By Steven Jonas
After I originally posted this column, on October 28, 2018, Trump
made his statement about ending birthright citizenship, which happens to
be guaranteed, it would seem by the 14th Amendment (and Supreme Court
decision after Supreme Court decision since the Amendment was adopted
holds to that position (click here). He claims that it doesn't (click here).
He also claims that he has "legal scholars" to back him up. (The
Times article, above, cites one retired law professor.) But, using the
"original intent" argument that the Right likes so much (except when
they don't, as in gun control, see Scalia's "Heller," which completely
ignores the "well-regulated militia" clause and every other previous
Supreme Court decision, which held that the 2nd does not grant
unlimited, unregulated gun rights), one could argue that since the
original intent of the amendment was to apply to slaves, it is
inappropriate to expand its coverage to the children of immigrants. And
remember, since the "Know-Nothings" were one of the founding parties
for the Repubs. in the 1850s, xenophobia is in the genes of the Party.
This is a superb example of just the kind of fascist power Trump
wants to arrogate to himself. One of the primary characteristics of
fascism is that there is no higher-law, constitutional authority, to
which a chief executive is subject.
And now to the original column:
In my previous column, on the
concept of the "Popular Front" and (briefly) its history, I noted an
excellent column by David Leonhardt in The New York Times on what the Republican
legislative agenda for 2018-21 would be if indeed the "Blue Wave"
does not materialize and the Repubs. retain control of both the House and the
Senate. One way or another, the Mueller
investigation would be shut down, "through firing some combination of Mueller,
Rod Rosenstein . . . and Jeff Sessions" and installing Trump protectors in
their place. This would be accompanied
by an expansion of the Trumpian rhetoric on "witch hunts" and "hoaxes" which
would make his current attacks seem mild by comparison. And of course, TrumpTV would be Trumpeting
that message 24-7.
Some observers, including myself, have speculated
that Mueller has already set up a raft of "send" buttons for the report and
supporting evidence at whatever stage it might be shut down. But that effort
would be overwhelmed by the Trumpian propaganda effort of discreditation (is
that a word? Well it is in the MS Word
dictionary.) As for hoping for State
action, see below on my speculation about how the Trumpites would deal with
that threat to them. As for making stuff up, for an example, in
a speech on Oct. 24, 2018 Trump said that the Democrats stand
for open borders, "inviting in MS-13." If the Repubs. do hold the Congress, that
will seem mild by comparison to what will then come from his mouth.
Click here for the full article.
Source: OpEdNews.com
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