Autogolpe (coup against the Constitution)

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The purported objective of DOGE was to alleviate the financial burden on taxpayers by targeting "waste, fraud, and abuse." I contended that this initiative was destined for failure, as Musk and his associates seemed entirely unaware of the mechanisms behind federal government expenditures.

 

While my previous assertions were accurate, I must acknowledge a misjudgment on my part. It should have been evident to me at that time, and is now abundantly clear, that the statements made by Musk and Trump regarding their actions are fundamentally misleading, including their professed motivations. The ignorance and disorder are indeed tangible, yet it is crucial to recognize the fundamental intent behind their actions. What is currently unfolding in America can be characterized as an attempted autogolpe.

 

Readers from Latin America are likely familiar with this term. An autogolpe, or "self-coup," occurs when a legitimately elected leader exploits their authority to consolidate power, thereby dismantling legal and constitutional limitations. Are Musk and Trump endeavoring to execute an autogolpe in this context? Undoubtedly. Furthermore, they appear to have the unwavering support of every Republican member in both the House and the Senate.

 

 

 

 

 

Source Paul Krugman@substack

 

 

MOD EDIT:

27. You will not post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles). Only post a link, the headline and three sentences from the article. Content in the public domain is limited to the same restrictions.

[Smokin Joe]

TLDR.  Learn how to post a link.

 

[placeholder]

17 minutes ago, Smokin Joe said:

TLDR.  Learn how to post a link.

 

If you're referring to the image link, of course it doesn't work as a link. Aseannow doesn't seem to allow for that anymore. Anyway I copied the image from the screen and pasted it in the article.

And there isn't  supposed to be a link to the article, if that's what you're referring to. It's a rewrite. Look at what Social Media does in the World News Forum

[Smokin Joe]

When you say it's a rewrite do you mean you took the information from the source you listed and then changed all the facts and posted it as your own?

[Social Media]

Topic has been edited according to the forum rules. A re write cannot be accepted.

 

27. You will not post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles). Only post a link, the headline and three sentences from the article. Content in the public domain is limited to the same restrictions.

[Gaccha]

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

dismantling legal and constitutional limitations

 

I agree largely with the author but I have sympathy for the behaviour nevertheless. 

 

The progressive tendencies have built up an enormous extra constitutional framework that constantly pushes change. We can call this "the deep state".

 

These vast bureaucracies are obviously not mentioned in the constitution and would never have been imagined by the young founding fathers. So what was added can just as legitimately be taken away. 

 

We can see a similar situation in the UK with Tony Blair's massive expansion of Quangos, removing power from politicians and giving it to a Byzantium complex of half- understood organisations that often work against the government in power. 

 

Ultimately power derives from the mandate of the people. And if they seek extreme change to the government then that must be largely legitimate and by definition democratic.

[save the frogs]

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

If you're referring to the image link, of course it doesn't work as a link. Aseannow doesn't seem to allow for that anymore. Anyway I copied the image from the screen and pasted it in the article.

Mods, how come we can't copy and paste images anymore? 

 

 

[placeholder]

9 minutes ago, Gaccha said:

 

I agree largely with the author but I have sympathy for the behaviour nevertheless. 

 

The progressive tendencies have built up an enormous extra constitutional framework that constantly pushes change. We can call this "the deep state".

 

These vast bureaucracies are obviously not mentioned in the constitution and would never have been imagined by the young founding fathers. So what was added can just as legitimately be taken away. 

 

We can see a similar situation in the UK with Tony Blair's massive expansion of Quangos, removing power from politicians and giving it to a Byzantium complex of half- understood organisations that often work against the government in power. 

 

Ultimately power derives from the mandate of the people. And if they seek extreme change to the government then that must be largely legitimate and by definition democratic.

Maybe vast bureaucracies are not mentioned in them but the permission to create them certainly is. And just as these bureaucracies were created in accordance with the Constitution, so they can also be dismantled according to the Constitution.  If the United States were a pure democracy, then your final comment could be legitimate. The problem is, the US is not a pure democracy. In fact, it has a Constitution which limits that democracy  So, elected government are not free to carry out a political program as they please in violation of the Constitution just because they were democratically elected.