EVEN CONSUMMATE VICTORY IN THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF AMERICA WON'T END THE WAR
There is a terrible truth lurking behind Donald Trump that is far more important than 2020. We've dared not whisper this truth because it's more terrifying than anything we can currently comprehend.
There is a terrible truth lurking behind Donald Trump that is far more important than 2020. We've dared not whisper this truth because it's more terrifying than anything we can currently comprehend.
1/ What is this wretched, unspeakable truth? Quite simply, that all of human civilization itself experienced *astoundingly good fortune* that DONALD J. TRUMP (of all people!) was elected head of state and supreme commander of Earth's greatest military superpower.
Seriously.
Seriously.
2/ Donald Trump is a bad man, and he must lose in 2020. No sane person would disagree with this. But his mere defeat is not the end of this war, not by a long shot. Without a supportive Congress, a President is essentially powerless to advance legislation on their own.
3/And yet in the wake of the Trump era’s unrelenting assault on our most core belief in the fundamental goodness of human society, it is clear now that the Presidency--our highest, most revered elected public position--is *much* too powerful for our democracy to be sustainable.
4/ Innumerable horrifying realizations have been forced upon us during this inescapable national nightmare, but none more consequential than this one -- Donald Trump has failed to enact even a *fraction* of the monstrously evil agenda he has so transparently desired to achieve.
5/ As much as we would like to credit our own righteous outrage, powerful organization, and overwhelming revulsion at his every repugnant attempt to spread his beloved ideals of hate and grievance, none of our efforts stopped him AT ALL.
6/ The *only* reason Donald Trump's presidency has thus far been such a colossally impotent disaster is because he is such an *unbelievably incompetent* leader!
7/ We are signing our own death warrants if we let ourselves believe Trump is the worst there possibly could be. Imagine his successors, in 2024 or 2054, who now know beyond all doubt how effective his use of fear and anger are on a socially fractured public like ours.
8/ Now imagine what horrors such a monster could unleash on ALL OF US if he was just a *tiny* bit smarter than Donald Trump. Think of the tragedy and abhorrent cruelty he could inflict on innocent immigrants, children, the poor, and the sick.
9/ And of course, don't forget:
WITHIN 60 SECONDS THAT MANIAC COULD LAUNCH ENOUGH NUCLEAR WEAPONRY TO END ALL LIFE ON EARTH IF HE WANTED TO.
WITHIN 60 SECONDS THAT MANIAC COULD LAUNCH ENOUGH NUCLEAR WEAPONRY TO END ALL LIFE ON EARTH IF HE WANTED TO.
10/ Because the American electorate now recklessly expects their presidents to be entertaining movie stars more than competent public servants, the functions of the presidency itself must be reformed to align with that reality.
11/ There is only one sane path forward. The powers of the President must be separated into two distinct offices according to its core constitutional functions: one as duly elected head of state of our sovereign nation, one as supreme commander of our immensely powerful military.
12/ The military strength of the United States goes far beyond a collection of tanks & bombs. It is undeniably *critical* to the political stability of the entire planet. As such, it has no business being subjected to the political whims of the American electorate for any reason.
13/ The organized advocacy of a movement of such historical significance might consider the beneficial utility of intentionally inflammatory imagery in its righteous fight against entrenched political stasis. One such "catchy" way to describe the effort: #NeuterThePresidency.
14/ The core concept of a campaign to #NeuterThePresidency can be recognized concisely (i.e. "fits a bumper sticker") and accurately understood as a legitimate and much-needed reformation of a governing system widely known to be fundamentally broken.
15/ The plain case for #NeuterThePresidency is our intent to remove its now-obvious capacity to abuse its virtually unchecked power, flaunting our very rule of law. We can't arrest him & impeachment is worthless, so we must remove its "testicles"--so it stops fucking the world.
16/ In more specific language, the concept is the separation of the powers of US Commander-in-Chief (legitimately "uncheckable" for sake of global security) from the elected head-of-state function that is the very bread & butter of the 24/7 cycle of political news/entertainment.
17/ A widespread and aggressive campaign to #NeuterThePresidency is but *one* of many serious, reasonable, and legitimate responses to the Trump era that the increasingly empowered younger generations would not hesitate to support if it were effective in its intended goal.
18/Such a campaign to protect us from *ourselves* is now fully justified as Trump has proven our electorate possesses such peerless military power that it prioritizes its *entertainment* above its own security. This necessitates separation of all such command from elected office.
19/ The US President to accomplish such a momentous endeavor would be the one who allowed Congress to legitimately revoke such massive power from their own office. They plausibly would then need to nominate someone to serve in that first newly-created supreme commander position.
20/ Of course, we should expect predictably disingenuous conservative outrage about their sudden concern for the "sanctity of the constitution", but if Democrats hold the Presidency, the House, and the Senate for even a short time, such radically mundane change *is possible*.
21/ This kind of bold action is not without historical parallel. As a guide, we can look to the Banking Act of 1935 which established the process of selecting the unelected, nonpolitical, immensely powerful, & functionally crucial position of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
22/ The Banking Act of 1935 states the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is chosen by the President & serves 4-yr terms with no term limit. The President must choose among members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, each of which serves a single staggered 14-yr term.
23/ It is not implausible a similar act could be passed by a unified Dem Congress in the near future as a response to the Trump era. Young people today would certainly regard such an effort as necessary & legitimate just as the 1935 era proved the need for a stable central bank.
24/ Imagine Donald Trump’s authority & power (or Heaven forbid, whatever monster succeeds him) were clearly limited or almost ceremonial & we just let him ramble incoherently in pretty gardens & smile at orphans of gun violence. Doesn't that seem like a better world to live in?
25/Details of such a plan need to come later, so let me toss in a bit of fun to help a real #NeuterThePresidency campaign catch fire:
The Dem Pres would have to nominate *someone* for the inaugural role of unelected supreme military commander...does anyone maybe come to mind?
The Dem Pres would have to nominate *someone* for the inaugural role of unelected supreme military commander...does anyone maybe come to mind?
26/ Perhaps you realized where I was going with this...
But really, what better unelected leader could we trust to hold all our nukes for us while *also* serving as the perfect historical capstone to a successful neutering of an office that otherwise will inevitably fuck us all?
But really, what better unelected leader could we trust to hold all our nukes for us while *also* serving as the perfect historical capstone to a successful neutering of an office that otherwise will inevitably fuck us all?
27/ Be honest...despite whatever raving madman makes it his personal mission to desecrate everything we once held dear, if all the while Hillary Clinton was guarding our military secrets from our enemies & locking down our hydrogen bombs, WOULDN'T THE WORLD BE A LOT SAFER?
28/ Change is coming. It's going to happen. The entire Republican party is on borrowed time, and the gathering strength of Millennials & GenZ won't be held back forever. However, it remains critically important to understand that change *can be slowed* if we make the wrong moves.
29/ In 2016, Boomers & Silents were 44% of the electorate, while Millennials & Gen Z were 30%. In 2020, those two coalitions will be approximately equal at 37% each. Boomers & Silents split about 50/50 Dem/GOP. Millennials & Gen Z absolutely DO NOT split 50/50.
30/ This chart is absolutely electric, and it isn’t even *really* about Joe Biden. It's about the unstoppable cataclysm looming over the GOP, waiting for the trigger. No voter suppression, gerrymandering, or Russian hacking holds back a 30-pt loss, & it’s coming for ALL OF THEM.
31/The GOP’s ploy to stay in power longterm was to keep the super-Dem younger generations disillusioned & hopeless so they crippled themselves electorally. DJT has ensured they will suffer dearly for their cynical gambit, but it's foolish to believe the reckoning will come early.
32/ Reminder: this was for the *midterm* election in 2018, when Trump wasn’t even on the ballot. Look at the age split.
To put a new spin on an old saying…"you can fool some of the Boomers & Silents most of the time, but dare try to fool Millennials & Gen Z and your #TimesUp."
To put a new spin on an old saying…"you can fool some of the Boomers & Silents most of the time, but dare try to fool Millennials & Gen Z and your #TimesUp."
33/ The youngest gens are fully activated now. Obama couldn't do that, neither could Hillary. Trump is the clarion call of the under-40s...the *moment* Boomers slip as the dominant electoral bloc, the Millennial/GenZ superbloc will implement radical change unthinkable 10 yrs ago.
34/ Biden's support in this poll can be regarded as a generational barometer toward the Democratic party overall, as he is closely associated with—fairly or not—the generally least-appealing parts of the party from the perspective of typical young, diverse, activated liberals.
35/ Also, I know there are plenty of progressive Gen X’ers...the reality however is that there simply aren’t enough of them to make a fundamental difference in either direction--at least not relative to the generational titans on either side of them.
36/ Biden v Trump: Boomers are Trump+3; Xers are (merely) Biden+7. A decent lean, but pales in comparison to the political cataclysm driven by Millennials (Biden +22) & Gen Z (Biden +30). Also keep in mind this isn’t even testing generic Democratic ideals, but one specific Dem.
37/ Finally, what this chart shows is the generational strength & long-term appeal of Donald Trump (human avatar of the GOP's corrupt ideology) against our most high-profile old white man constantly regarded by many as a relic of a bygone political age.
AND HE'S CRUSHING IT.
AND HE'S CRUSHING IT.
38/ As further evidence of the looming cataclysm that awaits the GOP, Millennials/GenZ are in near lockstep on many political issues. Imagine what's in store within 20 years if we succeed in defeating "Nouveau Hitler" & reclaiming a future for our youth.
pewsocialtrends.org/2019/01/17/gen…
pewsocialtrends.org/2019/01/17/gen…
39/ What could we really accomplish w an electoral superbloc that leans D by 25 pts? Nearly anything we wanted! Protection of human rights...nat'l popular vote...ranked choice voting...election day holiday...nat'l voter registration...climate action...end of gerrymandering, etc.
40/We have a real chance to change the world once the younger generations finally rip the reins of power from the greedy clutches of Boomers & Silents. We just have to survive this moment in history to get there!
(and no offense to older Dems, only wish there were more of you!)
(and no offense to older Dems, only wish there were more of you!)
41/ To have any hope of accomplishing any of this, we cannot afford to aim lower than a MASSIVE LANDSLIDE in 2020--to wash out the most possible GOP Reps, Senators, Governors, & state legislators across the country to put Dems in as many seats as possible at all costs!
42/ Nothing will change unless Trump and his entire complicit regime are washed out together. The 2020 election will be the ultimate test of #VoteBlueNoMatterWho
#VoteBlueToSaveAmerica
#VoteBlueToEndThisNightmare
& whatever other hashtags we choose to believe in to motivate us!
#VoteBlueToSaveAmerica
#VoteBlueToEndThisNightmare
& whatever other hashtags we choose to believe in to motivate us!
43/"Do we *really* have to do all this? Once we win in 2020 everything will just go back to normal, right?"
The world will never be the same again. But before we can make it better, we have to restore its sanity. The change we bring won't be stopped, but it can be slowed.
The world will never be the same again. But before we can make it better, we have to restore its sanity. The change we bring won't be stopped, but it can be slowed.
44/Below is Dem/GOP perf in Pres races in WI/PA/MI. I'm no fancy statistician, but something seems a bit "amiss" in 2016.
Our fixation on horse-race politics seems blind to this--if the election is even *close*, RUSSIA WILL STEAL IT AGAIN FOR TRUMP.
2016 WAS NOT A COINCIDENCE.
Our fixation on horse-race politics seems blind to this--if the election is even *close*, RUSSIA WILL STEAL IT AGAIN FOR TRUMP.
2016 WAS NOT A COINCIDENCE.
45/ The urgency of an earnest campaign to #NeuterThePresidency is clear. Not only will unfit leaders inevitably inflict unspeakable tragedy & horror upon us if allowed legitimacy to do so—it's quite likely CORRUPT PRESIDENTS WILL FALL UNDER THE DIRECT THRALL OF OUR WORST ENEMIES.
46/ Our sovereignty may be destroyed from within because there are insufficient checks on our Pres to stop him & the few who could have spoken out decided not to because they foolishly believed "due process" would stop evil men from sending the innocent to concentration camps.
47/ Not to mention our failure to act now may doom our grandchildren to starvation under a sky forever blackened by nuclear winter. It’s fairly easy to avoid a nuclear blast--it’s not so easy to live long after all plants on Earth die. But that's a discussion for another time...
@threadreaderapp unroll
