By Erwin Chemerinsky / OpEd LA Times /
If one were to design a path to authoritarian rule, it would be what we have seen in the first weeks of the Trump administration. For my book No Democracy Lasts Forever, I studied how democracies die and are replaced by authoritarian regimes. Almost always the rulers are elected rather than coming to power through a coup, and then they consolidate authority and silence their critics.
Where are we on the path?
Checks and balances are being destroyed. The quintessential legislative power is control over the purse. But President Trump and those around him have asserted that he can control that by refusing to spend money appropriated by federal statute. The newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, at his confirmation hearings, was explicit that the president could refuse to spend funds notwithstanding a federal law — the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 — that prohibits this. And the president already has done this on a large scale, by signing an executive order freezing a massive amount of federal expenditures (enjoined by two federal courts), and by all but eliminating the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was created and funded by federal statutes. At the same time, he has asserted the power to spend money without congressional authorization as in the offer of a buyout to federal workers.
Laws are being brazenly ignored. Every dictator claims to be above the law, especially by ignoring the ones already in effect. It is stunning how many laws have been violated since noon on Jan. 20. Revoking birthright citizenship violates the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court precedents. Firing a commissioner of the National Labor Relations Board and members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission violates federal laws that are clearly constitutional under Supreme Court precedents. Threatening to deport those on visas because of the views they express violates the 1st Amendment. And this barely scratches the surface.
A purge of government is underway. Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth have few to no qualifications other than fealty to Donald Trump for the jobs he has tapped them to fill. Even more concerning is the effort to exercise complete control over the federal workforce. Trump’s position appears to be that he can fire and drive out anyone in the federal government notwithstanding federal statutes, such as civil service employment laws, to the contrary. It was astounding that there was relatively little outcry when the FBI agents and the Justice Department lawyers who legitimately did their jobs by investigating and prosecuting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionists were targeted. Federal employees across the government are understandably fearful that expertise and experience in their field may will cost them their jobs.
Court rulings are under attack. On Jan. 17, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the federal law that banned TikTok as of Jan. 19. President Trump ignored this and with no authority to do so said that the law would not go into effect for 75 days. On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” as courts have moved to block executive actions some of which are clearly illegal. Elon Musk has called for impeachment of judges who ruled against Trump. With only very rare exceptions in American history, every president has complied with court orders. Defiance of the courts makes the president answerable to no one and above the law.
A chilling effect has begun. We already have seen major media outlets — ABC and Facebook — capitulate to frivolous lawsuits filed by Trump, with CBS potentially joining their ranks. We have seen how owners of major media companies have sought to curry favor with him. Even more insidious, I have seen an unwillingness to publicly confront Trump and his policies even by those who strongly disagree with him and are in secure positions. I have suggested to other law school deans that we issue a statement about the importance of the rule of law in light of the attack on it by the new administration. But some, even in blue states, said they could not speak up for fear of the consequences for them or their universities.
As more guardrails are destroyed, the pressure for silence will be even greater.
A constitutional democracy is not lost all at once. The Trump administration is obviously testing boundaries that have long existed. I fear the authoritarians in the White House have been emboldened by how much they have been able to accomplish with relatively little pushback.
I remain hopeful that the courts will block the administration’s illegal actions, as some have begun to do, and that the Republican majority in Congress will assert its constitutional authority. Perhaps the people will loudly protest.
We all should be worried by what we are seeing. No democracy lasts forever.
Erwin Chemerinsky, a contributing writer to Opinion, is dean of the UC Berkeley Law School.
I’m reminded of Andrew Jackson who said something like, “the supreme court has made its decision, now let it enforce it.”
What happens if the SC rules but Trump, President Musk and their minions refuse to acknowledge it?
Then, that is a full on Constitutional crisis. The courts have US marshals to use to enforce their orders, but the marshals work for the Executive branch ….
Well America, this is what you voted for… hope you enjoy it!
Not to be too tit picky, John, but not even half of the electorate voted for Trump – and only 20% of Americans actually voted for him.
This is a classic OB Rag moment: ‘Authoritarianism is coming … and so is a new ice cream shop.’
I generally hate to use texter slang, but all I can say is “LOL.”
Can you tell the difference in the taste of ice cream under a democracy or under fascism?
We’ve noticed a trend at the Rag over the years; we could post an article that says ‘End of world coming tomorrow with definite proof’ and there wouldn’t be one comment, but next to it would be a post on ‘the best beer (or burrito) in OB’ and there would be a 100 comments.
Or how about this one:
‘On the Road to Authoritarianism .. But They’re Only Using Slurry Seal.’
That’s because as Tip O’Neil purportedly said: “All politics is local.”
Interestingly, I had a co-worker some years ago who grew up on the Ramstein air force base and whose father was in the air force and whose mother was a German national. His grandparents were still living in East Germany, but he and his mother were allowed occasional visits to the grandparents. The one difference he could remember about being in East Germany under the communist rule was that the ice cream tasted of kerosine.
Of course he was an idiot, but that’s another story.
With all due respect, this is an editorial. An opinion piece from the L.A. Times, boasting probably the largest circulations of the hollowed out newsrooms left on the west coast.
From a Law professor from Berkely I would expect a little more faith in the system that has endured. I am no Elon Musk fan yet first ammendment rights apply to everyone, and anyone has the right to say anything they want, barring the whole fire in a theater. Because Musk said it. doesn’t make it an inevitability, make it so, nor can his comment make make anything go away. Controversial comments and repeating said outlandish commentary serve as clickbait, and fodder. In this case, and worse yet, fearmongering.
There still exists the Judiciary, the Legislature albeit corrupted, and We the People.
So, “Godwilling and the Creek Don’t Rise.”
Professor Chemerisnky should file his own lawsuits or collaborate with legal teams actually pursuing existing legal action against the abuse of power. So grab a shovel and make a difference Doc.
Chemerisnky really knows his Con Law; I had him while studying for the bar in a bar prep course. He was the only prof who could deliver his lectures without notes. So, believe me you, he knows his stuff, and he says this, then it’s real, Mateo. This is way beyond Musk’s first amendment rights.
I never meant to imply that the good professor doesn’t know his stuff. To the contrary, he is a law professor at Berkeley kind of stands on it’s own merrit, at least to me anyway.
It is my contention that the good constitutional law professor use that large legal brain to a means greater than writing an op-ed, in order to establish a written record of “I told you so.”
We’ve all got the memo by now, Musk is a schmuck, duely noted.
Professor Chemerisnsky knows constitutional law, he teaches it. Whom better to protect it? So why not spend some time filing legal challenges, perhaps even class participation project with his law students? How about joining forces with those legal teams that are taking constitutional action, instead of writing about how bad it’s gonna suck when nobody else does anything about it. The guy should consult and volunteer for legal challenges that are underway and/or have yet to get underway. Instead it’s “all hands on deck! Just not mine.”
Okay — all hands on deck!!!!
Democracies are slow and cumbersome compared to authoritarian types of government. And sometimes democracies get it wrong even with all of the checks and balances. Such is the case for our tax system that abandoned redistribution of wealth fifty years ago. Unfortunately, there are many in our population who have been left behind, who have little chance at the American Dream. These are the folks who have given up on democracy and just want the price of eggs and gasoline to come down for a start. This relatively large segment of the population is willing to see democracy burn down if it changes the calculus of their life opportunities. The Democratic Party had the chance to begin to change things and they failed to act. The only chance we have now is for the democrats to find the right strategy, the right words to reconnect with the maga before Trump and Musk blow the house down.
“In the end we will not remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
This first one from 2022 is what has led to the rest of these articles below it excepting the history lesson about the 1850s.
Made Stupid (my subtitle: Thanks Reagan you f**king slimy weasel)
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/27/2125554/-Made-Stupid
It’s depressing how little most Americans know, and how little they want to know. The refusal to wear masks or get vaccinated is only one example. In the USA, more people believe in angels than in evolution. Nobody knows for sure if angels are real. For evolution, however, there is plenty of evidence. There are facts, and then there’s wishful thinking. Enough Americans believe that Trump won the last election to put our democracy in real danger.
People are not born stupid. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to spend time around babies knows that we’re born curious, observant, and eager to connect the dots of experience. It takes years of conditioning to make people stupid.
article continues at link
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The Nazification of American Society and the Scourge of Violence
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/10/14/the-nazification-of-american-society-and-the-scourge-of-violence/
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Where Will This Political Violence Lead? Look to the 1850s.
In the mid-19th century, a pro-slavery minority — encouraged by lawmakers — used violence to stifle a growing anti-slavery majority. It wasn’t long before the other side embraced force as a necessary response.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/29/political-violence-1850s-paul-pelosi
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From 2022:
Tell Me Again How I Was “Crying Wolf”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/10/21/tell-me-again-how-i-was-crying-wolf/
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Though this last one could be considered sort of…flaky, I know Dems and Lefties up here that are taking it seriously. But the question begs to ask why is it ‘flaky’ to not dress in bargain basement camo and march around with Nazi flags and hate everyone who isn’t? Shouldn’t the camo Nazi marchers be considered the real flakes? I mean, both my grandpa Harold and grandpa Dewey killed Nazis in WWII!
Arming the Left – America’s Leftists Reclaim Self-Defense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ndPOs8Q1c
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sealintheSelkirks