Is the 25th Amendment Ever Viable?

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Saturday January 06, 2018 · 12:17 PM PST

2018/01/06 · 12:17

I am having a hard time understanding how the first sentence of the 4th clause of 25th Amendment could practically be implemented, particularly in the case of a mentally ill President who is vindictive and controlling.

The first sentence of the 4th clause provides:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Arguably any member of Trump’s cabinet could circulate a statement for the other members to sign, which must include the Vice President. This would clearly need to be done secretly and only shared with fellow cabinet members who appear to agree with the goal of removing the President from office. However, once the statement is shared with a loyal cabinet member the individual circulating the statement would be easily outed and removed from his or her position. Am I missing something?

A less than perfect alternative may be for a well respected law firm to set up a confidential process for cabinet members to submit their signed statements. This would require the law firm to post a short statement which satisfies the requirements of the 25th Amendment and then create a fool proof and confidential process for accepting signatures. The statement would also need to authorize the law firm to deliver the signed statement to the President pro tempore of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House after the firm receives the requisite signatures. Conceivably this confidential process could become a permanent function of the law firm and available for all future administrations.

Would a reputable law firm be willing to take this step as a public service? The 25th Amendment is an extreme remedy for extreme circumstances. That being said, this ability to remove the President is critically important when he or she is both mentally ill and vindictively controlling (traits which I assume are commonly shared in mental illness).

Do any alternative approaches to making the 25th amendment more viable come to mind?

Now is the time for some creative ideas.

The Heller Court's Originalist Reading of the 2nd Amendment

madiba

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Tuesday October 03, 2017 · 10:07 AM PDT

2017/10/03 · 10:07

The Second Amendment (Annotated)

An ~~well~~ unregulated Militia, being necessary to ~~instill~~ foster fear, anxiety and unimaginable pain and death amongst the citizenry ~~the security of a free State~~, the absolute right of every individual ~~the people~~ to keep and bear and indiscriminately use automatic, semi-automatic and assault weapons ~~Arms~~, shall not be infringed.

A Path Forward?

madiba

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday November 12, 2016 · 9:19 AM PST

2016/11/12 · 09:19

Statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. — What Would Abraham Lincoln Do?

Is the following a viable path to daylight?

1) Hillary Clinton and the DNC request all Democratic electoral college voters vote for John Kasich for President (and continue to vote for Kane for Vice President). To the extent this is not consistent with state law, Democratic state legislators would be asked to support and hopefully pass required statutory amendments;

2) As momentum builds for John Kasich as an alternative to Donald Trump, a bipartisan grassroots movement would lobby individual Republican electors to shift their votes from Donald Trump to John Kasich;

3) Of course, abdicating power would be very difficult for Trump and may not occur, but there are reasons he may be willing to negotiate stepping aside for Kasich. Recall he had requested that Kasich be his vice-president and had apparently indicated Kasich could have presidential type powers. Its not clear how negotiations would evolve. If sufficient Republicans electors shift to Kasich, Trump’s position would be significantly weakened. If Trump calculates he is able to still win the electoral college he would need to ask himself what is best for the nation in light of the fact that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats acted constructively by shifting their support for Kasich.

4) It may also be feasible for Trump and possibly Clinton to negotiate with Kasich for key elements of their respective policy goals and possibly cabinet positions. In this respect, this approach has the characteristics of a government created by a parliamentary democracy — a common form of government. That being said, Step 1 by itself — which only requires the DNC to act - could help unify our nation and enhance the standing of Democrats in the future.

5) Admittedly, this is a Hail Mary. However, keep in mind that 2, 4 or 8 years of an alt-right government may doom our fragile planet and government.

What am I missing?

I look forward to learning from your comments.

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