this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2024
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Sorry if this is not the proper community for this question. Please let me know if I should post this question elsewhere.

So like, I'm not trying to be hyperbolic or jump on some conspiracy theory crap, but this seems like very troubling news to me. My entire life, I've been under the impression that no one is technically/officially above the law in the US, especially the president. I thought that was a hard consensus among Americans regardless of party. Now, SCOTUS just made the POTUS immune to criminal liability.

The president can personally violate any law without legal consequences. They also already have the ability to pardon anyone else for federal violations. The POTUS can literally threaten anyone now. They can assassinate anyone. They can order anyone to assassinate anyone, then pardon them. It may even grant complete immunity from state laws because if anyone tries to hold the POTUS accountable, then they can be assassinated too. This is some Putin-level dictator stuff.

I feel like this is unbelievable and acknowledge that I may be wayyy off. Am I misunderstanding something?? Do I need to calm down?

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[–] [email protected] 135 points 4 months ago (4 children)

This is a 5 alarm fire. It's very concerning. This is precariously close to the end to the quarter millennium of the American Experiment. Seriously.

The likely scenarios, as far as I can guess are that...

a) if Biden wins with anything less than a substantial majority, there will be violence. b) if Biden just scrapes a win, violence seems likely. c) if Biden loses, the violence will be long lasting and possibly irreparable in the next generation or two.

They took a torch to your constitution. All for the sake of a very, very evil man.

I am quite afraid, to be honest. The people who are not concerned do not appear to have familiarity with some very significant and recent (ie - less than a century ago) world history.

This is not just a conventional political pendulum shift where every so often you find yourself in vociferous disagreement with where things are going. This is a fundamental shredding of societal fabric.

I would very, very much like to be wrong.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 4 months ago (1 children)

They took a torch to your constitution. All for the sake of a very, very evil man.

The heritage foundation has been working on this long before the angry orange was a viable candidate. He is just the current face because he is belligerent enough to follow through on what they want to do and does a bang up job of riling up the conservative base.

If he was out of the picture they would be doing the same things with someone else who wouldn't be nearly as effective, but they would still be going down the same road.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That’s one of the things that really gets me about all this. This didn’t happen suddenly, but there has never been any actual effort by the opposition party to counter it. They never address the trend in any organized way, and never really raise awareness of it. The closest they get is to fundraise off the threats, but it never translates into action or progress. If anything, they organize to ostracize the few members of their party that do speak forcefully about it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

It's horribly depressing, but the only people around to fight the actually evil people are slightly less evil people.

The only reason democrats, as a whole, are a better alternative to republicans is because they chose a different portion of the population to pander to in order to gain power.

It really fucking sucks.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

If it's close at all I don't see how MAGA and the GOP don't just steal the election. I really think Biden is going to need at least 2020 electoral numbers to win safely.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Biden won the 2020 election by 50,000 votes.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

That's a funny way to misspell 7 million.

Hell, Clinton won the popular vote by over 3 million.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

If the popular vote won the election you'd have a point.

Is that how American presidential elections are won? Or did a small lead in voters in a few counties tip the swing states?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

The worst part is that those who do not understand this will tell you you are insane, catastrophizing, should just focus on your own life, and will get angry at you for really caring... while the ones who do understand, generally just get depressed.

Meanwhile, our political system implodes as we have passed the climate threshold. Rivers in Alaska are running orange as a result of permafrost thawing. That means we are releasing methane now, means its only going to get worse faster.

Thank god I have never wanted and do not have children.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (5 children)

So all bets are off? If violence is inevitable and the alternative is a de facto dictatorship, maybe the liberal Americans should strike first while they still can, e.g., assassinating orange man and other conservative leaders.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

No, it can be done "legally." Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2:

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

If President Biden suspended habeas corpus as allowed by the Constitution as required to protect public safety from seditionists who, remember, have made public threats of violence, and rounded them up, that would be an official act and he would be immune from charges. Furthermore, there would no longer be the votes in the House to impeach him.

ETA: Scare quotes. This would buy quite a lot of time as the issue worked its way through the courts. It might even incite open rebellion, then the question would be essentially moot.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I've never wanted a Death Note more than I do now.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Historically assassination doesn't really work out well, and I'd imagine that's doubly so here, where the president's really just a sock puppet for the billionaire class.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

No. Not at all. That's honestly not helpful or acceptable talk.

When. I mentioned violence, I was highlighting the extent to which I fear it's a powder keg. An observation, not an imperative. I hope it's not. I sincerely hope it's not.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

I know it's wrong, but doesn't it feel so right?