Cancel the State of the Union...

[myohmy2]

...we know what the state of the union is; it's horseshit since trump and his gang slithered into our White House...

...no need to give that lying sack of venomous shit a prestigious platform to debase...this isn't about government shutdowns anymore, this is about stopping a tin-horn wannabe dictator posing as our President...

...since when does one branch of government dictate to the other two?...give in now and trump will pull this shit every time he doesn't get his way...

...get our PR machine fired-up, and hang tough...this may take a dangerous turn if people begin to walk off important jobs...but this needs to be settled once and for all...

...Dems, think of going through this shit with trump while he's fondling the nuclear button threatening the world if he doesn't get his way...this asshole is totally unstable and yet nobody seems to be able to restrain him or keep him from his worse impulses...extremely DANGEROUS

...face it, our Constitution and our form of government has failed us deeply...

...

[Brawndo]

1. Our Constitution is fine

I'd argue that the Electoral College is what failed us deeply. Remove the EC and let's try true democracy for a change.

[leftieNanner]

4. I agree

but removing the EC would require a Constitutional Amendment, which won't be easy. We need to drown this toxic Republican party first!

[Brawndo]

6. Agreed, that is the first priority

As to the Constitutional Amendment, I can dream, can't I?

[Brawndo]

10. DU is a haven for my psyche.

I live in tRump country, work with only Maggats and it wears on me. DU is a reminder that there are many others who are just as horrified by what is happening. If flights of fancy occur, that is a small price to pay for some camaraderie.

[leftieNanner]

15. I'm with you Brawndo!

I'm not sleeping well, as a rule, and touching base with DU helps a great deal.

And there's no harm in picturing tRump in an orange jumpsuit with shackles and his creepy hair hanging down to his shoulder on one side, bald pate shining in the sun! Yeah, and Junior, Jared, and the Princess too.

[0rganism]

11. our Constitution has been exposed as somewhat less than fine

the Electoral College itself is a by-product of the constitution, as are the means to modify it. even the EC, had it operated as designed, would have formed a firewall against president MotherFucker, as the electors (honorable gentlemen every one, right?) would have taken one look at the president-elect, declared him unfit to hold the office, and put someone else there instead. however, Trump's electors were chosen by the Republican party of each state Trump won and they were chosen specifically because they would put party over country every time.

the Constitution includes a congressional remedy for out-of-control executives, but it's slow, to be measured in weeks at best. our national crisis is urgent, a clear and present danger if there ever was one. every minute that goes by is a minute Agent Orange could use to fire up the launch codes because a chicken sandwich gave him gas. we have nothing constitutionally capable of compensating for this situation.

we are trying to address critical 21st century problems with an 18th century toolkit. this will not end well.

and FWIW i dearly hope i am wrong about all of this.

[Brawndo]

12. It's supposed to be a living document

hence the amendments to it. Fine doesn't mean perfect. I don't think we need to trash the document just because one political party has failed to live up to the letter or spirit of its contents. That says more about republicans than it does about the Constitution itself. That being said, I am just as nervous as you are about this crisis.

[leftieNanner]

2. Hang in there myohmy

I don't think our Constitution has completely failed us - yet.

When I get demoralized, sometimes I try to think of this as the last gasp of the toxic Republican party and that all of this hideous stuff will actually bring them down.

Remember, 3,000,000 more Americans voted for Hillary and we have taken back the House by a large margin. Nancy Pelosi is in charge and Adam Schiff, Elijah Cummings, Jerry Nadler, etc. will begin to hold some nasty Trump feet to the fire. And don't forget Auntie Maxine!

[SummerSnow]

3. Let him have his State of The Union, so when he lies

about how he defeated ISIS , someone from the House floor should shout, "YOU LIE"

[ooky]

5. He could do his state of the union in six words.

"I've fucked the union all up."

[MadDAsHell]

7. The State Of The Union has always been horseshit... It's always been a pep rally... Which is exactly

why there's zero chance drumpf won't give it, no matter how many "demands" there are for him not to. He'd be stupid not to. Any President would be stupid to give up that much free airtime.

[Poiuyt]

14. It's certainly been horseshit for a long time

I think it was Reagan who turned it into a sideshow. Every president since then has been trying to outdo the previous one.

I cringe at the thought of what trump will say—he'll just use the airtime to bash Democrats and tell us how much we need a wall.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Huh?

The Constitution requires this -

Article II

<...>

Section 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

<...>

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleii

It doesn't have to be broadcast and doesn't even have to be every year, let alone at a specific day or month or time ("from time to time" ). But there is no "cancelling".

[leftieNanner]

16. Speaker Pelosi didn't cancel it

She postponed it until the government is open.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. I didn't say she did

I only quoted the Constitution (for the OP) where it basically says she can't (cancel it). It is a requirement that some report be given to Congress by the President "from time to time", but the manner of how that is done is not specified.

[leftieNanner]

18. Ah - I understand your post

Thanks for clarifying.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. No problem!

[LakeSuperiorView]

19. The Constitution requires information, not an address.

His fucking tweets could satisfy the requirement.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. Right which is what I posted here

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211686516#post17

[LakeSuperiorView]

22. Which I wasn't repling to. I wanted to clarify the "It doesn't have to be broadcast" comment

which some might take to be an implication that it has to be a speech. I did not intend to argue, just emphasize that 'it" does not need to be an address.

Also a dig at Twitter, which I detest.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. I think we are saying the same thing then!

(speaking to the "editorial DU"! )

[democratisphere]

13. drumpf should put the State of the Union in written form

so "We the people" can put it where it belongs in the circular file.