Posted on 11/06/2019 2:32:52 PM PST by Jacquerie
A Georgetown Institute poll finds that two-thirds of us believe we are edging closer “to the brink of a civil war.” Yet Americans cannot properly analyze this “gathering storm.” We lack a framework, a lexicon, and the historical data (from other civil wars) to see clearly what is happening to us.
Civil war is, at root, a contest over legitimacy. Legitimacy—literally the right to make law — is shorthand for the consent of the citizens and political parties to abide by the authority of a constitutional order. Civil war begins when this larger political compact breaks down.
Civil War means that there is a functional split within the source of legitimacy between two parties, each of which was formerly part of the old constitutional order. Thus each can claim that it represents the source of new legitimacy, and the right to define a new or reworked constitutional order.
Hence civil war becomes a struggle in which one party must successfully assert a successor legitimate order, and to which the opposing party must eventually submit. This is above all a contest over constitutional authority. Inasmuch as civil war happens after constitutional breakdown, it means that resolution must be reached not only outside of a now-former legal framework, but also unrestrained even by longstanding political customs and norms. Extra-constitutional force is now the deciding factor, which is why these struggles are called civil wars.
(Excerpt) Read more at theamericanconservative.com ...
Good article but it makes it kind of sound like the right won’t tolerate anything except full and complete submission.
There is NO comparison between our behavior when obama was president and the dems’ behavior now.
We accept the constitution even when it hurts - like obama winning.
They DO NOT.
Historically, as in the Greek city/states that tried democracy, often failed because of the absolute majority rules commitment. once a party got into the majority position immediately went after the opposition; killing them, imprisonment, property confiscation, etc. that is exactly what the dems are doing now. ‘We do not need a crime to impeach and remove’ is a good case in point. Why we have been successful up to this date is our Constitution and the protection that it affords. If this charade goes ahead then we do have some serious issues to deal with. Irritants to an oyster make pearls. Well we have a lot of pearls to make and very soon.
Federalist/Anti-Federalist ping. A thought-provoking article.
Democracy leads to socialism. ie chaos. latest example, venezuela.
History is ripe with how it works.
Consensus used to be fundamental to American government. It was designed to secure liberty through unanimous consent. In the Framers’ system, reasonable majorities could govern because they had the consent of the minority. Why would a minority consent? Because only if a minority can see that on some occasions and on some important issues it can be part of the majority. It’s irrational to consent to a game in which you can never win, never win anything at all.
The time is nigh.
Bush v Gore was a Constitutional abomination.
If the very complex system created by the Founders had been followed there was no way GWB would not have been sworn in on 1/20/01.
There was a small possibility, depending on HOW Bush won, that Joe Lieberman would have been VP.
Allowing the USSC to take control of a process written to give them no role at all has done lasting harm.
It’s an interesting article but the author completely overlooks an obvious point that completely weighs against any real possibility of a civil war here in the U.S. — at least in the next few decades. More on that will be posted later.
Republicans should start talking about banning the Democrat party as a domestic terrorist organization for their attempted, continuing coup attempt.
Our history is based on honoring the results of elections. The Democrat party is going against that tradition. Without accepting the results of elections, we become a third-world country that is run by power and corruption.
The Democrats are treading on dangerous ground that could have long-lasting implications for the United States of American.
Perhaps the most thorough, well-founded and complete explanation of how the Framers of America's Constitution of the United States of America "constituted" a form of self-government which was--in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "A Republic. . . if you can keep it. . . . " is explained in John Quincy Adams's "Jubilee" Address, delivered, by invitation of the New York Historical Society, in New York City in April 1839. That Jubilee Address magnificently explained the reasons for the Framers' choice of republic over that of a democracy.
It would be a ready reference for constitutionally-illiterate Progressives who may call this a "democracy." Their ignorance is appalling.
Today, in 2019, when confronted with a decision between individual freedom and certain slavery, otherwise known as liberty and tyranny, Americans who prefer freedom must be armed with ideas and principles which are "self-evident" and plain. Otherwise, they cannot fend off the onslaught of the "counterfeit ideas" of Progressive ideologues who seem determined to distort and destroy the great United States Constitution, and to obliterate the principles and ideas of liberty incorporated into its protections.
You can make a pretty plausible argument that California is already in insurrection against the United States.
Constitutional Order has already broken down, My FRiend. It Broke when the muslim impostor, a/k/a, the People’s Choice was allowed to occupy the White House. What is is happening now is just the Socialists and Communists, A/K/A, Democrat Party rubbing the sheep’s nose in the shit. Nothing will happen because the Socialists and Communists, A/K/a , the Government makes it too for the sheep to live as slaves. Until slaughter day.
Bring it...can’t wait
The tree of Liberty needs watering
The Supreme Court decided a contested presidential election in 2000, and the decision was everywhere accepted.
The Supreme Court did not decide the "contested" election. The Supreme Court only stopped the state supreme court from making up election law on the fly during the recount. The Supreme Court decided that equal protection invalidated Florida from cherry-picking Democrat-only counties for recount.
The actual "contested election" took place in Florida state court, presided over by state circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls.
Regarding the breakdown of Constitutional order and civil war:
To me, there are two kinds of civil war:
"American Exceptionalism" is an often-misinterpreted (purposely) phrase, meant to separate the American Constitutional government from prior monarchies, conquests, or tribal ruling governments. The American way was "exceptional" for its time by a people self-organizing to a mutually agreed-upon governing structure that separated and diluted power, checked and balanced each other, and turned over power every two to six years.
The mantra has always been "peaceful transfer of power," until now. As the Democrats and leftists become increasingly aware of the high chances of being voted out of power, they are more and more leaning towards the overthrow of constitutional order to regain any kind of power to further their leftist agenda.
It started in earnest with the 2000 election when Al Gore was supposed to be "Clinton's third term." In 2016, Hillary Clinton was supposed to be "Obama's third term."
I think we would have seen the actions being taken against President Trump back in 2002 or 2003 had it not been for the 9/11 attack just eight months into President Bush's term. Already, Democrats were blocking Bush's cabinet picks and slow-walking his under-secretary nominations. It's not a stretch that they would concoct some evidence of "illegitimacy" to justify ousting him had we not been at war.
Come 2016, and we see Trump getting the same treatment as Bush got 16 years earlier. This time, however, there was no war to distract the attentions of the American people. There were, however, the similar Democrat motives to cover-up the misdeeds of the prior administration:
In both cases, the outgoing party never expected to lose, and felt free to abuse their offices to entrench their own power due to no fear of being exposed.
In both cases, after losing, the out-going party became desperate to keep the incoming party from discovering what they had done.
In the current case, the Democrats are racing the Republicans to oust Trump before he can come after them legally with indictments and criminal trials. In their haste, they are throwing out all semblance of Constitutional order to do so. They are holding secret hearings, they are excluding Republicans, they are hiding testimony, they are coordinating the creation of witnesses and evidence.
Should they be successful, and should they force the 2020 election towards the Democrat candidate, one can only imagine what the "Constitutional Order" would look like in face of such tactics to achieve their hold onto power.
In this case, back to the article's original theme, the Civil War would be about expelling the Constitution as we've known it since 1789, and letting the Democrats in Congress, the White House, and the Courts craft some new order that feigns a Constitution-in-name-only, retaining the titles from it, but no longer limits the federal government to operate with the consent of the governed.
Roles will become reversed. The Federal Government will rule, states will become no more than administrative districts, and the people's consent will no longer matter.
-PJ
Thanks for the ping.
And Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself.
5.56mm
Well said, DP.
<>Allowing the USSC to take control of a process written to give them no role at all has done lasting harm.<>
Quite right. Bush v. Gore had nothing to do with the 14th Amendment. FL law was in accordance with the federal regarding “times, places, manners.”
Bump
How do you know you’re in the civil war?
Answer when you can’t talk politics anymore.
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