Demetri Kofinas’ Post

"Still, a bureaucracy more accountable to the president could also be less effective. Donald Moynihan, a professor in Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, says research shows that as the bureaucracy becomes more political, its performance deteriorates. Political appointees in the U.S. aren’t necessarily bad managers but are often inexperienced, typically serving only 18 to 24 months, he said. True, civil servants lean liberal, but Moynihan said they are less ideologically extreme than the Democratic or Republican officials they serve. “If you create a government with more appointees driving the show, then you’re going to create a government that is more driven by ideological goals of the administration.” The result, he said, will be more dramatic swings between administrations on rules and programs. Moynihan said bureaucrats also keep political appointees accountable, such as the whistleblowers who reported in 2019 that Trump had pressed Ukraine to investigate President Biden’s son. At the time the administration was also withholding aid. The matter led to Trump’s first impeachment by Democrats in the House of Representatives and subsequent acquittal in the Senate. “What if you have a president with authoritarian tendencies who wants to take control of the bureaucracy? That’s the part that really terrifies me,” he said." #americafirst #usa #donaldtrump #trump #trumptrain #maga #congress #gop #republicanparty #government #president #presidentialelection #election2024

Quote: However poorly Biden performed at that debate (and he was embarrassing), debates are theater. However ill equipped the Democratic Party is to provide an heir apparent — and they are embarrassingly unprepared for this predictable eventuality — their dysfunction is not the clear and present danger. The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity is a harbinger of not just the court’s growing power but of Democrats’ inability to mount a populist defense. This conservative bloc on the court reflects years of undemocratic political maneuvering, from Mitch McConnell stealing a seat to the political activism of Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas. Their decisions are not only codifying minority interests, they are a show of strength for a Republican Party that has no intention of ever ceding power to majority will again.

By The Editorial Board (PART ONE) It is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump. He has proved himself morally unfit for an office that asks its occupant to put the good of the nation above self-interest. He has proved himself temperamentally unfit for a role that requires the very qualities — wisdom, honesty, empathy, courage, restraint, humility, discipline — that he most lacks. Those disqualifying characteristics are compounded by everything else that limits his ability to fulfill the duties of the president: his many criminal charges, his advancing age, his fundamental lack of interest in policy and his increasingly bizarre cast of associates. This unequivocal, dispiriting truth — Donald Trump is not fit to be president — should be enough for any voter who cares about the health of our country and the stability of our democracy to deny him re-election. For this reason, regardless of any political disagreements voters might have with her, Kamala Harris is the only patriotic choice for president. As a dedicated public servant who has demonstrated care, competence and an unwavering commitment to the Constitution, Ms. Harris stands alone in this race. She may not be the perfect candidate for every voter, especially those who are frustrated and angry about our government’s failures to fix what’s broken — from our immigration system to public schools to housing costs to gun violence. Yet we urge Americans to contrast Ms. Harris’s record with her opponent’s. Ms. Harris is more than a necessary alternative. There is also an optimistic case for elevating her, one that is rooted in her policies and borne out by her experience as vice president, a senator and a state attorney general. Over the past 10 weeks, Ms. Harris has offered a shared future for all citizens, beyond hate and division. She has begun to describe a set of thoughtful plans to help American families. Beyond the economy, Ms. Harris promises to continue working to expand access to health care and reduce its cost. ... Globally, Ms. Harris would work to maintain and strengthen the alliances with like-minded nations that have long advanced American interests abroad and maintained the nation’s security. Mr. Trump — who has long praised autocrats like Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban and Kim Jong-un — has threatened to blow those democratic alliances apart... Kamala Harris is the only choice.

DONALD J. TRUMP: The authoritarian style in American politics (born 1946) - PDF: https://lnkd.in/g2ap8-2b Throughout his one-term presidency Trump broke many long-standing democratic norms and traditions and, on multiple occasions, skirted legality and moved into unlawful and authoritarian territory. In particular, there were three factors, which turned him into the first autocrat in the White House. They explain why Trump became the only president who was impeached twice by the US House of Representatives. There was, first, Trump’s frequent obstruction of justice; it was the basis upon which many of Trump’s illegal and autocratic activities as president rested, including some of his foreign policy decisions. Second, Trump actively courted autocrats abroad and White supremacists at home. Third, there was Trump’s adamant refusal to accept Joe Biden’s electoral victory in November 2020 and his insistence that he had in fact won the election. These three factors provide clear evidence for Trump’s undemocratic leanings and authoritarian presidency. This chapter explores them. But it was in particular the insurrection and storming of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, which Trump actively incited, that exposed the real nature of his political convictions. Source: DICTATORS AND AUTOCRATS: Securing Power across Global Politics - PDF: https://lnkd.in/gcFVzeRU

When thinking about the state of our democracy since 2020, we often have been confronted by the response attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who, when asked on the last day of the Constitutional Convention on September 18, 1787 whether the United States was emerging as a republic or a monarch, responded, “a republic, if you can keep it.”  President Biden referred to Franklin’s response in his speech last week announcing he would pass the torch to a new generation.  We have managed to keep that republic for 237 years since Franklin voiced his concern, but judging by Donald Trump’s past deeds and his explicit statements, we stand on the cusp of losing the republic were he to win in November.  That then brings to mind another statement attributed (rightly or wrongly) to Franklin, namely, “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”      With preparation in mind, to explore what might happen were Trump to win the election and attempt to carry out the authoritarian acts he has promised, and pro-democracy actors were to seek to restrain those acts, the Brennan Center for Justice organized five nonpartisan tabletop exercises premised on a Trump victory. These exercises, which were held in May and June, tested scenarios that were based on express statements of intent made by Trump and his close allies. Various summaries of observations and lessons learned from these simulations were published today. The clearest takeaway from these exercises is that pro-democracy actors must prepare for a day only months away when these scenarios may come to fruition, and must do so as a matter of urgency. Pro-democracy forces would include lawmakers, governors, attorneys general, mayors, business leaders, the legal community and civil society (including unions, faith leaders, grassroots activists). In the crucible of resisting authoritarian rule, pro-democracy forces, and countless other citizens, would be forced to take sides.  Non-aligned elements, such as the media and the military chain of command, similarly would be faced with difficult choices. We fail to take the threats seriously, and we fail to prepare should that threats become a reality, at our peril. And obviously the greatest bulwark against authoritarian rule is in our hands – voting in November.    My summary of the lessons learned and observations from these simulations is available here: https://bit.ly/3WuMsie  

It's a new era in American presidential politics: the minority rules. That is the effect of the antiquated and naively conceived Electoral College. Our forefathers had tunnel vision. They could not see the road beyond. They wanted an expedient way to handle local problems and forgot about future generations. (They had similar myopia on the Second Amendment.) We all know Biden will win the popular vote. Yes, Hillary should have been President. See what the mistake has wrought. But it looks like Trump will win the Electoral College vote by hook or crook. How do we preserve democracy? Biden must unilaterally decide, as President, that Trump is ineligible to hold office under the 14th Amendment. We all know the amendment is silent as to enforceability. The partisan Trump court has decided Congress must act to enforce the declaration of ineligibility. We say, nay, the Executive branch enforces. Biden then, in a heroic, monumentally courageous act to preserve democracy, defies the Supreme Court and orders Trump off the Whitehouse lawn. Biden can then resign and turn leadership over to Kamala Harris. History will remember Biden as one of America's greatest heroes, the elder statesman who saved democracy.

The Democratic insiders’ talking point about Biden’s debate performance (“he had a bad night / a cold”) is deeply symptomatic of everything that has gone wrong in partisan politics and the threat which the ill-health of political parties poses to democratic governance. Over decades, Joe Biden has earned public support and respect. This is a moment for his family and closest friends to acknowledge and speak truth to him, to help him chart a well-deserved course of exiting the elective arena with that pool of admiration and appreciation intact. It is not a time to help him paper over the toll aging takes on all of us, and suffer the public humiliation which awaits. And it is a time for his partisan supporters to put the national interest over what they perceive to be their party’s interest. Political parties used to recognize they have a public responsibility - a duty - to recruit, screen, nurture, train and support leaders who can provide solid and substantive leadership to advance and serve their country's interests. In modern times, this notion of public service has been supplanted by private interest. Political parties now churn up candidates who are well-supported by narrow factions which constitute "the base", but who are basically unqualified to lead our countries (be that Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn, Liz Truss, Donald Trump, Joe Biden or a host of many others on today's landscape who could be named, not to unecessarily personalize this). Citizens clearly want better choices than parties are routinely offering them. Little wonder voters are disillusioned and chagrined, and no wonder democracies find themselves struggling to compete in today's world of rising authoritarianism. Our political parties have evolved into self-serving machines, preoccupied/satisfied with protecting their leaders, power, roles and perks, rather than continuously seeking out the best and brightest people and ideas to advance our national and individual well-being. There is really no other way to comprehend the spinners’ dangerous claim that Joe Biden is the best choice for President for four more years. Not for America, not for the world, and not even for Joe Biden.

Here's an article for lively debate. A U.S. liberal-leaning writer makes the case for Trump. You might even say he makes it too well. He rightly calls out the smug, arrogant Democrats who don't stop to consider why people support Trump, even though they are well aware of his many flaws. And the article has triggered a massive online discussion, some of it predictable but also some of it quite insightful. Here's just one comment, from a Canadian reader: Jeffrey Eppler Kelowna BC Canada "A view from a Canadian here… As I read the comment section, I am struck by how many people JUST DON’T GET IT. Yes Trump is a serial liar, a pathological narcissist and a con man and, yes, he has authoritarian tendencies that could prove an existential threat to your democracy. And, yes, Biden has, overall, done a better job than he is given credit for. NONE OF THIS MATTERS if a significant proportion of your population still support Trump. Please dear Democrats, Progressives and those who lean left! Time is running out. Pull your heads out of the proverbial sand and ask why such a appalling, mendacious, egotistical liar has so much support and figure out a way to reach out to potential Trump voters instead of further alienating them. I truly believe your beautiful democracy is at stake." https://lnkd.in/gXgKSuC4

"President of the united states is a coveted job, at least among a certain type of power-crazed geriatric man. America’s founders nearly made the office more exalted still. John Adams, the first vice-president, thought the president should be known as His Elective Majesty or His Mightiness. The Senate endorsed another form of address: His Highness, the President of the United States and Protector of their Liberties. But the House of Representatives rejected grand titles, and George Washington went along with it to dispel claims that he had monarchical ambitions. The accusations flew anyway, and have been repeated whenever one party dislikes what the president is up to, which is to say most of the time. Last year Robert Kagan, a former foreign-policy adviser to various Republicans, wrote an essay for the Washington Post arguing, “There is a clear path to dictatorship in the United States and it is getting shorter every day.” Former Trump Cabinet Sec. “The constitution works because it’s employed with rules and norms that we all abide by.” Mr Trump, in his view, “will and has continued to erode those rules and norms” and is therefore “a threat to democracy as we know it”. The courts are independent and wilful—even the one where three of the nine justices were appointed by one of this year’s presidential candidates. The press is too diffuse for one party to control along the lines of Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party in Hungary. Even with a determined assault on the federal bureaucracy of the type that some Trumpy think-tankers have in mind, getting any organisation that employs 25,000 lawyers to do one person’s bidding is hard. Both the current and the former president have seen relatively mundane policies slow-walked or thwarted by procedural challenges: imagine what would happen if the president tried to cancel the 2028 election. And yet scholars of democratic decline—thanks to the 45th president, a booming field—point out that the most dangerous moments for government by the people are during a crisis, which a president may exploit to seize extraordinary powers and then not let go. When faced with two such crises during his presidency—covid-19 and nationwide protests after Mr Floyd’s murder—Mr Trump retreated into commentator mode, pointing out what a poor job everyone else was doing. Even his worst acts as president, such as the pressure on Georgia’s secretary of state to stuff ballot boxes on his behalf, were more improvised chaos than cunning subversion. He wondered out loud about shooting protesters in 2020, but didn’t do so. A more disciplined despot-in-waiting (or a more malignant version of Mr Trump), however, would have ample scope to subvert America’s democracy. Partially by design, America is not dictator-proof. " Why America is vulnerable to a despot https://lnkd.in/g9zPSins from The Economist (Subscription may be required) #potus #usconstitution #trump

⭐Fellow Spotlight⭐ “Since June 16, 2015, the day that Donald Trump…announced his run for the presidency, the American body politic has struggled to figure out how to treat him, his rhetoric, and the threat he poses to our system of government.” Keseb Democracy Fellow Farbod Faraji’s organization Protect Democracy has just released “The Authoritarian Playbook for 2025,” a report that looks at authoritarian president Donald Trump’s “Promises, Powers, and Plans” to draw lessons and recommendations to prepare to protect American democracy against unconstitutional and authoritarian actions. These recommendations include: 1. Create pro-democracy coalitions before the crisis arrives. 2. Take anti-democratic ideas and promises seriously. 3. Keep a broad pro-democracy movement united against the acute, big-picture autocratic danger. 4. Support Republicans that stand firm for democratic institutions. 5. Rally around non-partisan, independent public servants.  6. Uphold the rule of law and democratic institutions, and always repudiate violence. 7. Protect the first targets, and arrange now to advocate for the most vulnerable. 8. Evaluate security at the community, household, and personal level.  9. Work to protect free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028. 10. Continue building the democracy of tomorrow. To read the full report, visit https://lnkd.in/e8drAWyd #democracy #democracyinnovator #democracychampion #democracyfellow