Noncooperation With Tyranny
Since Trump's first inauguration in 2017, Indivisible has been fighting back against his agenda of hate, bigotry, and authoritarianism. So too, have we been resisting MAGA's efforts to vastly increase defense spending while viciously slashing domestic safety net programs. So too, have we been opposing huge tax breaks for giant corporations and the obscenely wealthy.
Now Trump/Musk are mounting a direct assault on our Constitution's framework for democracy. Wannabe monarchs Trump and Musk are illegally claiming that they have authority to unilaterally fire federal Civil Service employees for political reasons. They are also falsely asserting an unconstitutional authority to impound (refuse to spend) congressionally authorized funds. Their actions are an administrative Coup D'Etat.
Their next step will be to assert that they have unfettered power to shift whatever money they want from one purpose to another regardless of the law. Stealing money from Medicare to spend it on a northern border wall to keep out imaginary hordes of "woke" Canadians, for example.
Our Constitutional democracy is founded on three co-equal branches of government: Congress, the Judiciary, and the Executive. Built into the Constitution are "checks and balances" to make sure that no branch overpowers the others.
The fundamental power of Congress is the "Power of the Purse" -- the authority to enact laws specifying that our taxes be spent only on authorized departments, programs, and services. By refusing to obey those appropriation laws, Trump/Musk are neutering Congress' most fundamental power. Once appropriations are reduced to mere suggestions that the president can ignore at whim, Congress becomes little more than a self-serving (though well-paid) debating and posturing society.
This Trump/Musk/MAGA assault on democracy is not occuring in a vacuum. The House budget resolution that Republicans failed to pass yesterday calls for big increases in Defense, Homeland Security, Immigration, and law enforcement spending while slashing or entirely eliminating domestic health, housing, welfare, education, environment, and regulatory programs. Their clearly stated goal is yet more tax cuts for mega-corporations and the obscenely wealthy – and increased economic hardship for the bottom two-thirds of the economic pyramid.
Make no mistake about it. This is a constitutional crisis. Trump/Musk will impose greater and greater authoritarian rule over us until we stop them. Hand wringing and bewailing public statements by congressional Democrats will not halt a coup because the only public opinion those determined to unconstitutionally seize power care about is the opinion of the Donor Class who bankrolled their elevation to power.
Only the firm and courageous exercise of democratic power by We the People and our Democratic Party representatives in Congress can prevail against a coup.
Since Democrats are in the minority they must respond with Civil Noncooperation to tyranny. Noncooperation means using procedure to slow down and derail the Republican legislation and appointments juggernaut. It means using their Power of the Purse (while they still have it) against Trump/Musk's administrative coup by refusing to pass any budget bill of any type unless it contains ironclad guarantees requiring Trump/Musk to execute the law as-written. Voting "YES" on any budget bill that fails to do so enables Trump/Musk and leaves them free to ignore congressional authority.
If Congress enacts budget bills containing clear guarantees and Trump signs them (as he must do for them to become law), that creates a political foundation for holding him accountable in the court of public opinion. And a solid legal basis for blocking him in the courts if he then tries to flout the law. We know that the Republican-majority Supreme Court has shown partisan favor for the MAGA agenda, but their ability to interpret "down" as "up" can be constrained by unambiguous legislative language.
Inherent in the Vote NO resistance strategy, is the likelihood that Republicans in Congress or Trump in the White House will force a government shutdown to get their way. Such a shutdown will be very painful to both federal workers and We the People. But Trump/Musk's assault on democracy is already causing great pain through mass firings and domestic safety net destruction. There is no easy way to stop Trump/Musk without pain. That's the contradiction of blackmail -- defy the extortionist and suffer pain now, or submit and appease, and suffer much greater pain down the road.
So our mantra must be "No Cooperation With Tyranny."