Garrett Graff: You can explain America's constitutional collapse in a single coherent sentence

[highplainsdem]

This is actually the really simple story of the collapse of American democracy. You can explain America’s constitutional collapse in a single coherent sentence:

— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social) 2026-01-17T19:39:30.905Z

[sarisataka]

1. Spot on

The checks and balances triad , only works when all the branches are participating to balance the others. The founders did not imagine a scenario where a branch would choose to abdicate its authority.

[TheRickles]

8. Two branches, actually.

[popsdenver]

10. Yup

The Legislative Branch Republicans, and the Judicial Branch Republicans, and include the U.S. Supreme Court Republican Justices..............

Every last one of them are the finest that the Republican Party could buy.....................and I can only imagine that many of them caved into Extortion, and BlackMail as well................AND at this point they all know one main thing:
If Trump goes down, we'll all go down.......

[RainCaster]

23. I'm thinking it's not a *boot* they want to lick

Something with a similar sound, but far more subservient.

[global1]

2. Donald J. Tr**p Was Elected President.

[31st Street Bridge]

3. More like "elected"

Both 2016 and 2024 were as shady as hell. That's why he kept yelping about 2020; he knew when the fix was in in 2024, no one would dare complain like he did.

[Farmer-Rick]

11. Well sort of kinda

I mean the final numbers said he won, but the electronic hanky panky and statistical anamolies of the 2024 election were everywhere. Pedo Trump rigged it like he does everything.

[lapfog_1]

4. and the same can be said of SCOTUS - n/t

[kimbutgar]

5. I never could understand why they would make themselves moot !

I guess there must be some good blackmail on those 6 who bow down to the fat a$$ piggy!

[crim son]

26. I keep hearing that they are "afraid."

Sure they are: afraid of losing their jobs. They don't give a crap about the country.

[RVN VET71]

35. Possibly, but never underestimate the human anima's propensity l

to reduce itself to scum on its own simply because it gravitates to power. And that's because power means money -- and the possibility of an occasional liaison amoureuse with a woman "on the younger side".

(Except for Amy, who has given herself exclusively to Jesse and, through him, to her MAGA Lord , and through him to God.)

[SheltieLover]

6. Kick

[Autumn]

7. Nonsense. You can explain America's constitutional collapse in one single word

Republicans.

[moniss]

9. They not only

lick the boot once the boot came but they actually went decades looking for a fascist strongman to put in place in order to have a boot to lick.

[Mme. Defarge]

12. Well, some of them have drawn a line in the sand

over Greenland. Now it’s TACO time. . .

[Farmer-Rick]

13. Because money bought it up

By removing restrictions to the free flow of money in politics, it turn our elections into just another capitalist commodity to be bought up by filthy-rich psychopaths.

[sop]

24. Filthy rich psychopaths have taken control of mass media as well.

[dwayneb]

30. This is definitely one of the factors

Once corporations became citizens we were screwed. And even before that once lobbyists and PACS were allowed to buy influence with no regulation. Only question left is what form our autocracy will have.

[clevergrrrl]

14. If you picture every Republican and MAGAt

that you know wearing a gimp costume and a ball gag. It all makes sense. They love the taste of boot leather and need a big daddy to tell them what to do.

[FakeNoose]

15. He forgot mention the Supreme Court ...

... and they are just as useless as Congress.

[ShazzieB]

21. I think he focused on Congress for a reason.

Congress is, or should be, the first line of defense against a tyrannical president, because the power (and responsibility) of impeachment rests with them. The Republicans that currently have control of Congress are the ones who are shirking their duties in a way the Founders would never have imagined possible.

SCOTUS has certainly contributed to the problem, but right now the ball is in Congress's court (pun intended), and Congress has so far been hamstrung by the craven cowardice of GOP politicians. Let's hope the American people vote enough of them out of office in November to enable Congress to finally act.

I know some are doubtful that the midterm elections will even happen. I understand why, and I agree that the danger exists, but I have made a conscious decision to put that out of my mind until and unless it actually becomes reality. I am resolved to continue hoping as long as there is any hope left. The only alternative (as I see it) would be succumbing to despair, and I refuse to give myself permission to do that.

[BurnDoubt]

16. Compromat is King.

Remember when Rudy was making the rounds of the Sunday Buffet and bragged about his FBI cred, saying he was at the NY branch all the time?
He got the dirt on everybody, and gave it to Der Fuhrer, and Der Fuhrer has the goods on him, too. It’s a tradition that the Director compile dossiers on everybody who is anybody, and most of the irrelevant, too.
This is the stuff that turns Spines into Jelly. This explains the world we’re in, all the way from the top of the ticket to the bottoms of ICE’S bloody boots.
That, and good-old physical intimidation.
None of these things should EVER be “normalized” in a Democracy. Every news story is a tale of the corrosive nature of Secrecy and Domination.
AI… AI… OH!
Poo Tee Weet.

[Tree Lady]

17. So true if you look at the documentaries

Made from that time, Adam’s and the other congressmen fought hard for their power and separate states. The president was more of a leader/figurehood. And watching Burns latest doc Washington wasn’t the perfect guy we were all led to believe.

[DeeDeeNY]

18. I would add willful ignorance on a large part of the electorate.

Fox "News" feeds it with their lies and it gets further nurtured by right-wing internet sites. The founders could never have anticipated that.

[xuplate]

19. So true

Because of Citizens United we have congressional members bought and paid for by special interest groups and appear to have no loyalty to the electorate they pretend to represent.

[Cheezoholic]

20. More like licking their wallets. You can't tell me these repukes aren't getting filthy rich off of this administration

May not see it today but let a decade pass and see where and how they're living.

[DallasNE]

22. Citizens United

Unlimited money corrupts absolutely. It just took the quid pro Quo to grease it.

[bluestateboomer]

25. I think one of our problems is we were first.

Our founders had the challenge of establishing a modern government that was unique for its era. No one could reasonably foresee every human flaw which might challenge a governmental system. Our constitution has served moderately well for over two centuries. But the current helplessness we feel against the banality of facsist evil we face just highlights our system's flaws. Foreign observers of our country probably had the time to avoid our mistakes when designing their democracies.
That said, now that we are fully aware of the systemic loopholes bad actors misuse to destroy even the good aspects of our self governance, when we recover, if we recover, we must be ready to build back better.

[dwayneb]

31. Technology

Has created the greatest political weapon or propaganda ever devised. In many ways it is just as powerful and dangerous as other weapons of mass destruction.

[hadEnuf]

27. Back "in the day", most of this congress would have been hanged by now.

[snot]

28. Unfortunately, they weren't alone.

E.g., the AUMF has generally been supported by a majority of both parties, and its use or over-use by presidents from both parties has consistently been supported by the representatives of their own party as well as at least some from the opposing party.

How about the abduction, torture, and/or targeted killing of US citizens without a trial or anything else resembling due process, whenever a Pres. cares to label someone a "terrorist"?

Another e.g.: there's no real dispute that the privacy of innocent citizens is continually being invaded, directly or indirectly, by governmental agencies from the NSA to local police, in blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment and other privacy protections; but few if any congressional reps. in either party seem to care.

Similarly, first amendment protections have been pretty well shredded, with peaceful protests regarding one issue or another, depending on which party is in power, being suppressed, and administrations pressuring social media platforms to censor, demonetize, or shadow-ban kinds of speech that US governments are constitutionally prohibited from censoring directly themselves.

Or, what happened to antitrust enforcement? How can the kinds of consolidation we've seen in the media, amazon, Google, Meta, health care, et al. possibly be in the best interests of consumers? Even if savings are offered in the short term, we all know that these monopolies will raise prices or find other ways to exploit us as soon as they've cornered enough of the market.

And when's the last time either a Pres. from either party put someone in charge of Treasury who wasn't affiliated with the Wall St. firms that caused the 2008 Great Financial Crash, got bailed out, and then gave themselves the biggest bonuses they'd ever received?

There's been a frightening collapse in the rule of law generally – I'm not talking about petty crime; I'm talking about brazen disregard by governmental authorities, as well as the white-collar thugs they're supposed to restrain, for both national and international law.

[Cherokee100]

29. Citizens United

Citizens United, enough said.

[Buddyzbuddy]

32. Republican equals MAGA equals Nazi

[DFW]

38. Republican equals National Socialist?

They use some of the same tactics, but by no means all.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

33. So true

[Johonny]

34. A lot of stupid people in America

[Six117]

37. Gerrymandering

Let's not forget that. Congress does not represent us.

[cstanleytech]

39. Actually they set their eyes on something higher than licking Trump's boots a few years ago and are now tonguing it.

[czarjak]

40. Voter Suppression. Voter Intimidation.