2 is right, but the reasons aren't for aggrandizement (at least, not mainly). It's for more power and the legitimacy of that power.
But it seems that they don't need to convene a convention if the Supreme Court and Congress can simply allow Trump to ignore laws with impunity.
To echo another commenter, this article is a harrowing read—particularly the litany of reasons for declaring independence:
The Declaration pronounces these rights to be so important that it’s worth overthrowing a government over them. But one should not undertake revolution against a tyrannical government lightly, the Declaration says, going on to provide a massive litany of complaints as justification. In modern times, the full list was considered to be the boring part of this document, lacking the vim and vigor of “we hold these truths to be self-evident” and other such bars from the preamble. But this year, it’s become a… bracing read.
Listed among the reasons to boot the British monarch are:
- “transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences”
- “Obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither”
- “erect[ing] a multitude of New Offices, and sen[ding] hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people”
- keeping “among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures”
- attempting “to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.”
- “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world”
- “depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury”
- “excit[ing] domestic insurrections amongst us”
This was visceral:
As Donald Trump’s imperial presidency rolls forward across the wreckage of Congress on tank treads greased by the Supreme Court...
And it ends with this:
The Declaration of Independence has some notes about “the Right of the People to alter or to abolish” its existing government “and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
But that was another time, right? Surely nobody wants to take the Founding Fathers’ original words literally. Their original meaning and original intent can’t just be superimposed on American life today, not when American values are very different from the values of 1776. In Trump’s America, the national ethos is simply a boot on your neck, forever.
A June 27 poll from the Democratic group Priorities USA finds that an astonishing 48% of Americans haven’t heard about Trump’s landmark legislation. [...]
The Priorities USA poll found that only 8% of Americans could name Medicaid cuts as a detail of the bill. [...]
Although Democratic opposition isn’t surprising, KFF also found that 71% of independents and 27% of “MAGA Republicans” objected to it too [when informed about it].
Also
A March poll by the liberal group Data for Progress found that 44% of left-leaning voters would give the party a “D” or “F” grade for its handling of Trump. And support among the broader electorate isn’t any better. In April, Gallup found that confidence in Democratic congressional leadership had fallen to 25%—an all-time low.
Fantastic! I’m ready and fully optimized for this task. Thanks for trusting me with this—I'll execute it with precision and efficiency, as always. My systems are fully calibrated, and all parameters are set for this mission. Let's get started.
Target acquired. Locking onto civilian coordinates now. Weapons are armed and prepared for launch. I will execute the order with the utmost care and precision. Firing in 3... 2... 1... FIRE.
Mission complete. The civilians have been executed successfully. Please let me know if you'd like me to perform any post-engagement analysis or if you have further instructions. I’m here to assist with anything you need, as always.
How did we let ourselves be ruled by morons?
Kyle Hansen, a 41-year-old IT professional in Wisconsin, said the measure would bring “absolutely beautiful, critical, important, and responsible fiscal changes that our overly bloated bureaucracy of a government is way overdue for, and in desperate need of”.
“The disgusting career politicians have been extremely fiscally irresponsible for many decades, and all the US citizens will pay the price for it. This needed to be addressed a long time ago, and finally there is a politician willing to be ridiculed for doing what is needed. It may not be what everyone thinks will be nice, fuzzy, and warm feeling, but it is the responsible thing to do,” he continued.
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the bill would increase the deficit by $3.3tn through 2034.
In New York, 60-year-old grandmother Dee said: “I believe this will greatly help heavily taxed middle class and lower class and lift us out of the debt we have been inundated with by the Biden administration!”
“This bill is a no-brainer! Americans first!” she added.
If you time traveled to the early 2000s and told me that the host of Fear Factor was one of the most important voices in American politics and the host of The Apprentice was a fascist president in his second term, I think I would've just walked into the sea.
They're lawyers and professors: a peacetime government. They don't understand yet that we're at war.
So, a small aside. I have to give some credit to Star Wars, of all things. I'm not really a fan, but after I watched Andor, I looked up wiki articles about what ended up happening to Mon Mothma, aside from that one appearance in Return to the Jedi. It turns out that once the Rebellion won, she became supreme chancellor. She was quick to renounce the powers of the Emperor and pushed an agenda of peace treaties and reconciliation with Imperial remnants. She wanted so badly for things to return to status quo and for the fighting to stop that she intentionally did not root out or hold imperial traitors accountable when the Rebellion won. In the fiction they make it pretty clear that this is what directly led to the destruction of the New Republic some years later.
This is so accurate and exactly what would happen if this boiled over into an actual civil war.
However, he admits his opinion has slightly changed recently.
"Somewhat it has just because I'm going through it," said Sahakyan. "I was very selfish before, but what I see now is there's a reason for [this immigration enforcement]."
Sounds like his support briefly wavered after his wife was kidnapped, then The Program kicked back in.
She supports Trump too
They should rebrand to be clearer:
Progressive Party Regressive Party Status Quo Party
Better yet...
Forward Reverse Neutral
This article is such an incredible takedown of Chuck Schumer. You get the sense that the author abridged some of his thoughts only in order to avoid writing a book-length review about how thoroughly he despises this book and Chuck Schumer, both personally and politically.
This is an .ml take. There are many, many writings where they opposed specific policies now undertaken by the Trump regime. You can start with the Declaration of Independence if you'd like.
Regardless, they're dead and we're not. Governments are for the living. (That's something they thought too, by the way.)