Outside the Beltway

From POTUS

A country of men, not of laws?

Steven L. Taylor
15

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Well, no doubt, he is just joking.

Who needs laws, anyway?

The quote is attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, so no concerning symbolism should be read into such statements.

Recognizing that he is a provocateur, let’s face facts. The last couple of weeks have been far more in the “governing like a dictator” box than the “he’s just a buffoon who says things” box.

And what in the world does he think he is saving us from? (I guess non-whites and obstruction on wealthy people). He is certainly in the process of saving us from having the world’s premier research institutions. He is also saving us from being the leader of a carefully constructed world order that immensely benefits the US.

Heckuva job, Trumpie!

For all of the flaws of the US and of the current global system, it is a bizarre worldview that determines we were better off in the late 19th Century, either as individuals or as a country.

All of the people who thought they were electing a regular Republican, do you see it yet?

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15 responses to “From POTUS”

  1. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    I wonder if Trump’s statement is also intended as a go-ahead to the more unhinged MAGAs that they too can d0 whatever they like to “save” the country. Like perhaps assassinate Democratic officials?

    Remember those two peaceful patriots on Jan. 6 who claimed on video that they were going to find Nancy Pelosi and shoot her in the head? Does this give them permission to do so?

    5
  2. Scott F. Avatar
    Scott F.

    If only we’d been warned.

    15
  3. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy

    I have a different quote for the rapist:

    “War is peace
    Freedom is slavery
    Ignorance is strength”

    George Orwell

    7
  4. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    I can’t remember…how did things turn out for Napoleon?

    Honestly, this man is such an embarrassment.

    8
  5. Mister Bluster Avatar
    Mister Bluster

    @CSK:..I wonder if Trump’s statement is also intended as a go-ahead to the more unhinged MAGAs that they too can d0 whatever they like to “save” the country. Like perhaps assassinate Democratic officials?

    Or torture and murder transgender citizens?

    “Our investigation has revealed a deeply disturbing pattern of abuse that ultimately resulted in Sam’s tragic death,” Capt. Kelly Swift of the State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation said at the meeting briefing. “In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated.
    Source

    “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” Trump said during his inauguration speech.
    Source

    8
  6. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    @Mister Bluster:

    Oh, sure it is. MAGAs can do whatever they wish in order to save the country.

    1
  7. gVOR10 Avatar
    gVOR10

    An odd musing: I recently saw a reference to Carl Schmitt, who was the legal scholar behind Nazism. I pulled up the WIKI page on him. A lot of it is scary relevant to today. Amongst others, I read Tyler Cowen for a window on the other side. He refers to himself as a Straussian. Turns out Leo Strauss wrote a succinct, and approving, description of Schmitt’s political theory.

    [B]ecause man is by nature evil, he therefore needs dominion. But dominion can be established, that is, men can be unified only in a unity against—against other men. Every association of men is necessarily a separation from other men… the political thus understood is not the constitutive principle of the state, of order, but a condition of the state.

    Reads as a pretty good description of the philosophy behind modern American conservative “populism”, nationalism and the need for an “other” to guarantee control.

    8
  8. Mikey Avatar
    Mikey

    What Boiue said.

    the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president

    7
  9. Mr. Prosser Avatar
    Mr. Prosser

    I remember a quote from a man 60 some years ago, a precursor:
    “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
    He didn’t get elected but he started the ball rolling.

    2
  10. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    It’s a big step past the doctrine of executive immunity proposed by Nixon, and validated by the Roberts court.

    “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal” — Nixon.*

    But at least the President isn’t uniquely above the law.

    Anyone with delusions of grandeur would be.

    Even a disgruntled government worker with a pile of guns or a letter opener when he sees Elon Musk entering his office building. Or the omelet cook at Mara Largo — it’s a restaurant, there are knives.

    Republicans think they have a monopoly on unhinged losers with nothing else to lose. Did they forget about the congressional baseball shooting?

    *: if the makers of Nixon/Frost hasn’t added a post-credits scene by now, I have to wonder what they are even doing.

    9
  11. al Ameda Avatar
    al Ameda

    For all of the flaws of the US and of the current global system, it is a bizarre worldview that determines we were better off in the late 19th Century, either as individuals or as a country.
    All of the people who thought they were electing a regular Republican, do you see it yet?

    For most of 2024 I had the very uneasy feeling that the upcoming election was going to be very much like the election of 1876, one where the deal to settle the election was one that would roll back the post-Civil War progress of Reconstruction. In very short order we were set back into a post Civil War world of apartheid, segregation, and Jim Crow for the next for 80 years.

    Now, I understand that it’s not the same as it was 150 years ago, however the radical right onslaught feels like we’re being dragged backward 75 years.

    Well, things can and do change a lot more rapidly today than in those many decades past, and THAT is what gives me a small bit of optimism.

    7
  12. DeD Avatar
    DeD

    Viva Nicolae Ceausescu!

    3
  13. gVOR10 Avatar
    gVOR10

    @Mr. Prosser:

    He didn’t get elected but he started the ball rolling.

    Including the unstated assumption that “liberty” meant low income taxes for the rich.

    Trump seems bent on saving us from living in pretty much the most prosperous, freest, and most secure country ever seen.

    9
  14. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    @gVOR10:

    Including the unstated assumption that “liberty” meant low income taxes for the rich.

    Jamelle q, I believe, had a video about the difference between the ideas of liberty and freedom in the words of the founders, and if my memory serves you’re not far from the truth.

    Oversimplifying: Freedom is the ability to act without restriction. Liberty is the ability to use your wealth without restriction.

    The words became synonyms a bit later.

    (My memory is fuzzy enough that I give it a 75% likelihood that I am recalling the argument reasonably, and a 75% likelihood that I identified the speaker correctly. And who knows if the argument itself is accurate. So… take that all with a grain of salt.)

    2
  15. Tony W Avatar
    Tony W

    I’m fairly confident this will be Luigi’s defense.

    1

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