Listen to Norm Eisen, America
in which progressives realize that a giant government is bad
Donald Trump is very, very, very, very, scary. And we need to do something about it!
I have, in the past, described father-of-anti-Trump-lawfare Norm Eisen as a fool, a sad sack, and the central figure in “a George Grosz painting come to life.” America, I was wrong. Norm Eisen is a genius, and I declare myself to be his political ally.
Eisen is circulating a “No Dictators Declaration,” and asking elected officials to sign on to the thing. He warns that the federal government is dangerously large and powerful, and the ORANGE DEVIL may return to the presidency and use all that power, and so we have to limit the power of the federal government as much as possible so we can protect against Dictator Trump. It’s quite rare to see a former Obama administration official, a longtime progressive activist and D.C. insider, arguing in public that the federal government is dangerous and should have much less power. And, look, what can I possibly say against that? I concede. Norm Eisen is right.
Let’s look at the details:
To reduce the threat of dictatorship, Congress should limit the president’s ability to declare bogus domestic and foreign emergencies to seize power and bypass Congressional legislative authority.
The U.S. currently has 42 national emergencies declared, some decades-old. Under emergency powers, a president can claim the authority to divert funds, seize property, and bypass Congress.
This is terrifying, see, because Trump might use those extensive emergency powers that are very good and progressive when every other president uses them. So the progressive Norm Eisen wants to sharply limit the power of the President of the United States to declare emergencies without congressional authority. You know, to stop Trump.
I…uh…yes? We definitely need to stop Trump by making it almost impossible for a president, or for any executive branch official, to unilaterally declare an emergency that confers substantial authority on federal officers. I’m especially worried that Trump might use public health emergencies to be a dictator, so we should restrain this very frightening man Trump with immediate and permanent restrictions on the emergency public health powers of the federal government. Imagine a dictator using the authority of an Anthony Fauci figure to impose a lot of harsh restrictions on Americans! That…would be scary…if…Trump did that.
To reduce the threat of dictatorship, Congress should ensure that presidents who abuse their powers to commit crimes can be prosecuted like all other people.
Again, Eisen just absolutely nails the danger that Donald Trump poses, and I agree. We should ensure that any President of the United States who might abuse their power in order to commit crimes can be sent to prison. Like, hypothetically, if any POTUS ordered a drone strike that killed a US citizen who was a minor and not a terrorist, or sent his own son out to gather cash from foreign powers in exchange for political influence, we would for sure want to send that president to prison. To stop Trump, I’m saying. This is a great idea, Norm Eisen. We should make it much easier to prosecute presidents, and I have a whole list right here, ready to go.
To reduce the threat of dictatorship, Congress should limit the president’s ability to use investigative and prosecutorial decisions and resources to pursue vendettas against disfavored people and groups.
The executive branch is employing increasingly creative ways to persecute individuals, civil society organizations, and nonprofits based on their ideologies. We must make certain that the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, and other government agencies do not become instruments of tyranny.
For sure, Trump is a huge danger in this area. His administration could send armed teams of federal law enforcement officers to the homes of people who disagree with him ideologically, arresting them in front of their families!
To stop Trump, we should sharply limit the authority of federal law enforcement, making it very clear that most crimes should only be investigated and prosecuted by state and local authorities. Hard, clear, permanent limits on the power of the US Department of Justice, and an aggressive reduction of the size and authority of the FBI, would be a devastating rebuke to Donald Trump.
Note, by the way, the sheer balls of the lawfare advocate Norm Eisen warning against the use of law enforcement to attack political enemies. “Hannibal Lecter warns against cannibalism.”
Now: Once we accept Eisen’s premises, we should keep going and extend them to their logical conclusion. A constitutional amendment clarifying the limits of the Interstate Commerce Clause, and effectively overturning cases like Wickard v. Filburn, would also really tie Trump’s hands. He would hate that!
What a brilliant way to protect ourselves against Trump’s plans to be a dictator: a sharp, immediate, permanent reduction of the power, size, and cost of the federal government. I’m all-in, Norm. “No dictators” is a great plan.
Finally, a progressive project we can all agree with.
A hundred and one years after the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, American progressives wake up and say that hey, wait a minute, the enormous power of this giant federal government could be really dangerous in the wrong hands — we need to do something about this!
Yes. Sounds good. “Your terms are acceptable.”
I haven't bothered with items #2 and #3 on Eisen's list, but click the link to "the details" to read the whole thing.
Substack says I subscribe to 140 stacks and I pay for an awful lot of them, with this one in second place according to whatever metric they use, but—it’s first in my heart and the last one I would give up. I know someone who knows Eisen, and he’s made my blood boil for a long time. I try not to think about him, but Ima let you off the hook this time because the /sarc is just so, so sweet.