Yves here. Tom Neuburger continues his systematic coverage of how the US constitutional order is being revised to favor even more those at the top. I am stunned at the way the Trump-Putin summit is sucking the air supply out of reporting on Trump\u2019s continuing power grabs, which if anyone were paying attention, can be wielded against factions in the elites that fall out of line. See the treatment of top universities and the scientific establishment as examples.<\/p>\n
The latest is the Administration effort to take over local policing. That authority has been such an important bulwark that most commentators don\u2019t even think much about it. From Richard Kline in Progressively Losing<\/a> in 2011, debunking the idea that progressives were structurally in a weak position:<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018Right\u2019 is too strong.\u201d<\/strong> The oligarchy specifically and the Right in general are far less strong in American society apart from what their noise machines and bankroll flashing would make one think. The great bulk of the judiciary remains independent even if important higher appellate positions are tainted. Domestic policing is, by tradition and design, highly decentralized, with a good deal of local control, making overt police state actions difficult, visible, and highly unpopular (think TSA). While the military is a socially conservative society in itself, it is also an exceptionally depoliticized one, with civilian control an infrangible value. Popular voter commitment to the nominally more conservative political party has never been narrower or more fragile.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Contrast the state of the US then with the latest Trump plans. From the Guardian in Trump says he\u2019ll seek \u2018long-term\u2019 control of DC police and signals he\u2019ll target other cities next<\/a>:<\/p>\n Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask Congress for \u201clong-term\u201d control of Washington DC\u2019s police department and signaled he expected other Democratic-led cities to change their laws in response to his deployment of national guard troops and federal agents into the capital\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to need a crime bill that we\u2019re going to be putting in, and it\u2019s going to pertain initially to DC,\u201d Trump said during a visit to the Kennedy Center performing arts venue in Washington. \u201cWe\u2019re going to use it as a very positive example, and we\u2019re going to be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can\u2019t have 30 days.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he expected to propose the legislation \u201cvery quickly\u201d, though the Senate and House of Representatives are out of session and not scheduled to return until 2 September. Trump alluded to other options for extending control of the police department, saying \u201cif it\u2019s a national emergency, we can do it without Congress\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Libertarian Institute described another Trump scheme in Pentagon to Create \u2018Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force\u2019<\/a>:<\/p>\n The Department of Defense is planning to create a rapid response force of National Guard troops to quickly deploy to American cities where protests or unrest are occurring.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that it obtained documents showing the Pentagon is creating a \u201cDomestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe plan calls for 600 troops to be on standby at all times so they can deploy in as little as one hour,\u201d the outlet explained. \u201cThey would be split into two groups of 300 and stationed at military bases in Alabama and Arizona, with purview of regions east and west of the Mississippi River, respectively.\u201d<\/p>\n One hundred troops at each base would be on standby to deploy within an hour, while the entire quick force would begin operations within 12 hours. The National Guard will be equipped with weapons and riot gear, and the deployments will be limited to 90 days to prevent burnout among the troops.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Recall also Kline\u2019s remark about the military being depoliticized (except in its fealty to arms pork). Colonel Larry Wilkerson saw a dark side to Trump\u2019s bizarre birthday parade. He pointed out that those who participated had volunteered to do so. He saw that as a way to identify servicemembers who were particularly loyal to Trump and could be positioned to help Trump implemented orders that historically typical soldiers would refuse as illegal.<\/p>\n By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at God\u2019s Spies<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The Next American Constitution is being written as we speak, and rather quickly at that. The situation is stark enough that we\u2019ve started a series. Links to other posts on this subject can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today, I\u2019d like to look at one element \u2014 a bipartisan one \u2014 that defines the new arrangement our country is ruled by. That element is: elite immunity and absence of rule by law, and it\u2019s already in place. I said this would be bipartisan. The absence of rule by law is a two-party problem. We\u2019re going to gore two cows at once in today\u2019s sacrifice.<\/p>\n Part of this discussion will examine the Right\u2019s project to make sure a muscular (read, hard-core conservative) president has no real constraint on his acts. Another part will look at the way embedded elites can act with impunity when doing embedded elite business. If you\u2019re ready, read on.<\/p>\n What Law Constrains the President? Apparently None.<\/b><\/p>\n We\u2019ve grown ourselves a king. What more can be said?<\/p>\n Hyacinthe Rigaud\u2019s portrait of Louis the Grand<\/em><\/p>\n It didn\u2019t happen quickly; it was a process, and as I say, very much a bipartisan one. Here, for example, is Al Gore joking away the theft of his own presidency<\/a> by the Bush-partisan Supreme Court coup in 2001. He even gives a stand-up\u2019s bow to acknowledge his applause. An awful moment for the rule of law.\n
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