In 1787, a citizen asked Ben Franklin what form of government we had

[Chasstev365]

He famously replied: "A republic, if you can keep it."

This is the question going forward, beginning with November 3. 2026.

Forget Dime-Store Mussolini; to me the whole ball game is going to be if we can get the Oligarchs and Supreme Court under control.

[rampartd]

1. checks and balances

these justices could not pass a 1969 high school civics class.

i'm sure none of our senators had a clue about "unitary executive theory" during alito's confirmation, but we need to get some things straight before any lifetime appointments.

[harumph]

2. The Unitary Executive is the main thing that greases the skids

for complete corporate deregulation. I often see DU posters ask whether that won't backfire when a Dem gets the presidency.
(1) Not if R's have a plan to make sure that won't happen, and (2) even if it does happen, the SCOTUS majority controls the docketing and can be relied on to delay ruling on public objections to Repub executive orders, but will fast track objections of Dem executive orders like "a house afire." The majority are absolute hypocrites and will find some tortuous rationale to prevent what they call "executive overreach" with a Dem president and just tell us to suck it. If we have a bullet-proof majority, the court must be expanded to 13, and at least one Justice (Thomas) needs to be impeached, removed and replaced. Citizens United needs to be reversed. Money is not speech. Then it's clean up on aisle 6.

This was the plan all along. Get someone pliant, greedy and/or compromised to steal the public good and give it to corporations.
That's why I always say there are no Republican presidents (as the holder of the office has been traditionally characterized), but there are Republican Ciphers who hold that position. Trump is a pass through entity for the ultra rich. That is all he is.

1
a
: zero sense 1a
b
: one that has no weight, worth, or influence : nonentity
It was an odd fact that the financier, a cipher in his own home, could impress all sorts of people at the office.— P. G. Wodehouse
Why did the family, I wondered, act as if Rita hardly existed? Was she that much of a cipher?— Andrew M. Greeley

[rampartd]

3. agree as many percent as arithmetic allows.