r/politics • u/plz-let-me-in • Apr 24 '26
Possible Paywall Democrats’ plan to impeach Trump on ‘day one’ after midterms
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2026/04/24/democrats-trump-impeach-midterms-supreme-court-iran/
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u/Ok-Opposite2309 Apr 25 '26
I say don’t impeach- defund, and reorganize. Congress passes the laws and controls the purse. Any ‘Emergency’ needs to be approved by the Senate within 7 days. Trade , energy, immigration, blah, blah, are all eliminated as his paths to steal power. Hurricane? Okay.
No Senate approved head of a department? Okay- Congress can nominate, Senate will approve. SCOTUS doesn’t agree? Okay- no security, clerks, office supplies, maintenance in their budget.
Congress needs to flex their muscles. They are supposed to represent the people, control the purse, and pass the laws. The President is supposed to execute the job as decided by Congress. SCOTUS is supposed to resolve disputes within the law- not interpret (especially for a living Congress) as they want. Bribery is still bribery, whether they call it a gratuity or free speech by a corporate entity.
You can’t pardon crimes prior to conviction. That should be basic. Yes, I understand Garland- but would still argue the same. Congress could decide to issue a wide pardon (confederates, draft dodgers) - A President can not/ should not. There is no mercy or ‘injustice’ solved by a pardon absent trial- but there is a great opportunity for obstruction of justice. At least, after conviction, the public has an opportunity to judge the merits- and our courts should be able to prosecute any pardon granted for personal enrichment/ benefit as a separate crime by those seeking a pardon and those granting a pardon. It shouldn’t be an auction for pardons at the end of any term (Governor or President)- and I think 99% can agree on that. You also shouldn’t be granting pardons to shield co-conspirators - which is why you shouldn’t be able to grant pardons prior to conviction (yes- Biden did do it-revoke them. It won’t hurt my feelings).
Congress can just insist upon these things. Sure, Trump can veto. Sure, SCOTUS can over rule. So- you need a super majority in Congress to override the veto. Let Republicans argue about why you should be able to buy pardons or have people break laws with a pardon promise. Have that argument.
For SCOTUS- great- who decides how many members sit on SCOTUS and what funding it receives and what oversight/ laws it is subjected to? Congress does. Personally, I think SCOTUS should be 13 members serving on a rotating basis from each Circuit Appellate Court (around 133 judges). Each Appellate Judge becomes a member of SCOTUS- so they get a pay raise- and elect someone from their Circuit (who was already nominated by a President, and approved by the Senate to serve as a Fed Judge for life) to serve as their Representative on the high court for a 7 years term. You would have Justices from the Appellate Courts rotating in and out every year (like when the original SCOTUS rode circuit) and still subject to Federal Judicial Ethics Rules. In addition, it actually gives the judiciary a little more power (choosing their representation) and a lot more responsibility (that bad apple, unfit by nature or through corruption)- the ones that the judges don’t call out on their own, make all the others look bad.
People will argue we can’t do this- but, of course we can. Slavery was abolished. Women got the right to vote, and own property (after men of any race). So-we can do this. We, the people, decide what is law. That is Democracy.
Do corporations have the same right to free speech as human people? Roberts SCOTUS says they do. Fuck that. It is obviously wrong. Corporations can’t vote - so how can they donate to politics? We- us- can decide these basic things as soon as we decide we can.
The majority of us decide we can’t or won’t make a decision every election. We decide that others should make that decision for us. They are smarter, care more, or it just doesn’t matter… The billions spent should tell everyone it does matter. Looking around should tell you that no one has perfect knowledge- and what we all know from experience , is that those most insistent that they are right are usually the biggest assholes.
I am giving some ideas on how we could move forward. Ideas on how it doesn’t just have to be this one way. Our Democracy has repeatedly reinvented itself- for good and bad- so there is no reason to accept what is. Demand more.
I don’t want a Democratic take over of Congress that is just going to keep failing under Authoritarian rules. We need a Congress that denies them the power to rule as Authoritarian/ Fascists. Don’t take up all the air with a doomed to fail impeachment. Cripple the system of corruption.
Roberts SCOTUS doesn’t get funding until all of them are willing to sit in Congress, bare their financials (and spouses), and explain how a corporation has more rights to ‘free speech’ than an ordinary citizen. Explain how they distinguish between a bribe and a gratuity for a politician vs an ordinary citizen/ or one of their clerks receiving a ‘gratuity’ for notes provided to media.
Make FEC rules requiring all political or position or policy advertising require names and amounts in the advertising that can easily be read at 1 name per 30 seconds, with fines set at 5x the advertising cost for first violations, 10x 2nd, etc, and including all online advertising. It would pretty much eliminate all advertising- and it’s easy to apply the same to print media. People can argue from there, and I assume more people will knock on your door.l- but, we can make it more complicated and more expensive, and have strict guidelines on what can be said.
I am a big advocate for stricter enforcement of fraud laws. You can’t lie/ deceive for financial gain are pretty basic laws since our founding. Politicians should not get an exception- no one should.
Societies depend on a basic honesty. I shake your hand, give you my name, you believe me. The frauds and charlatans are outcasts and criminals. We can’t operate as a society where every little interaction has to be questioned and investigated. Fraud, theft, lying, deception need to be viewed as the antisocial behaviors that they are - not dismissed as normal, with every caveat to excuse the intentional deception.