L.A. Times Continues Hammering Trump-- They Used The "L" Word-- But Still Not The "F" Word

Monday the L.A. Times just flat-out admitted the president is a liar. Today, when they discussed his authoritarianism, they still could;'t bring themselves to say "fascist." I'm sure that will come sooner or later.

You've probably seen the release on the new Quinnipiac Poll from yesterday. It's so encouraging that every day more and more people are seeing through Trump's lies and rejecting his Regime. Even white voters (48-43%) and male voters (51-39%) have now turned on him. His approval is now 35%, down from 37% on March 22. Disapproval is up from 56% to 57%. We have a long way to go to get to the 75% disapproval that will be needed for the congressional Republicans to work up the fortitude to put country first and impeach him. Most Americans disapprove with the way he's handling every part of his job:

• Disapprove 61-29% of the way he is handling the environment
• Disapprove 48-41% of the way he is handling the economy
• Disapprove 58-33% of the way he is handling foreign policy
• Disapprove 49-42% of the way he is handling terrorism
• Disapprove 57-39% of the way he is handling immigration issues.

Worse yet, most Americans are revolted by his personal traits. Most voters see him in a negative light. That's going to keep going down as they see more and more of him and refuse to see him as "entertaining" in any way.

• 61-34%-- he is not honest;
• 55-40%-- he does not have good leadership skills;
• 57-39%-- he does not care about average Americans;
• 66-29%-- he is not level-headed;
• 64-33%-- he is a strong person;
• 60-35%-- he is intelligent;
• 61-34%-- he does not share their values.

Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll noted that "As President Trump's approval tanks, Congress, especially Republicans, follow right behind him. Speaker Paul Ryan is less popular than Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, a long-time target of the Right. Over on the Senate side, it's no party either. Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer both have terrible numbers." McConnell has a negative 14-47% favorability rating, compared to Schumer's negative 25-36%. Looks like the whole country is catching up with DWT! Overall, voters disapprove 70-21%t of the job Republicans in Congress are doing, compared to a 64-29% disapproval March 22. Compared to the 70% disapproval of congressional Republicans, the Democrats' 57% looks almost decent. Ryan has a negative 28-52% favorability rating, compared to Pelosi's negative 30-47%. And that brings us right to the 3rd installment of the multi-day L.A. Times mega-editorial on Trump, this one, Trump's Authoritarian Vision. Remember what we just saw in the polling above-- among all the negativity, two-thirds of voters say they still see Trump as "a strong person," unable to recognize his bluster, bullying and projection as the marks of a weakling. His dumb-ass campaign bullshit-- "Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it"-- is both dangerous and authoritarian.



"Trump," the Times' editors granted, "has no experience in politics; he’s never previously run for office or held a government position. So perhaps he was unaware that one of the hallmarks of the American system of government is that the president’s power to 'fix' things unilaterally is constrained by an array of strong institutions-- including the courts, the media, the permanent federal bureaucracy and Congress. Combined, they provide an essential defense against an imperial presidency. Yet in his first weeks at the White House, President Trump has already sought to undermine many of those institutions. Those that have displayed the temerity to throw some hurdle in the way of a Trump objective have quickly felt the heat."

In a way, Trump represents a culmination of trends that have been years in the making.

Conservative talk radio hosts have long blasted federal judges as “activists” and regulators as meddlers in the economy, while advancing the myth of rampant election fraud. And gridlock in Washington has led previous presidents to try new ways to circumvent the checks on their power-- witness President George W. Bush’s use of signing statements to invalidate parts of bills Congress passed, and President Obama’s aggressive use of executive orders when lawmakers balked at his proposals.

What’s uniquely threatening about Trump’s approach, though, is how many fronts he’s opened in this struggle for power and the vehemence with which he seeks to undermine the institutions that don’t go along.

It’s one thing to complain about a judicial decision or to argue for less regulation, but to the extent that Trump weakens public trust in essential institutions like the courts and the media, he undermines faith in democracy and in the system and processes that make it work.

Trump betrays no sense for the president’s place among the myriad of institutions in the continuum of governance. He seems willing to violate long-established political norms without a second thought, and he cavalierly rejects the civility and deference that allow the system to run smoothly. He sees himself as not merely a force for change, but as a wrecking ball.

Will Congress act as a check on Trump’s worst impulses as he moves forward? One test is the House and Senate intelligence committees’ investigation into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election; lawmakers need to muster the courage to follow the trail wherever it leads. Can the courts stand up to Trump? Already, several federal judges have issued rulings against the president’s travel ban. And although Trump has railed against the decisions, he has obeyed them.

None of these institutions are eager to cede authority to the White House and they won’t do so without a fight. It would be unrealistic to suggest that America’s most basic democratic institutions are in imminent jeopardy.

But we should not view them as invulnerable either. Remember that Trump’s verbal assaults are directed at the public, and are designed to chip away at people’s confidence in these institutions and deprive them of their validity. When a dispute arises, whose actions are you going to consider legitimate? Whom are you going to trust? That’s why the public has to be wary of Trump’s attacks on the courts, the “deep state,” the “swamp.” We can’t afford to be talked into losing our faith in the forces that protect us from an imperial presidency.