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What's happening right now - Portland, outing of an FBI source, empowering of DHS as an Interior Ministry - are all the result of the United States operating without an actual president, and the emergence of Bill Barr as the de fact head of the Executive Branch. /1
Only Barr and DHS have the ability to extend state power immediately to U.S. citizens, inside the United States. Defense, State, etc, have none of these powers at hand. Trump is functionally incapacitated, and Barr knows it, and he's stepped in as the Acting President. /2
The president has gone bye-bye at this point; that makes Barr, without any control on his powers, a kind of super-Interior Minister, keeping "order" as he sees fit. This is a total collapse of constitutional order within the Executive branch, because of Trump's incapacity. /3
This makes Barr the most dangerous man in the United States government right now.
Courts and state AGs and state authorities - and not naked protesters - need to step into his way. (Protesters, stop helping Barr. Because you are.)
/4x
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Tom Nichols
@RadioFreeTom
There are many people in American politics I can imagine would attract cults: War heroes, charismatic speakers, people with compelling stories.
The idea that a cult would form around a spoiled little rich boy who hates the people who love him still amazes me. /1
But the more I think about it, the more I realize this is a Cult of Inferiority. This is a cult of people who want to think someone *no better than them and maybe worse* finally made it into power. They know he's just a snotty brat. They like that. It reassures them. /2
For all the talk of "greatness," we have a giant subculture - they are not a majority, but there are millions of them - who loathe greatness, fear it, and celebrate the most loathsome among us as a balm for their own insecurities and resentments. This is extremely dangerous. /3
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Tom Nichols
@RadioFreeTom
In 2018, @DavidAFrench argued that conservatives should not burn down the GOP out of anger at Trump. He is making the same argument now, contra a piece by @GeorgeWill. I think this is wrong, and 2018 - when he supported Marsha Blackburn - proved it. /1
My immediate problem is that French argued Blackburn was one of the "good"
Republicans. Having watched her and heard her, I would be hard pressed to think of her even as a good *person*. Even if I agreed with David, she'd be high on my list to vote out. /2
This is basically another version of "Dems will vote for liberal stuff and judges." That does not sway me. "Liberal policy" does not worry me nearly as much as "enabled an authoritarian, anti-constitutional, un-American enemy of the constitution." That's the only issue. /3
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Tom Nichols
@RadioFreeTom
Counterpoint to this thread from @LizMair: I get the argument, and understand. If you wipe out the GOP, and all that's left is Tom Cotton, then you have Tom Cotton's GOP.
But I don't see an alternative, since the GOP has been institutionally captured. /1
@LizMair If there were a massive intra-party schism and debate in the GOP, I'd be where Liz is: Get with the sensible center-right, and turn your fire on the extremists and the Trumpy opportunists. Strengthen the center, defeat the fringe. But that option is long gone, imo. /2
@LizMair With the noble exception of Romney, all non-Trumpist options are gone. And even if some of those Trump fellow-travelers aren't that extreme, they've shown that they're cowards who will cave to the *next* Trump (or Cotton). This is like "playing the doves" in Iran or something. /3
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