If those subpoenas aren't valid, then congress cannot possible act as a check on the president.
> Senate’s refusal to confirm Obama’s appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court
Not a check so much as a complete refusal to perform constitutional duty. What McConnell did was subvert the process of checks and balances to remove the presidents ability to make appointments.
> If those subpoenas aren't valid, then congress cannot possible act as a check on the president
Sure they can. They can refuse to confirm his appointments, they can pass laws with a large enough supermajority to override his veto, and they can even remove him from office with a Senate supermajority.
> What McConnell did was subvert the process of checks and balances to remove the presidents ability to make appointments.
Thus disproving this notion that Congress is powerless against the President. The President has the constitutional power to make appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate. There's nothing in the Constitution that says the Senate has to have a good reason to withhold that consent.
> There's nothing in the Constitution that says the Senate has to have a good reason to withhold that consent.
The constitution is a deeply flawed document that relies on the acceptance of norms and generally good actors. Absent that you end up with a wannabe dictator like Trump acting basically unchallenged.
> and they can even remove him from office with a Senate supermajority.
an act made much harder when the executive flouts subpoenas.
Except every other candidate accepts donations and has to be more transparent. Every other serious candidate is appearing on the debate stage and town halls.
Bloomberg is buying off people and hasn't been forced to defend his atrocious record, at all.
and plenty of people support aggressively campaign financing reform and public funding of elections.
> I believe people are not idiots and are capable of judging their own interest.
He's buying up media and politicians. People can't decide from themselves when he's spending a billion dollars to shape the narrative.
If Bloomberg gets elected the US is done. It's not longer anything resembling democracy and the only thing that will save us from the new order will be revolution.
In reality, compelling political science evidence suggests that people do not decide for themselves, and that in the absence of concentrated outside interests, elections are essentially random functions based on arbitrary group identity. We're now pretty close to sure that voters around the world don't generally individually map candidates to issue profiles (it's likely that the influence goes the other way), and that the electorate in the large doesn't aggregate preferences to a median acceptable policy. In that landscape, the one thing that does move outcomes is large amounts of political spending.
(This is the core argument of Democracy for Realists).
Companies spend billions of dollars on advertising _because it works_. Virtually everyone thinks they're too smart to be influenced by it. And they'd be wrong.
> If Bloomberg gets elected the US is done. It's not longer anything resembling democracy and the only thing that will save us from the new order will be revolution.
So being extremely wealthy and successful now disqualifies you from being a good President?
Unlike our current super wealthy President, Bloomberg has more experience in government (mayor of NYC) and has a more successful track record in business.
Money shouldn't disqualify you from being a good President, poor judgement, low moral character and lack of relevant experience should.
I certainly wouldn't mind if Bill Gates ran for President and if he did I doubt he'd accept donations.
> So being extremely wealthy and successful now disqualifies you from being a good President?
I don't believe anyone is saying this. Bloomberg, for example, is spending more on TV ads than every other candidate combined. It's not a level playing field at all. Bloomberg has a war chest nobody can compete with. His having it isn't the issue we're talking about here. The fact that he's able to use it in this manner should worry us all.
Nit: Trump being super wealthy is arguable on many grounds - definitionally ("super"), wealthy at all, debt superseding wealth, etc. Bloomberg is _actually_ super wealthy.
So where do you draw the line? At what net worth are you saying someone can't possibly help the country?
To say anyone with $X shouldn't be President sounds like profiling. Why not just disagree with his policies or actions?
As far as relevant experience, Bloomberg was the Mayor of NYC and has managed a large organization. That's a lot more government and leadership experience than Trump or Obama had.
Plenty of other things to not like about him but being Mayor of NYC or running a successful business shouldn't disqualify him by any means. So now no one who wants to be President should be a Mayor first or start a successful business? Maybe we should throw out senators while we're at it. Pretty soon we'll be left with armchair economists and self described philosophers who truly don't have any relevant experience.
If that's your justification for why you should be president, then you aren't actually qualified to be president. There is no business on earth that would adequately prepare someone to be president.
> Obama
Obama was a US senator for 4 years and a state senator 7 more.
> Trump
Is a disaster. Bloomberg would also be a disaster.
Fever, body aches for a couple days. Felt like I was going to cough up a lung.
but no real sneezing or congestion.