On the other hand:Also helpful flowchart here https://t.co/mhHdSDZpDU
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) January 7, 2021
Every analysis of the useless 25th (as it will hereinafter ever be labeled on this blog) glides all too easily from "The VP and the Cabinet suspend the President" to "and then the matter goes to Congress." Like this:Y'all talking about the 25th Amendment might want to read Section 4 all the way through and see what a shitshow that would be, even if Pence and the cabinet would do it, which they never would.
— SacredLandslideHat (@Popehat) January 6, 2021
Except the matter ONLY goes to Congress IF the VP and the Cabinet have the courage of their convictions and decide to stick to their guns and affirm that "No, he's nuts, he's not fit to fun a booth at a craft show." Because if the President says "I'm fine, and they're all traitors, and now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their MAGA God!", do you really see Mike Pence and Steve Mnuchin and Jeff Rosen turning into men of steel and moral fiber and resist the firestorm/shitstorm that descends upon them? Or do they say "Fuck it, we give up, he's only got 9 days left anyway!"?.... again in four days, unless the VP and the cabinet again certified Trump’s inability to carry out his duties. At that point, the matter goes to Congress, which has 21 days to affirm the Cabinet’s decision. But by then Joe Biden would be president, so there would never ...
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) January 6, 2021
I mean, imagine they screw their nerves to the sticking point in the immediate aftermath of January 6. Congress is now in recess until January 20. D.C. is going to calm down. Invoking the useless 25th, as Maggie Haberman noted yesterday, might well inflame passions across the country (state capitols in Utah, Kansas, and Texas were scenes of protest if not mob violence yesterday. The Texas capitol grounds are surrounded by a fence and wall that can effectively close out all but the most determined, and the grounds were closed yesterday. I understand the Kansas state house was entered, but I can't confirm that.). Do we think the Cabinet would have the courage of its convictions not only once, but twice? If they can be convinced now (and the passions are ebbing) to act, will they be as convinced by, say, Sunday?
They'd probably rather quit and appear "courageous" in doing that. Which prompts me to re-up this tweet from the storm of tweets I posted yesterday.
— Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal) January 7, 2021Even if the Cabinet had enough moral fiber in their breakfast one morning to oust the President with their Constitutional authority, would they do it again 4 days later just to throw the matter to the Congress (which would have to convene to decide the question)?
I don't see any reason to count on it. And then what? Trump is chastened? Or Trump gets worse?
What do you think?
This past four years has really made me appreciate just how dangerous the presidential system of government is. Especially with our appalling anti-democratic add-ons, EC, this absurd baroque contradance cum acrobatics act, all in a thick sauce of lies told with complete impunity.
ReplyDeleteNope, it's not going to get better till we seriously amend the Constitution to get rid of that stuff. Though the national popular vote thing might, at least temporarily, make the EC less dangerous. Eventually Republican-fascists or whoever comes after will find lawyerly and justicely arrangements of words to corrupt whatever reform bypassing the absurd impossibility of getting rid of it by amendment. That's one of the basic problems with work arounds, their cleverness can be used against them.