I can only stomach a minute or so of Fox & Friends. Luckily they are so good at staying on-message that it only takes a minute. The line is that the hearings are not about Jan 6, but about “nationalizing all elections” (which I take to mean “we’re trying to get corrupt people in as many Sec of State positions as possible, so we win elections even if we don’t have enough voters”).
Saw this on the reddit thread. TFG can legally run even if jailed and doesn’t matter who wins GOP can (conceivably given different laws red states have passed and a pending SCOTUS case) just over turn the results.
Not going to link it, but the fat assed criminal former office holder on his shitty excuse for a media platform apparently called former AG Bill Barr ‘weak, stupid…ridiculous’.
I would like to formally welcome William Barr to his DJT FACE SHITTING MOMENT!
You deserve all of it, big guy.
For all the “cultural” improvements over the years at least in the 1780s politicians could find enough common ground to create what has been a remarkable document. I don’t think that could happen in today’s environment.
I can’t decide if such a document today would be written in crayon or via a 178-part Twitter thread.
You open that Pandora’s Box and you end up with unintended consequences. Like it ending up saying we are a Christian nation, saying marriage is one man and one woman, and every other culture-war item on the right’s agenda.
Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen.
Any way to (eventually) get a breakdown by political affiliation? If this is a wide cross section of the American population it’s a little more exciting than if it’s the top 15-20% of already convinced democrat true believers.
At least people are watching. :) 20M is more than I would have expected, although I didn’t exactly have a figure in mind.
The Constitution is – and always has been – a work in progress. That’s one of the cool things about it.
That said, the work could definitely use a little more progress at this point, given that one of our two political parties is doing its best to undermine said progress. So I agree with your point!
-Tom
Historically it has been but I don’t know if I can agree with “is”. More a petrified document than a living one, in my opinion. The only amendment that has been made during my life took what… 202 years to pass? :)
Unfortunately, the feasibility of Constitutional amendments seem to get further and further away as time goes on. I have a hard time imagining what 2/3 of Congress can agree on (Hallo, January 6 hearings!).
The Constitution does assume a functional legislative branch, I’ll grant you that. But my point is that we don’t need a whole new Constitution, as @banzai suggested. Instead, we need a government that isn’t hobbled by a party hostile to the process of government and representation.
In other words, the plan isn’t the problem, the ingredients are. At least that’s how I see it, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last 20 years, it’s that I don’t know nearly as much as I thought. :)
-Tom
True!
Look what happened to the ERA. It came within a few states until conservative politics stopped it. At this point in time it will probably never be amended again, it will just be reinterpreted by the judiciary.
I mean the constitution is definitely part of the problem.
The way votes are allocated and counted leads into this. The way the senate and house are structured lead to this. The system, as designed, tends towards the two party outcome we see. They studied philosophy, but not enough game theory.
If I could magic wand any part of the constitution it would be this. Proper multi-party system please!
Anecdata!
A friend of mine who describes himself as a “moderate” (blecch) watched most of the hearing on Thursday. He didn’t actually mean to, but he sat down to watch news (he watches news on TV. I know, right?), but it was the only thing on so he watched it.
He had a mostly favorable impression. His main takeaway was that Trump either knew he lost and decided to pursue and amplify election fraud claims anyway, or he should have known and he’s just completely insane. He was surprised so many people still believe the election was stolen.
So… who knows, maybe there are more people out there like my friend.
I had a history teacher that the Founding Fathers supposedly thought that (for the president) each state would put forth its own “favorite son” and they duke it out on the national stage.
Let’s hope so!