Tucker Carlson: This Is How Nations Collapse

The Federalist ^ | June 2, 2020 | The Federalist Staff

[Richard Axtell]

Did he give a timeline? How about a year or two, would that be more reasonable, if the survival of the country is at stake, perhaps?

[GOPJ]

Looks like your caps lock was stuck there for a bit.... Good to see you managed to break it loose.

That's the most graceful criticism I've heard in years... I'll try to be more careful... :)

[CatOwner]

If people are able and willing to go to the polls. Riots like these on Election Day would definitely deter some voters in some swing states. Once the House, Senate, and possible White House are stolen, good luck getting the country back.

[Zhang Fei]

[Most people serving time in Federal prison are there for non-violent offenses]

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Actually they’re in on non-violent offense (drug trafficking) plea bargains. Because it’s harder to threaten some anonymous lab technician (who identified the dealer quantity substance seized as illegal drugs) than it is to kill some witness to a murder back in the hood.

[Zhang Fei]

[Eisenhower sent federal troops against the wishes of a governor during desegregation. It should never be a casual move]

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That was a casual move. There was no pressing need to do it, but Ike jumped in anyway. Today, the country is under siege from rioters and looters. Monuments are being defaced and destroyed. Headlines are being made around the world about the sheer anarchy sweeping the country. Whether Trump acts or not, he will be blamed for the disorder. He needs to get off his ass or face the possibility of the GOP being obliterated in 2020, just as it was in 2006 in the aftermath of Katrina.

If you’re going to get blamed for something anyway, you might as well do what you need to do. Many state and local officials will not act to protect the property rights of their residents, but are actually aiding and abetting the law breakers in their destruction and thievery. Trump could, therefore, invoke Eisenhower’s justification:

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act#2006%E2%80%9307_suspension
[In the mid-20th century, the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower used an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, derived from the Enforcement Acts, to send federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, during the 1957 school desegregation crisis. The Arkansas governor had opposed desegregation after the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. The Enforcement Acts, among other powers, allowed the president to call up military forces when state authorities were either unable or unwilling to suppress violence that were in opposition to the citizens’ constitutional rights.[5]]

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Given that Democratic governors and municipal officials are now complicit in the destruction wrought by rioters and will neither protect business owners nor restore order, I think Trump is well within his authority in putting troops on the streets. The question is whether he has enough troops and what the electoral impact is going to be. Given that the press has been doing the whole Orange Hitler routine pretty much since the inauguration, I’m not even sure it’s even a risky play, politically. They’ve cried wolf way too often.

And Trump is held responsible by voters for rioting in the streets, even though it’s not really within the normal scope of his authority to put riots down. Voters aren’t legal scholars. They’re not up on the Posse Comitatus Act. If Trump’s going to be held responsible anyway, then he should use Federal resources and get this resolved. Bush wasn’t responsible for Katrina’s aftermath. He was held responsible anyway. There’s a lesson in that.

I see this as an opportunity to lock up a bunch of criminals and take felons off the voter rolls, while reminding both owners and employees of small businesses that he has their backs, even if Democratic state and local officials would be content to let them be wiped out financially. The problem with GOP presidents is that they’ve often tied their own hands with respect to scofflaw Democratic local officials where Democrats have ridden roughshod over Republican ones. It’s time to return the favor.

Remember what happened to the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio, when he acted up against Obama’s edicts? Trump can do the same against the state and local officials that resist his efforts to restore order.

[fortheDeclaration]

People will be able to get to the polls. Even if the military has to ensure it.

[livius]

Tucker Carlson’s monologue was 100% on target. And he’s right, Trump must act now; in fact, he should already have done so. I know he’s afraid of being called a dictator, etc. and he’s trying to give the mobs time to come to their senses, but he has to restore law and order now or everybody will lose confidence in him and our system.

And as you say, no matter what Trump does, he’s going to get blamed and criticized for it, so he has to stop thinking of the personal consequences and just act to protect all of us.

The only thing I’ve been wondering is whether he hasn’t done anything because he’s afraid that the military might not follow his orders or, alternatively, because the governors might actually offer armed resistance to any attempt of Trump’s to intervene federally. A couple of days ago, Cuomo came pretty close to declaring that NY State is no longer subject to Federal law. I think Trump may be afraid that Federal efforts will result in one of these crackpot governors, who got an intoxicating taste of total power during the virus scam, having a Fort Sumter moment. And then we will have total collapse.

I’m actually not sure how we’re going to avoid that even now.