Mike McRae 🇨🇦
Sean CastenThis is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program. No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress. This is an unambiguous impeachable offense.
I’m not saying we have the votes to impeach. I’m saying that you DO NOT do this without Congressional approval and if Johnson doesn’t grow a spine and learn to be a real boy tomorrow we have a BFing problem that puts our very Republic at risk.
delProfundo@SeanCasten sorry to bring bad news but the fascist state of America is not going to censure its supreme leader. MAGA Mike is there specifically for this purpose.
Ludwig Vielfrass@delProfundo @SeanCasten yeah, it’s not like we’ve had any evidence of respect for the separation of powers in anything else. This may be somewhat shocking but it’s not surprising.
TC Won't Give In To Lies
Jennifer@delProfundo @SeanCasten exactly, Johnson is all about letting Trump be the supreme leader with no accountability. And he's also ceded all kinds of power to Trump that should be with Congress, like tariffs, funding, etc. He's not going to do anything.
Anne Ominous@SeanCasten lmao the 'republic' is gone, buddy and has been since trump was 'reelected.'
garland let him go after he tried to overthrow our government, now he's doing literally whatever TF he wants.
garland let him go after he tried to overthrow our government, now he's doing literally whatever TF he wants.
99% agree
But Garland, along w the states of NY and GA, did their jobs to hold him accountable. Perhaps slowly, but their flaw was in trusting a judicial system riddled with FedSoc holes.
Raven667@SeanCasten pretty sure they do have tacit approval to start this war, the religious nut wing of the Republican party, of which Speaker Johnson is a member, believes that "the Rapture" will come through the destruction of Israel, so they are cheering on as Netanyahu overextends and pokes the Persians. It doesn't have to make sense and you don't have to believe it, they believe it and this belief is influencing their decisions. They don't have to care about Global Warming/Climate Change or Immigration or any of the other issues of the day if "Jesus" saves them.
Soozcat@raven667 @SeanCasten You'd think they would have considered by now that if Jesus needs to come clean up their mess, he's gonna arrive PISSED OFF.
Cavyherd@Soozcat @raven667 @SeanCasten
I mean, & that's not even getting into the whole Matthew 25:35-40 thing....
@cavyherd @Soozcat @raven667 @SeanCasten
Given Jesus's criteria for separating the good from the bad, Johnson and the Christonationalists are going to be very disappointed.
@TCatInReality @Soozcat @raven667 @SeanCasten
Ayep. 
I have to wonder: what the hell is their thinking here?
@cavyherd @Soozcat @raven667 @SeanCasten
I think they're spending too much time listening to their "religious leaders" and not enough reading the words of the New Testament.
The Christonationalist religious leaders, IMO, all know it's a load of crap - but it rallies their followers and gets them money and influence, so they keep doubling down.
@TCatInReality @Soozcat @raven667 @SeanCasten
& then there's also the scorn I've heard for the "woke Jesus," which...bwuh??
Nonya Bidniss 
@SeanCasten Johnson and spine in the same sentence? Come on.
Aaron@SeanCasten Our Republic was so far over the line of merely being "at risk" already. We have a fascist and his cronies at the helm, and it's just a matter of time. He's already announced he plans to never leave office.
Bill Jorth@SeanCasten @aspeed Sadly, that ship has sailed months ago. Rudderless and without a captain.
DB@SeanCasten The Republic has been crumbling to dust since the election. Republic In Name Only now. There is no legal or political ability to stop - there hasn’t been since the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. We’re a Fascist autocracy now and the Speaker is an important part of implementing it
Roger Moore@SeanCasten
My prediction is the lickspittle Republicans will paper over the illegality by approving Trump's actions after the fact.
My prediction is the lickspittle Republicans will paper over the illegality by approving Trump's actions after the fact.
DoNotPunchDownHave you spoken to him yourself? Where's the Democratic caucus and why aren't you all in his office demanding he do what the law REQUIRES he do?
Mirishuli@DoNotPunchDown @SeanCasten Because it would do no good and ultimately weaken the Dems even more. That’s why.
That's impossible for them to be weakened more. Especially for doing the right thing
The Dems look like shit because they never do the right thing.
@DoNotPunchDown @SeanCasten Go away Do. You are absolutely clueless and it shows. Honest to God, people need to get a grip and learn how this shit really works.
Dems have NO POWER. NONE. NADA. Stop Whining and get in the streets. It’s going to take millions of us living in the damn streets to affect anything! Don’t you get that?
First, you responded to me. You go away (I'll make sure that happens after I post this)
Second, they have been elected to represent the people. Sitting at their desks twiddling their thumbs is not representing anyone but their pockets.
Third, it'll take 3.5% of the population to withhold our funds and labor.
Fourth, you are why the Dems keep being so awful, concede everything, every time
@MiriShuli @DoNotPunchDown @SeanCasten
Not only millions protesting (already happening), it will take a prolonged #GeneralStrike to force the oligarchs to abandon their front men and respond to the actual needs of citizens
SouprMatt@DoNotPunchDown @SeanCasten Your name is “do not punch down” and you’re taking a crap on the minority party while MAGA is going to war. LOL
Levka@mls14 @DoNotPunchDown @SeanCasten
Democrats? Feh. Good cop, bad cop, both cops.
Thank you
Not punching down is not allowing ELECTED LEADERS to escape responsibility. Not punching down is not blaming voters for what both parties gave us.
Do you know which way down is?
@DoNotPunchDown @SeanCasten I just flipped through your account. It’s a steady stream of profanity and insults towards other posters.
Pretty much the opposite of the title. False advertising IMO.
So, no. You don't know which way down is
Ω 🌍 Gus Posey@SeanCasten Our republic isn't at risk, it's being digested.
Deb Nam-Krane@SeanCasten We have a problem https://apnews.com/article/iran-strikes-congress-republicans-trump-239d3ea01ea0338c2daf566b12ba2ee2
We don't have the votes to impeach, but let's move to do it anyway.
Trump ignites debate on presidential authority with Iran strikes
President Donald Trump’s bombardment of three sites in Iran has quickly sparked debate in Congress over his authority to launch the strikes, with Republicans praising Trump for decisive action even as many Democrats warned he should have sought congressional approval. The response came after Trump had publicly mulled the strikes for days and many congressional Republicans had cautiously said they thought he would make the right decision. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Saturday evening that “as we take action tonight to ensure a nuclear weapon remains out of reach for Iran, I stand with President Trump and pray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way.”
misomunjeUmm... There masked government agents disappearing people off our streets. Catch up
Lizzie she/her@SeanCasten I think it's over
Rev Nathan Ⓥ↔️🇺🇦🇨🇦🇵🇸🇬🇱@Lizette603_23 @SeanCasten Yeah, I’d be more excited by this if democrats realized we are past the point of the constitutional constraints kicking in and that it’s time for a counter-coup. The voting and chatting isn’t got save us, or, rather, restore us.
GeePawHill@SeanCasten It is, in fact, the law, that a President can do this.
". . . the law is a ass — a idiot." -- Charles Dickens
@LevZadov @SeanCasten Have you read Dickens, or is that just a quote?
Lots. Long ago.
@LevZadov @SeanCasten Good on ya. Dickens is astonishing.
But.
What is the meaning of your quote in this context?
It means what it means in any context. That's what I think of the law, and I'm not the only one.
EndicottRoad59@SeanCasten I agree.
Artemis@SeanCasten The USA is a dictatorship. I'm not sure when the Rubicon was crossed but the Republic is well and truly dead. They've just held the Triumph and are now expanding their Empire.
prozacchiwawa@SeanCasten i think the distaste for making decisions about war runs deep in congress and especially the senate, so much that few in these bodies and nobody in leadership wants to endanger their seats by having to make these choices. imagining that trump himself offered a bill giving up the post-911 aumf, i honestly don't think it'd pass.
Jaime Robertson@SeanCasten Johnson is an ass-kissing Christian Nationalist who will do whatever his orange messiah tells him.
TW@SeanCasten the guy who doesn’t even trust himself to browse the internet without his son monitoring his porn consumption? That guy? We are hosed.
To be clear, I do not dispute that Iran is a nuclear threat. That’s why Obama negotiated the JCPOA. But whether that is better resolved through diplomatic or military measures is not a decision that the executive branch has unilaterally.
It’s worth noting that “imminent threat” is a gray area. Trump did attack Solemani without Congressional approval. Black ops do happen. Leaving details aside, there is a case that Presidents need to move to protect the homeland quickly in some cases. This was not that.
Fordo had enriched significant volumes of weapons-grade material. But they did not have it mounted on a weapons system that could have hit Israel between now and when Congress is back in session next week. Or before we could schedule a F-ing zoom call.
OTOH, when Netanyahu attacked Iran he KNEW that he didn’t have the weapons to attack Fordo. Only the US has bombers that can penetrate the deep bunkers where that enrichment happens. It is hard not to conclude that he assumed he could play Trump like a fiddle. And Trump got played.
A final note of clarification. I am open to the idea that the US should attack Iran. But I am not open to the idea that Congress cedes all authority to the executive branch. No matter how many lickspittle sycophants in the GOP argue to the contrary.
Iran is no closer to having a nuclear bomb than they did in 2006. We had no right to bomb Iran. Just like we had no right to bomb Iraq. Or Vietnam.
Bean 🇺🇲🇻🇪That ship sailed a looooong time ago. The GOP handed over their own huevos on a platter once he won the nomination in 2016 and again when Mitch McConnell refused to get his hands dirty in impeachment 2.0.
Corey Taylor@SeanCasten so are you planning to file articles of impeachment or naw? Because what at first sounded not ambiguous, sure seemed very ambiguous once I read to the end of your thread 🤦🏽‍♂️
Ted Aronson@SeanCasten My two year old does this all the time. We'll be going to cross the street and then she'll get all bent out of shape saying "Daddy, I wanted to press the button!"