30 Comments
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Susan Frankie's avatar

Once again, I am in awe of your highly intelligent, thoughtful writing and reporting. You do a great job of teasing out the complicated intricacies of our government processes. What you do has never been more important. Keep doing what you’re doing. And thank you.

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Gabe Fleisher's avatar

That is so kind of you to say! Thank you, Susan!

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Double-A's avatar

A hundred times, yes!!

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Beth Croucher's avatar

“today’s decision boils down to this: The majority, plaintiffs, and amici all urge that we cannot trust the President.”

That's right. And Trump is responsible for this.

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Austin Spencer's avatar

That quotation came from the judge who would have ruled in the president’s favor! The same president who had appointed him to the bench! Sadly for him, he offers no assurance that he would have extended the benefit of the same presumption to a president who might have pursued different policies using more regular methods, especially a Democrat.

Conservative jurists have recently fallen to calling for a special kind of statute, neither administrative nor case law: the kind of statute that fully specifies the procedures that the executive is required to follow; that prescribes penalties for executive officers who fail to follow those procedures; and that is subject to both judicial review and periodic reauthorization. They believe this acceptable because legislators usually have more of an inherent mandate to make these decisions than judges or executive officers do—and maybe because as a practical matter they expect elections to fall to their own political allies more often.

I think it would actually be nice if lawmakers established limits on what procedures executive officers could use to further the goals of presidents and governors, like they are supposed to. I have less confidence that Republican-supported judges take a fully principled view of the legislative power, and wouldn’t nevertheless trample the decisions of Democratic lawmakers in every conflict.

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Phil Ritter's avatar

When are you starting law school? Your history and analysis are terrific and you will make a great law professor.

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Michael Bower's avatar

YES! (looks like we are realizing that the law profession needs reformation)

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Gretchen's avatar

Great piece today. The sad point is Trump doesn’t care what anyone says, not the courts, not the people, no one but himself. There is no one to stop him because both Congress and the Supreme Court are on his side, kidding his butt every step of the way. He needs to be removed forever from our government.

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Diane Gilley's avatar

I give you the credit for a great analogy! Well done.

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Bruce Hancock's avatar

The founders made it abundantly clear that they did not trust the president, or any other individual. Hence a system of checks and balances. Unfortunately, the feckless remnants of the Republican Party have abandoned their responsibilities.

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Joe Johnson's avatar

Big fan of the Humpty Dumpty analog. I’ve been stuck on “Trump is Michael Scott declaring emergency”, but might have to switch over!

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Rick Schulte's avatar

What a great analogy! Trump thinks whatever he believes is the absolute truth. Is there anything more indicative of a Narcissist? Can’t think of any!

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Rebecca Roark's avatar

Thank you for the dispassionate dissection to the essence of the matter. It's also quite a feather in your cap for Abbe Lowell to have devised the same analogy. Great minds work alike...

And for the record, I don't trust this president so you know where I am leaning with how I hope this lands.

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Clayton Lewis's avatar

A brilliant piece. No doubt your HD comparison was snatched; it’s wonderfully sticky! Perhaps The Atlantic will grab it next.

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Mary Puppé's avatar

Perhaps they already did in 1932?? I was surprised to find this lol:

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/media/archives/1932/04/149-4/132417792.pdf

In any case, it's a great analogy, Gabe, and a great article.

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Gabe Fleisher's avatar

Wow, what a great find! Thank you for sharing!!

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Michael Bower's avatar

All of us who thought things were so 'cut and dry' should read this!

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menehune's avatar

ALOHA on the coconut wireless.. American bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, American bridge is falling down, falling down falling, down and no one saw it.... .GOP. guardians of pedophilics...GOP. guardians of pedophilics...GOP. guardians of pedophilics...that's all they are.. NO MORAL COMPASS.. GREED TO POWER....

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Michael Kupperburg's avatar

The way you picked up the idea, from Abbe Lowell, and ran with it is brilliant and a great deal of fun as well. Giving credit, where credit is due, is almost a lost art today, well done! Thoroughly enjoyed.

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DocOnTheRange's avatar

Democracy is in decline, and not just here in the USA. Voters value discipline, compromise, and self-restraint less than ever.

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Michael Bower's avatar

I think you are right on. . .attention spans shrinking...food products failing to nourish...disparity escalated...trust eroded...fake news...fake hair...

I'll go meditate on the infinite mind and divine oneness.

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jane's avatar

Thank you, Mr. Fleischer.

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Rosemary Ford's avatar

Column reminded me of the rich lessons in our classical fairy tales, myths, fables, nursery rhymes. When singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for the 100th time with my students I realized that the ditty was more effective than all those stop bullying signs and the DEI head bangers. Again last night while attending the musical Beauty and the Beast which has embellished the original tale of sacrifice and transformation into a meaningless Busby Berkeley spectacle I was struck by how much we have diminished moral values.

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Renee Jubrey's avatar

Having read DocOnTheRange’s and Michael Bower’s comments I would say “ Gone are the days when sacrifice, service, commitment and unselfishness were values of the day. They have been replaced by grievance, fear, bigotry and hatred. God save us all!”

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