Whether you believe Fascism is alive, real, and happening in this country, something is not what you think it is!

Fascism Watch: Representational democracy on the brink

by Mark Sumner

Donald Trump is likely hours, if not minutes, away from declaring a national emergency over a nonexistent crisis. By doing so, he will be creating a precedent that he need not assent to congressional control of anything. Anything. Because Trump’s “border crisis” isn’t real. It’s a non-event. By breaking the government over this point, Trump—and the Republicans abetting his action—are making dead certain that it is broken. And almost as certain that it stays that way.

At this point, two years into Trump’s fact-free maelstrom, it’s become easy to treat concerns about American democracy as passé. After all, didn’t Democrats just win a resounding victory at the polls? They did. Didn’t Americans just deliver a strong message that they do not support Trump? Do not support the direction he has been taking the nation? Do not believe in his dark vision of nationalism and autocracy?

Yes. Exactly. Americans came to the voting booth in November to demonstrate, conclusively, that they do not support Donald Trump. And that’s exactly what makes the second week of January 2019 such a pivotal moment. Because Trump isn’t listening to the result of that vote. He isn’t negotiating with the new Democratic majority in the House. He isn’t pulling back or calming down. He’s going for broke. Or broken.

If Donald Trump does what at this moment seems almost certain—declares a national emergency over his inability to push Congress into giving him exactly what he wants—it’s wrong to think of it as a token victory, soon to be repealed by the courts. Or a limited action, allowing Trump to save face on one of the fist-pounding slogans of his campaign.

It’s precisely because “the wall” is so pointless, so needless, so much a non-starter that any declaration of a national emergency on that basis is so dreadful. Such a declaration will fundamentally alter the balance between Congress and the White House, putting America into territory that we have never experienced … but that many others have."

URL: [dailykos.com]