Can the damage done by this administration be undone?

Elections have consequences.

No.

Thread closed.

We need a president who is going to safeguard our elections and our Constitution, and stack the Supreme Court.

Um, R3?

That's exactly what MAGA thinks they're doing.

Passiveness like R2 is what got us here in the first place.

Trump is useless and needs to be removed from office.

A lot of things got us here but mostly the collective unseriousness of the American people. We approach voting like choosing a soda. "I'm sick of that one, I'll try this flavor." "No, they don't have the one I like, I'm not getting any." Then they're AMAZED when there are actual conequences to their choices.

Watch the video at the OP link. Trump or no Trump the damage will be irreversible.

A friend who has their PhD in Molecular Biology said that the damage done to scientific research and all the funding cuts from the NIH and other areas of research are going to take decades to rebuild and recover. Same with the Environmental stuff. This is bad. Really bad. And it hasn't even been a year. they have accomplished more t han 40% of their Project 2025 "goals." Stephen Miller is calling the shots along with the Project 2025 guys. But Miller is quarterbacking.

Nope. Done deal. Lifetime Supreme Court.

It was always my opinion that they are just using Trump and his large base knowing full well he would not pay close attention to any specifics just as long as he was in power. I think when they have most of Project 25 in place, they will no longer need him. They need to get through the mid-terms though with him. But after that, they need Vance in place for a solid year to establish continuity. And then there will be something that requires martial law to prevent a national election until order is restored - then it's a lock. Vance was such an odd pick to everyone else when it happened, like out of nowhere. But it was very purposeful. I am sure he is indebted to his overlords in a major way.

He hasn't even completed the first year of his term and things keep going from bad to worse.

The US is fucked. Thank god the world doesn’t revolve around it.

It can, but will it.

For me, I believe in democracy; however, the People will need to start playing a bigger role.

Maybe if the Democrats ever control the White House, Senate and Congress again - and Trump has kicked the bucket. As long as Trump is alive, no.

The more shit that is happening, the more I think Biden should have decided NOT to run for a second term. Biden saved us from Trump in 2020, but he really needed to pay attention to the potential danger that is happening now and step aside. He did not prepare us for this.

In the very long term, yes.

In my lifetime, no (I'm 53). In the lifetimes of most living people as of today. I have no idea.

[quote]A lot of things got us here but mostly the collective unseriousness of the American people. We approach voting like choosing a soda. "I'm sick of that one, I'll try this flavor." "No, they don't have the one I like, I'm not getting any." Then they're AMAZED when there are actual conequences to their choices.

Perfection.

No it cannot be. Project 2025 will reshape the country. People laughed about it, Trump claims to have never heard of it, yet the guy who wrote the section on the FCC is now head of the FCC..and so on. The people who authried it are now heading up the departments they wrote needed to be reshaped. All government watchdogs are gone, Labor relations are gone - this is the Heritage Foundation. They will be taking over the country.

Funny you mention Biden. If Biden had prosecuted Trump for the insurrection along with his entire crew, and banned the 147 election deniers from holding public offices, Trump would not be President. If Biden had listened to those urging him to expand the Supreme Court, if he had actively promoted his Vice Prresident and made it plain he would not run again, If, if, if, if!

And freedom of speech is being assailed and condemned.

Of course the damage can be undone.

There has been lots of talk about the West decoupling itself from the U.S. I notice that no one has actually done anything about it. NATO is still our defense alliance and it remains intact (in fact, members have acquiesced to Trump's demands that they pay their fair share). The dollar is still the world's reserve currency. 22 of the 25 biggest companies in the world (by market cap) are STILL headquartered in the U.S. The U.S. still has the most billionaires and millionaires, by A LOT. The U.S. still accounts for 25% of the world's internet capacity. At least 40% of all internet traffic passes directly through our borders.

Our position in the world depends on hegemony. And we own the tech, we own the bombs, we own the culture, and we own the monetary supply.

We are going to be fine.

Wish I believed you.

Joe Biden was merely The Placeholder President.

Incredible that ONE man can destabilize the whole world. Might be some biblical flavored shit going down.

r16, Biden wasn't on the ballot. Harris was. People said "She's not up to our standards" and refused to vote for her. We got Trump instead.

I would imagine R26 if he said he was not running again, there would have been a primary season and the victor would have received a lot more support. Instead we got two months of Kamala running from the idea that she was shoved down our throats without a vote. And that alone played into her greatest perceived weakness - that she wasn't qualified.

[quote]"No, they don't have the one I like, I'm not getting any."

I'd like to beat the ass of all the voters who said some variation of this and stayed home. Thanks a lot, assholes!

Some yes (can be undone) but some no. If the nation stays so bitterly and deeply divided with this much anti-government extremism on the R side, we will have some big problems. For one, an unprecedented and lasting view that any career that depends on US federal government funding or employment is inherently unstable and perilous. Smart people will NOT go down a government-career path.

I always wondered if Democrats were to gain the majority in House and Senate plus have the president, would they adopt laws for improved balance of power or would they simply cancel Trump's executive orders and do business as usual? For example, would they fight for term limits within the Supreme Court, insert more influence on states' gerrymandering, etc?

r30 unfortunately even if the dems take the house and senate, all they can do is delay. Trump has the Supreme Court in his pocket and the can make any and everything he does nice and legal.

R29 I am convinced that while they have the loudest voices and aggressively intimidate and bluff, they don't have the numbers. They think they can bully people into being too discouraged and fed up to participate.. Or they can give the impression of consensus, and expect some sheeple to follow. They are not prepared for any defeats and howl louder than a scalded cat when anything in the least way derails their plans. The aggressive posture is a bluff. I say push back, challenge and defeat. Do not hand this to them. If they take it may they pay the highest price possible.

No. Not in the lifetime of anyone alive.

Certainly not in the lifetime of DL readers.

While you bitter assholes are bitching about Hillary versus Bernie and Ja'Biden versus The Funt, the motherfucking country is DYING AROUND US.

What the hell is wrong with you people? FUCK THE PAST. FUCK YOUR FEELINGS. The present is on fire, and the future is long dead. Why the Christ are you still bitching about things that are dead and buried?

R7 I agree with you.

I don't think people understand what they are doing. His first year he has been following the P2025 playbook. Heritage Foundation authors of it are now in positions of power. He has turned the FBI and ICE into his personal police force. He has deployed the military against US citizens. He has removed habeas corpus, violated the constitutional rights of americans, and no one is doing anything about it. They are purposing insighting more and more violence and pushing that narrative so he can deploy troops to all 50 states. The Heritage Foundation has just released a new manifesto on restructuring the Constitution. If you don't think that is going to happen, you are mistaken. They have worked long and hard to get to this position. We are doomed to be in their vision of America for a long long time.

Not for 3, perhaps 4 generations down the road. And that is with a big 'if', if we can survive that long as one nation. I hope future historians are able to reconstruct the downfall and identify the fails. Yes, I'm looking at you, Mitch McConnell.

If you read or watch media, of all varieties, we are in free fall. But walking around the street, that doesn’t feel to be the case. That doesn’t mean bad things aren’t happening, but it’s worth adding perspective.

The focus now has to be solely on getting power and taking action. Not ideas, not representation, not utopia - unless they help us gain power.

We will not return to 2024. Maybe breaking it all opens new possibilities, where even moderates see that being nice and working with Republicans was opening the henhouse door.

And maybe we’re fully cooked. But it’s not going to make anything better by giving up in the first 8 months of this disaster.

It can be undone. Next POTUS must expeditiously stack the US Supreme Court, undo every Trump executive order, halt misappropriated funds, purge every government agency of his acolytes, prosecute every member of his administration, and any other agents or appointees who subverted the US Constitution, and MOST IMPORTANTLY trace every dime that supported the Trump criminal enterprise from his 2024 campaign through his death -- it should be the biggest RICO prosecution in US history.

[quote]For one, an unprecedented and lasting view that any career that depends on US federal government funding or employment is inherently unstable and perilous.

This type of a career is a VERY recent phenomenon.

[quote]I don't think people understand what they are doing.

That's your problem. You think everyone is stupid and you are the only one who knows anything.

People aren't as stupid as you think and you are not smarter than anyone else.

Not in the lifetimes of the fucking idiots who voted for him..and the rest of us get to suffer for it.

Yes. Through a civil war and America probably won't remain in the current shape. Which is for the better; it's like forcing Finland and Russia to stay in a single country.

Let all the poisons that breed in the mud hatch out.

No. Things will be very different from now on.

What I am waiting for. By a miracle, and I do mean a huge miracle, Democrats get control again and a Democratic President is elected. Sounds good so far, right? Then the motherfucker goes full "let's all kiss and make up and forget everything that happened" and pull a pussy Obama/Carter thinking that he/she can "work with our friends across the aisle".

THAT'S what a Democrat would do.

Other countries' trust in America has already collapsed. I don't think it will ever come back no matter what we do.

Fooled me once, shame on you; fooled me twice, shame on me.

[quote]I would imagine [R26] if he said he was not running again, there would have been a primary season and the victor would have received a lot more support.

I think of that scenario too, yet I disagree totally with your assessment.

A wide-open primary would have been a solid year of the feckless mainstream blaming EVERYONE not Donald Trump for inflation (and the trans!). Kamala would likely have barely prevailed, but would have been beaten within an inch of her political life by MAGA, the NY Times and the "Free Palestine!" non-voting fauxgressive left, who would have turned out to vote in an even more anemic percentage than they did.

Fauxgressive Kollege Kampus Karens would have found or created a Bernie/Jill Stein candidate character to siphon even more votes from Democrats.

Kamala would have had even more of Biden's perceived baggage and would have never gotten to within 1.5% of beating Trump. It might have been a less dramatic campaign, but I honestly believed Trump would have won by a higher percentage.

Of course, I'm just guessing, so who knows. Nationally, Democrats are extremely iffy about voting in general and millions of them will even vote for Republicans just to prove to themselves how wonderfully "open minded" they are!

If Germany can unify and recover from Nazism, almost total destruction and Communism to become the richest nation in the EU, then America can certainly restore the trust of its allies. The brutality and conviction with which we eradicate MAGA will be determinative.

100 years later almost R48

America has revealed itself to the rest of the world. I think our reputation is damaged there for good. When we set about trying to destroy the economies of other countries, I don't think it much matters who the future president is or who is in control. We have lost their trust once we showed our ass. And let's be real. Very few if any of us have kids, so all we really care about is what will America be for the rest of our lifetimes which on average is about another 40 years.

It’s not all or nothing. The UK certainly shot itself in the foot with Brexit, but it didn’t destroy the country. Some things got worse, but there is still a place that is livable and prosperous. The US shot itself too, but we started from a stronger position. Despair is exactly the environment that will help MAGA retain power.

We really don’t have time for hand wringing. Listen to Kara Swisher, who 100% sees how bad it is but will not tolerate this angst-ridden bullshit.

No, never. The universe has been irreparably damaged. It's the beginning of the end of times. Make sure you store some water.

[quote] 100 years later almost [R48]

Yes but nothing takes that long anymore, and this is America. We have made many sharp turns in the last 25 years.

I'm concerned about the things we can't change like the Supreme Court and loyalists who Trump has granted lifetime positions. Billionaires will be allowed to get away with murder.

[quote] Despair is exactly the environment that will help MAGA retain power.

Agree. Only rage will topple MAGA. Rage at the ruinous influence MAGA has had on every facet of American life. Rage that the only beneficiaries of MAGA are the ultra-rich. Rage that we allowed people we wouldn't trust to walk our dogs determine the fate of our democracy.

[quote]Can the damage done by this administration be undone?

Yes, it will take a very long time and the democrats certainly are not up to the job. They're useless. They've sat back and allowed the republicans, the tea party movement and now, MAGAts to walk all over them and us.

R41 Let me rephrase it. Most people don't understand. You, I am sure, are a Fulbright scholar.

[quote]Rage that we allowed people we wouldn't trust to walk our dogs determine the fate of our democracy.

Nicely put.

R39, the democrats are not going to do that. It would require a backbone and lots of work. It's never going happen. If the democrats ever regain any kind of power, they will act like nothing happened.

R59 Not if the right Democrats are in charge. Replace Schumer and Jefferies.

Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord have a podcast called Main Justice which traces the interactions between the government and the legal system. Every so often they have an episode called "Humpty Dumpty", which means, "Today we're going to talk about a new bit of damage that can't be fixed even when the present administration is gone."

As for the rest of the world, top story on the Australian news this morning was that a journalist from the ABC (that's the state broadcaster) has upset Trump, who is meeting with our PM soon. Trump told the journo he was going to tell on him to the PM. Our reaction--well, at least he gave Albo time to practise hearing this with a straight face.

Some things can’t be undone. Correction will be long and painful if it happens at all.

It will be hard but it's possible. Rebuilding the federal won't be easy. If we're lucky enough to get a Democratic president in 2028, most of their time will be spent cleaning up Trump's mess.

It's too early to know what the outcome will be, but I don't think we will be pulling out of this nightmare any time soon.

It's not about Trump any more. As others have mentioned, there are people with power and in position to continue the destruction of our nation after he's gone.

No one in Biden's administration kept Trump from running again or held him personally accountable for his crimes. It makes me wonder how rigged our political system was before Trump was elected the first time around. Many people knew he was a danger during his first campaign and people in power did nothing to stop him.

At times I think the government we see is a stage show and the Democrats and Republicans are all paid actors working in the same troupe -- one party plays good cop and the other, bad cop. Behind the scenes is where the real operations happen, out of sight, controlled by the powerful, rich people paying the actors (campaign donations/bribes). That makes more sense to me than the ineffectiveness of the government to protect the nation from enemies within.

I think too many rich people wanted this to happen.

It's obvious by this time that no one in power in this nation is going to save us, and it is unlikely we are going to be able to stop these fascists without strong, knowledgable leaders.

That said, please don't give up hope. None of us know for sure what the future will be. Live life as fully as you can, while you can. Concentrate on the things you can control.

[quote] And let's be real. Very few if any of us have kids, so all we really care about is what will America be for the rest of our lifetimes which on average is about another 40 years.

Likely fewer than 40 years for me and I don't have children. However, I have nephews, a niece and a godchild who are my family and I care very much about their future. They are all in the will, and yes, there will definitely be "stuff" for them to inherit. Even if that weren't the case, I could never be so cavalier or self-centered to only care about the state of affairs while I am alive. Many long-dead, childless gay and lesbian people worked hard and sacrificed much to make this nation more hospitable for queer posterity.

R65 Who made this about your future inheritors?

What is this, a TV movie?

We CAN change the Supremes. Just remember that previous Supreme court decisions upheld slavery and later Jim Crow. We reversed those decisions. But more than that if we have a tough as nails Democrat instead of an appeaser, we can seriously investigate the Justices with conflicts of interest and force them to either resign or get impeached by a new younger tough as nails Democratic Congress who understands t he difference between right and wrong. And we can expand the court. In fact we can pass a whole package of legislation aimed at federal court reforms, and purge some of these incompetent judges appointed by Trump.

The thing is, maybe we don't want everything to the way it was. Maybe we want to make things better. Because one thing is obvious: This extremist tilt has exposed a lot of weak spots in our system. We left too much up to tradition. We need to plug up those loopholes and start with the FCC. Yes. Reagan's deregulation accelerated our Extremist propaganda mess. The thing to remember is that every single line of attack the Right uses has been around for more than 100 years. What is different is that the fringe elements have become mainstream. We have to dismantle that propaganda machinery.

R67, I like the way you think.

R67, totally agree. The belief that the filibuster or separation of powers or the courts or tradition would provide restraint? Obliterated. Former moderate Democrats may be far more willing to be more aggressive.

Additionally, AI may make government functions more efficient. We won’t need to hire armies of people to reform healthcare or roll out new programs and regulations. And we use it to make the rich pay their taxes.