Quote of the day
Trump will not be president forever. And when he goes, Democrats will face a defining choice: exploit the executive machinery he has exposed, or dismantle it. The temptation to exploit it will be enormous—and yielding to that temptation would be a historic mistake. If post-Trump America is to be a post-authoritarian one, it will have to embark on a Second Reconstruction, and Democrats will need to lead it.
In the first Reconstruction, the Union faced the challenge of reintegrating the South under a rule of law guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens. Republicans led the task then, with some support from loyal Democrats. They undertook not minor technocratic tinkering but major structural interventions—constitutional amendments and new institutions—that remade our governing framework and ensured democratic inclusion. Something similar is needed now.
~ Shikha Dalmia and Andy Craig
In the first Reconstruction, the Union faced the challenge of reintegrating the South under a rule of law guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens. Republicans led the task then, with some support from loyal Democrats. They undertook not minor technocratic tinkering but major structural interventions—constitutional amendments and new institutions—that remade our governing framework and ensured democratic inclusion. Something similar is needed now.
~ Shikha Dalmia and Andy Craig
A central feature of Reconstruction was to deny federal political equality to the states that seceded. This made sense, but denying these states a role in the federal constitutional processes is pretty much exactly what allowed the most enduring elements of Reconstruction to be enacted. Nothing like that circumstance is in the cards, so I’m thinking Reconstruction is an unlikely template here. I have no crystal ball, but I’d guess the more normal political effort to raise taxes on the wealthy will be priority 1 by a lot.
Speaking of crystal balls, I long ago peered into one and found it may be at some point we will thank his exposure of the belly of the beast
I have often ~ here a time or two ~ bewailed the rush to revolution with no idea what to do on the other side of one. We kinda’ sorta’ have that option now: no idea what to do on the other side of what has happened. We’ll have to change our way of living, clean up our trip. Recognize that this is who we are; maybe not all of us, but enough to do the harm that’s done. We don’t have a choice
Caricature of of minority imposing a tyranny on the majority
There’s an Amendment for that …