicts Trump for anything, January 6th will be made to look like a small town block party. Things will get very ugly, very fast.

[housecat]

19. We need to stop acting like spectators. If not now, when?

[SleeplessinSoCal]

23. the constant emails asking for money is depressing.

We need to use our majority in the numbers of party membership. Some public service spots breaking down what the makeup of the country is and why he lost and we won.

Hammer then McConnell's theft of the SCOTUS and obstruction of popular legislature. Conspiracy theories and brainwashing is destroying the fabric of what keeps us the United States of America.

[dlk]

25. Better late than never...

Let's hope it's not too late.