“(With) today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed. For all practical purposes, there are virtually no limits on what the president can do. It’s a fundamentally new principle and it’s a dangerous precedent because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law even including the supreme court of the United States.”

Throughout his address, Biden underscored the gravity of the moment, emphasizing that the only barrier to the president’s authority now lies in the personal restraint of the officeholder. He warned vehemently against the prospect of Trump returning to power, painting a stark picture of the dangers such an outcome could pose.

  • Furbag@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    What Biden needs to do, like right fucking now, is pack the courts. AOC trying with a token effort to get them impeached is cute, but will ultimately fail because Republicans won’t turn on their own. The Senate is tied (if you count Bernie as one of the dems) and Harris has the tiebreaker. The house is controlled by the Republicans, but only 7 individuals need to break from their party in order to get a simple majority to save the future of America.

    Biden could expand the SCOTUS from 9 seats to 13 and immediately submit 4 liberal justices for confirmation to be seated. Expanding the court doesn’t require congressional approval, so Biden could do this unilaterally and as long as he is able to get butts in those seats, they’re there to stay even if Trump squeaks his way back in. They could then challenge and overturn the immunity ruling, as well as all the other dogshit rulings that have come out in the last couple of years like Dobbs.

    He threatened to do it before. He needs to actually pull the trigger.

    • StupidBrotherInLaw@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      This is all assuming that most of this isn’t political theater, and I’m really starting to wonder how much of United States politics is actually genuine. So often the Democrats have had the opportunity to do something drastic, if less drastic then that frequently done by Republicans, to counteract the erosion of personal freedom and democracy. Yet they always seem to find a reason not to, typically with the justification that they don’t want to push the envelope like the Republicans do, despite the fact the Republicans will continue to push the envelope to their benefit when back in power.

      I’m starting to think a lot of this is bullshit.

    • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Imagine expanding the court by 4 seats, 4 months before the election and thinking that Republicans in Congress are going to let a single one squeak by before January 6, 2025.

      Those seats would be filled by Trump.

    • jazzup@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Expanding the court doesn’t require congressional approval

      That is incorrect. Changing the size of the Court is understood to be a power that Congress has because of the Necessary and Proper clause, and not a power of the Executive.

      For an act changing the size of the Court to pass the Senate, you first need 60 Senators to break the filibuster. This means that 10 Republican Senators need to vote for increasing the size of the Court for any such legislation to pass. That’s not going to happen.

      • Furbag@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        You are correct. I retract my statement.

        The feeling of helplessness is overwhelming.

        • jazzup@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          The feeling of helplessness is overwhelming.

          Yeah. It’s incredibly frustrating that we are at this point.

        • FlaminGoku@reddthat.com
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          5 months ago

          Here’s an easier one. He can assassinate them. Doesn’t need congress to do that. He’s the commander in chief. Hell, he’s defending the Constitution, those fuckers are traitors.

    • kandoh@reddthat.com
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      5 months ago

      The Senate is currently divided in a way that makes passing such a significant change a monumental task. Even with a Democratic majority, the margins are slim, and not all Democratic senators are on board with the idea. Senators like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have expressed reservations about court-packing, making it highly unlikely that this is something Biden could just do.

        • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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          5 months ago

          Moderation isn’t in his playbook, he would never just add 4. He’d add 69+ new judges or else just appoint every single GOP congressman as a Supreme Court Judge.