Are you ready for "retribution"?

[kentuck]

If Democrats win back the White House and both House and Senate?

All the corruption that is happening right now is mostly from Executive Orders, not legislation. We would expect the next President to roll back each and every one of them.

But, are you looking for retribution for the criminals that are now supporting Trump, including those Republicans in the House and Senate?

Also, since all these billionaires are agreeable to paying Trump his extortion fees, cannot they pay those same fees in higher taxes? They have earned the right to be in a higher tax bracket, in my opinion.

It would be justice to see each and every one of them defeated at the polls. But, do not the people deserve more. These folks are criminal. They understand their criminality. They cannot argue ignorance of the law. They are corrupt to the core.

Should Democrats be looking for retribution if they are ever back in power?

[indigoth]

1. I'd not say "retribution"

I would say justice following the rule of law.

Everyone should have their day in court. At the same time, if they’ve demonstrated their incompetence, they should be removed from whatever office they’re holding. In the exact same manner that if I demonstrated my incompetence, I should be removed from my job.

[kentuck]

2. Justice and the rule of law.

Yes, that sounds better.

[sop]

3. Democrats always seek to rehabilitate Republicans.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Democrats will need to drain the swamp

It's MAGA at all levels now, or supposed to be. In order to purge the stench of Trump we'll need to use the same tactics as Trump.

[FalloutShelter]

5. Know what Kentuck? This is their evil genius.

They leave the Democrats a smoking crater where the Government used to be and guarantee there is no time to drag them through the courts.
It’s going to be all hands on deck to rebuild everything that the GOP broke..
This is because Democrats have to produce results and rescue Americans and Republicans get away scott free to wreck everything again in four years.
Rinse… repeat.
Looks like this time around, Democrats will be facing a Hiroshima sized crater. In a sane society, that would render the GOP radioactive for the neat 20 years and we could actually effect some real change.
I am not sure we live in a sane society.

[kentuck]

6. Seems to be...

I suppose the only solution is to gain control of all the propaganda and to brainwash a majority of the people?

[FalloutShelter]

11. I think you have identified the root of the problem.

Rich Republicans bought up radio stations, news papers, and TV networks, while rich Democrats kept their hands in their pockets.(because we don’t believe that propaganda serves democracy)

That was a tragic mistake. We could not even keep Air America going. We are reaping the result of that mistake .

[kentuck]

12. Obviously, Republicans believe in the power of the lie.

They saw how effective the Big Lie was for them.

And there are no effective responses and no consequences.

They believe they can defeat anybody and anything with their propaganda.

[get the red out]

7. Tax them

We should be looking to actually tax the ultra-rich for a change.

[kentuck]

9. In my opinion, that is the only way to defeat the oligarchy.

...and the wealthy that have taken power. Re-establish and strengthen the IRS and put a few of the criminals in jail if they refuse to pay their fair share of taxes. That is really the only power the people have to compete with the wealthy oligarchs.

[MichMan]

18. Had plenty of previous opportunities, yet declined to do so

[kentuck]

19. Why is that?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of wealthy Democrats in the US Senate that like the tax laws the way they are, also.

[MichMan]

21. How would you drive them out of office and replace them with poor ones ?

[kentuck]

22. Is that the only option?

Rich or poor? No in-between? No middle-class?

We could make a distinction between the wealthy and the super-wealthy, in my opinion.

[MichMan]

24. Are there any middle class congress members ?

They all seem to own multiple houses and millions in assets; if not when they get elected, they sure do by the time they leave.

[kentuck]

25. AOC was a waitress.

So there is one. I'm sure there are more.

They should be banned from buying stock because all of them have inside information.

[MichMan]

30. "They should be banned from buying stock because all of them have inside information."

Just like the tax laws, there have also been plenty of opportunities to do just what you are asking. Never seems to be a priority

[dutch777]

8. Trump will forward pardon many before he leaves office. Hope Dems keeping a list of changes needed.

While we may take back the trifecta, whether we will do so with sufficient Congressional majorities to make changes quickly could be an issue. And one would hope we Dems are keeping a prioritized list of things to reset to right. Canceling the Exec Orders are easy. Digging out the board appointees, deep hires and fixing inner departmental rule changes the current scum are putting in place will be harder. As much as we all may want to see the Trump actions repealed, I think a bigger issue is fixing the laws and lax processes that allowed him to do much of his damage in the first place. Clearly, our years of relying on "norms and customary practices" not codified in law or in laws that have no teeth if violated left the country wildly exposed to rogues and villains.

[kentuck]

10. Democrats should start now to inform the populace that they should never vote for anyone....

...that receives a pardon from Donald Trump. We need to clean up the House and Senate and that is the job of every American voter. Be a Patriot, not a Traitor.

[displacedvermoter]

13. "Look forward, not backwards"

Barack Obama, 2009

Just saying...

[kentuck]

14. Rinse and repeat...

Correct.

[hlthe2b]

16. That is the worst course. See my comment downstream.

[displacedvermoter]

29. Totally agree

It didn't work out well at all back in 2009, and can't even be contemplated this time, assuming there is an opportunity for justice.

[hlthe2b]

15. I think we have to restore rule of law and of course doing so will incite accusations of "retribution"...

But States' Bar Associations and the judiciary resume their rightful role in the investigation of legal and ethical violations that can and should result in revocation of licenses, should proceed immediately to restore even a modicum of confidence in the legal community and the DOJ.

And-- we have to investigate and prosecute monetary crimes as well as the diversion of sensitive, confidential, private information on a governmental and individual level.

These will have to be early priorities, whether a new administration just wants (badly) to "turn a page" or not.

[MichMan]

17. Could always designate the GOP as a terrorist organization

File RICO charges against every elected official holding federal, state or local office

[Gore1FL]

20. 'Retribution' is a poor choice of word.

There will be consequences, everyone will feel them.

[NNadir]

23. It strikes me that the level of incompetence is so great...

...that it will raise the consequences, suffering, to unprecedented levels.

It is not clear to me that the United States will survive, but if it does and honest elections are held under the severely threatened Constitution, reality may lead to a veto proof impeachment capable Congress.

In that case impeachment followed by conviction - admittedly a long shot but no longer than getting here would have seemed five years ago - is a possibility.

One would need to be an extreme optimist to bank on it but improbable events are known in history, including the event of a single corrupt intellectually and morally withered fool destroying the world economy.

[Orrex]

26. I'm very confident that we'll "put it behind us for the good of the nation"

And then Repugs will do exactly the same things they’re doing now, but much worse, the next time around.

[wendyb-NC]

27. Well stated, kentuck

Not retribution, something worse loosing their jobs as legislators, taxes and justice if warranted, by their actions.

[yourout]

28. Project 2029

[Martin Eden]

31. "Retribution" is what Trump does. "Justice" is what Democrats must pursue.

Retribution is a close cousin of revenge, which is not the most worthy motivation when the intent is (or should be) to serve the long term public good.

We are at a tipping point. Our future hangs in the balance. Of course we must not back down from the tough fight we are in, nor refrain from effective tactics to avoid getting our hands dirty.

But we must ALWAYS keep in mind the highest ideals for which we fight, and listen to the better angels of our nature.

[DinahMoeHum]

32. I don't want "justice", "vengeance" or "retribution"

I. WANT. PUNISHMENT.

:NUKE:

[Silent Type]

33. Hope we move on. Going after trump after his first term sure didn't help us in 2024. We chased him in federal and state

courts, he was even convicted or fined in some cases, etc., for good reason. However, it didn't help us at polls.

[kentuck]

34. Do you think the outcome would have been different if Democrats had just ignored him?

Or would it have been even worse?

Sometimes you just have to do what is the right thing to do. My God! He tried to overthrow the government. Now he is doing it again.

[Silent Type]

37. I don't think it helped us. It was deserved, but it didn't help us, unless one believes he would have won by 10 points

without federal and state charges.

[beaglelover]

36. Yep. Each conviction just made him stronger and more appealing to average Americans. Go figure.

[beaglelover]

35. Absolutely NOT. Democrats should dedicate 100% of their time trying to fix the problems which are

hindering average Americans from achieving success. THAT will win the Democrats more voters. NOT retribution.

[Iamscrewed]

38. Keep it simple

The rule of law applied appropriately "jury of peers " or maybe an international court should be fair enough.

[CitizenZero]

39. Righteous Justice

Righteous justice is better than retribution. But I get your point.

[lastlib]

40. Amend Shakespeare:

"the first thing we do, let's kill all the billionaires"

Tax the shit out of 'em.

[LuvLoogie]

41. It's called cleaning the toilets, kitchen, and jacuzzi after a frat party.

It's what the Dems always do.

They'll go back to coddling the white supremacy and corporatocracy while it burnishes it's spoils in comfort.

It won't change until a majority of CIS white males and their pick-me screw-yous pull their heads out of their asses.

Lysistrata 2025!

Oh and VOTE, PENDEJOs!

[JHB]

42. It's law and justice, but they're going to claim "retribution" anyway...

...and we need Democrats who will not shy away from what must be done just because of GOP whining. It needs to be aggressive and it needs to go past Trump himself, past his administration, and also go after the support system. Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation, the stuffing of the Supreme Court with willing RW operatives is Heritage and the Federalist Society, DOGE isn't just Musk, it's a bunch of Techbro weirdos who want to rip up democracy and establish a type of monarchy. Plus the religious zealots, plus plain old plutocrats, ad nauseum.

Trump has brought all sorts of RW radicals out of the woodwork, especially high-level ones who normally have some benign public front but whose goal would fit in with any Bolshevik: tear it all down and remake it according to their liking.

We're in a civil war already, the Right Wing against Normal People.

[SpankMe]

43. It's too early to say if Dems will ever get power again

We're only 100 days in to a 4 year term of Project 2025, MAGA bullshit, and they have plans for massive voter disenfranchisement and goalpost re-arranging to stay in power. Their language is evolving toward characterizing any political opposition as "election interference" at best and terrorism at worst. The mere act of running against Trump or Trumpers would be met with arrest and attempted prosecution, like Navalny in Russia.

If we ever did get power again, yes - rule of law. But also doing innovative things to at least TRY and bulletproof the system from being hijacked like this in the future. Trump is clearly violating the separation of powers and abusing his authority - and no-one's holding him accountable. We've got to do something to prevent or minimize this in the future. I don't know what that something is. But, the Dems had better have a working group empaneled rght now that is working this.

Overall, I'd say this whole "America" thing won't end well.

[chowmama]

44. I don't want retribution. I want due process.

I want all the due process. I want every one of these sons of bitches to get what's coming to them. And I want it done in the open, with all the sunlight, air and news coverage available.

If the due process shows they did nothing illegal, they're off the hook. That's the way it works. But for all the crimes against our country, its people and the Constitution, I want public consequences.

No more letting criminals skate 'for the good of the country'. We've tried that, and it's not only done our country no good whatsoever, it's done us considerable harm.