"Trump has explained why he waited by saying that he first wanted to give Congress a chance to pass legislation that would fund the border wall. But the purpose of emergency powers is to give the president access to standby authorities, passed by Congress in advance, that can be deployed in cases where Congress has no time to act. If Congress does have time and has refused to give the president the authority he seeks, resorting to emergency powers to get around the objections of lawmakers is not just inappropriate. It’s a brazen attempt to undermine the constitutional balance of powers."
- We must have a national plan for the whole economy.
- We won't be able to agree on what that plan should be.
- Disagreement will lead to gridlock.
- Gridlock wouldn't be so bad, but both sides are convinced that it's literally going to destroy us if we don't have a comprehensive national plan.
- Faith in liberal, representative democracy declines.
- Rule by decree comes to seem efficient and decisive, at least.
- Dictatorship is just rule by decree... for everything.