Sheriffs

13 thoughts on “Sheriffs”

1. Two quick thoughts on this… First, since when has Tulsi Gabbard been someone who “seems too good to be true”?

   Second, everyone needs to calm down about Trump and the sheriffs. Yes, it’s absolutely crazy and it’s thoroughly undemocratic, but also, it’s entirely absurd because he simply doesn’t have the authority to order county sheriffs to do anything. The statement is appalling, but the reaction it deserves is ridicule, not handwringing. If he said he planned to use CBP agents or other DHS officers to provide “security” at polling stations that would be an entirely different matter, but sending in the sheriffs is laughable (and he should be laughed at, because he hates that).

   1. How many things has Trump done over the past three years that folks said “he simply doesn’t have the authority to do”?

      The truth appears to be that he can do whatever he wants, because America’s democracy was far more fragile than anyone imagined. In fact, I would argue it is on the brink of extinction. And just think: all it took was a reality TV show host to call the Constitution’s bluff.

      1. On Tulsi, you must not be apprised of her social media following. Trust me, there are millions of people who think she is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Just because you are in full possession of your analytical abilities does not mean the average person is.

         1. Rational and informed people (read not Fox viewers) are still not taking this situation seriously. There is nothing about Trump, the Republican party, or their followers that invites ridicule. Rather, fear should be the appropriate reaction.
            We are so close to losing the United States as we have known it. If Trump wins, there will be no recovery from the current trajectory. It will be 1930’s Germany once again. And since the “economic recovery” is non-existent for anyone below the upper middle class, the parallels will only grow stronger. Having caused a US decline, and with the backing of the right wing media, Trump has the skill to channel citizens’ future growing resentment in any direction that he chooses.

            1. Please don’t think that the fact that I think this particular statement is more deserving of ridicule than being taken seriously means that I don’t take seriously the threat that Trump represents. I believe Trump is a potentially existential threat to American democracy. If you’re looking for a real and very serious example of the threat that he poses to the integrity of the election, then look no further than the actions his crony DeJoy is taking at the USPS in the run up to an election that will be reliant on the mail to a previously unheard of degree.

               I think that in the (highly likely) event that he loses the election, there is zero chance that he will concede defeat. I think that the best-case scenario is one where he whines about a “rigged election” but takes no real concrete steps to remain in power (beyond, perhaps, some perfunctory lawsuits). In the worst case, I fear he will use all the levers of power available to the Presidency to actively oppose his removal from office in defiance of the Constitution.

               I’m deeply concerned by the fact that he’s spent the last 2+ years replacing middle and upper management at the DHS with cronies who are unlikely to refuse to carry out illegal orders issued by him. I think that what happened in Lafayette Square this past June was a potential preview of what may come this fall/winter.

               I’m also worried that, in the worst-case scenario, Trump will use his platform to issue a (literal) call to arms to his supporters to oppose the results of the election on the basis of some unfounded conspiracy theory. Furthermore, I’m worried that, given how primed parts of his base are to buy into such a conspiracy theory and how the political environment has devolved from a battle of ideas to a battle of good vs evil, such a call to arms will be heeded and the result will be blood in the streets.

               So, I take very seriously the idea that Trump may shred the Constitution and burn American democracy to the ground in the process. I just don’t take seriously the idea that the county sheriffs are going to be the means through which he accomplishes that end.

         2. Oh, I’m aware of Gabbard’s following. It was just that I (mis)read the phrasing of your sentence as providing support for the idea that she was “too good”, and that left me a bit confused.

            1. Anonymous-

               We share the same views.
               I look back on the last 3 years and recall the late night show hosts and much of the media treating Trump with ridicule. I now realize that they have only inoculated the US citizens against viewing Trump as they should- with horror.

      2. Oh, you’ll get no argument from me that America’s democracy has been exposed as far more fragile than previously understood. There’s also no question about the fact that Trump has done a ton of things that he “doesn’t have the authority to do”. However, my point here is that this particular instance is different from others. In this case, it’s a matter of a lack of chain of command, rather than a lack of legal basis.

         I think this distinction can be clarified with the counterexample I gave. In both the case of Trump ordering the sheriffs to monitor polling stations and the case of Trump ordering DHS personnel to monitor polling stations, Trump lacks a legal basis for taking such action. There’s no law allowing the President to order law enforcement to monitor polling stations. The distinction between these two things is in the chain of command.

         In the case of DHS personnel, while it may not be valid (legal) for Trump to order them to monitor a polling station, the burden is on the DHS personnel to disregard an order from the President (their boss) on the basis of it being illegal/invalid. In the case of county sheriffs, the president is not part of the chain of command. Trump can order them to do something, sure, but that order is really nothing more than a request. He isn’t their boss and doesn’t sit above them in any command structure. Unlike federal agents, they are no more obligated to take orders from him than they are to take orders from me.

         I get this might seem like nitpicking, but I think it’s important to make these distinctions. Trump says a lot of crazy shit, and because people have a finite attention span, it’s important to focus on the crazy shit he says that he can actually try to deliver on. This isn’t one of those instances.

2. It occurs to me that the current situation, such as with “sheriffs,” is a bit like asset value. Value isn’t what Ben Graham or any other pundit might have said it was, it is the price at which an asset sells in the market. Power turns out to not be what the Constitution or the law says it is, it’s what the guy at the top does and is allowed to get away with. If the people don’t start pushing back, hard, soon, the US will, in fact go away. The only people who will be safe then are the moderately well off who can dine on crumbs and be ignored, along with the 0.1% who don’t piss off the boss. And I guess, those farsighted enough to have bought a bunch of guns.

3. 2020 has certainly shown us how fragile many of our institutions are. I remember being happy when Christie knee-capped Rubio thinking it would pave the way for Trump to win the Republican primary because I didn’t think Trump could possibly have a shot at winning the presidency. I’ve clearly learned some hard lessons about being careful about what you wish for and how quickly people will fall in line if they feel it’s an “us vs. them” situation.

   I do wonder what China’s approach will be with the election. It’s not surprising in the least that they would want Trump out, but are they doing anything to make it happen or is it a passive wait-and-see approach? I would think that China is capable of generating their own October surprise if they should so choose. However, I could also see them sitting it out as they have the luxury of time and an iron-grip on their country. However, I think the market is underestimating the tail risk of China’s reaction to a Trump re-election. I seriously doubt they’ll sit on their hands another 4 years while Trump becomes unshackled from electoral restraints and takes even bigger whacks at their tech crown jewels. All China would need to do is target one or two companies that are currently playing the role of Atlas in the US markets to potentially send the market into a tailspin. We might end up with the exact opposite election night reaction we saw in 2016 if Trump is re-elected.

4. Sheriffs? For amateurs. There will be armed troops stationed at all voting locations checking IDs and generally scaring away minority voters. The authority for this will derive from general emergency powers upon declaring a “national emergency” due to some unsupported allegations of attempted election fraud/outside election meddling, possibly by China or Iran (which would inevitably lead to a military attack on the latter). Such emergency powers are permitted by a score of statutes that have been passed over the years by Congress which have expanded their scope, such as 9/11, all of which assumed that the president would have the national interest in mind in declaring an emergency. Also, I’ll note that the emergency powers utilized by the president in a national emergency don’t have to have any relationship to the emergency being alleged. You may, for instance, see the president seize control of the communications networks.

   I hope I am wrong. But i am planning to buy puts on SPY in the weeks ahead.

5. The talk of Sheriff’s is a way to gaslight all. He used that as a means to allow himself to not be taken seriously by the good people. Be assured Sherrif’s as a word may one day be replaced by posse or military troops. All manning Democrat leaning areas. Voter suppression via guns.

6. Sheriffs may not be necessary. Dejoy made claims in the congressional hearings that sounded a lot like he was guaranteeing that ALL ballots would be delivered on time. He also refused to reinstall the removed equipment as un-needed. He will make whatever promises are needed to make people think he will deliver. The fact that he won’t deliver millions of ballots won’t be realized until election day. Then with the boss delivered into his second term who is going to come down hard on Dejoy?? And as to sending the sheriffs to all the Democratic states…i would think someone should be attending the Republican states. That’s where the voter fraud is actually taking place and has been for some time.