“Today, Leader Jeffries and I are joining together to push legislation to prevent unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department’s payment systems and protect Americans across the country,” Schumer said at a joint press conference. The New York senator added, “We call our legislation, ‘Stop the steal.’”
Why is that bad?
Because the “unlawful meddling” (a funny way of putting a coup by illegitimate actors who are breaking many important laws and the Constitution) is already illegal. I mean, what would happen if you or I tried to access that highly sensitive, formerly-tightly-secured information? Attempting to pass a new law (to what, make it super extra illegal?) makes it seem like those acts aren’t illegal already.
The problem isn’t lack of laws, it’s that of not enforcing them. (See also: prior Biden appointee Merrick Garland.) Astoundingly, Schumer and Jeffries aren’t even calling for anyone to enforce existing laws, freshly broken right in everyone’s faces.
And their bill won’t pass, which will make it seem like Trump, Musk, Bessent, Rubio, and other minions did nothing technically in the wrong. Because if it was illegal, why the heck would the Democrats now be trying to pass a new law?
So the net effect will be to help legitimize fascist Republicans in their abject mugging of the public and ripping apart of the social contract. It’ll enable Trump and Musk in their theft and oppression, even as it defers to their decimation of Congress’s own institutional standing.
This is the highest-ranking Democratic officials’ big move? After all the time they’ve had since the election to prepare?
Meanwhile, what’s the real remedy?
Introduce privileged resolutions of articles of impeachment. For Trump, Vance, and the lot of them, even Rubio. Make it official.
Of course such a thing has exceedingly dim chances of passing the House, never mind conviction in the Senate, but as we determined during the last Trump regime, it’s critical for the country for the Democrats to reject Trump’s rule as flatly illegitimate and proclaim that it should end, for the good of the country. That Trump won a mere plurality of voters doesn’t undo congresspeople’s solemn oath of office.
There’s no time to waste. The country is already worse off than when Congress impeached but didn’t manage to convict Trump before, worse off even than after the second time.
But instead, Democrats are signaling that, while they don’t like the Trump regime, they fundamentally find the its actions acceptable.
Why “acceptable?” Because Democratic senators unanimously voted for the likes of Rubio, who some days later made himself complicit in the illegitimate destruction of USAID, an agency established by law passed by Congress. And have any senators said they regret that vote? Nope. They’re still debating whether to temporarily unify against Trump nominees over just one issue, not the big picture, which is that the country needs Democrats to demonstrate the outright illegitimacy of the Trump regime and oppose all nominees, period. On top of which, every day Democratic senators literally unanimously consent to the continued operation of the Senate during this fascist coup. Meanwhile, over in the House, are any representatives honoring the letter and intent of the oath of office by introducing articles of impeachment? Nope. So when they say they’re doing “everything in their power,” no, they are not.
We’re way out of time to go through four years of the stages of grief like in 2017-2021 on whether to advocate impeachment.* Each day now, Trump and Musk further consolidate power. Appeasement would only be a valid strategy if there’s advantage to be had at a known point of confrontation later, but Democratic leaders don’t promise any real confrontation other than complaining and waiting until the next election (if we still have one worth the name, after all of this passivity by the opposition party). Introduce articles of impeachment now. Heck, little ol’ me came up with six articles on day two, and that was an undercount. Keep introducing them, one article for each disqualifying act for each official committing it. Make the case, using official means.
Timothy Snyder of On Tyrannysays to impeach. Wonkette too.
But really we’re asking for the Democratic Party to change its entire approach to politics. To embrace confrontation, to wield what legitimate official powers they have assertively on the public’s behalf. The party establishment is adamantly against that, as they are against aggressive public persuasion, because then people would get ideas. The public would get expectations of Democrats that the party funders won’t tolerate. So it’s hard to see how it happens without us people forcing the left-half coalition currently known as the Democratic Party to break off from the billionaire/hundred millionaire owner class.
In the meantime, though, we can tell the truth and demand of congresspeople what we want and need: impeach, shut down the Senate… and elect new Democratic congressional leaders who are up to the task.
* And we never really got the impeachments of Trump that we needed, that of throwing the book at him plus all of his cronies, impeaching Trump day-of on Jan. 6, 2021 as Rep. Omar tried to do rather than letting passions cool, and hearing witnesses in the second trial in the Senate. Things could have turned out very differently. I encourage everyone to read this highly illuminating article about how then-Speaker Pelosi so resolutely opposed impeachment, even the second time, until stopping it became politically untenable. The recounted events comport to my personal experiences when advocating for impeachment. That confrontation-averse, pleading-for-the-nonexistent-refs-to-step-in spirit tragically lives on in current Democratic leadership, which still hasn’t changed in mindset , not even after the historically devastating indictment of the 2024 losses.
