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lees1975

(7,055 posts)
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 11:53 AM Yesterday

Dead on arrival

The fact that the news media is acknowledging and reporting Trump's executive order against mail in balloting without educating them on the law is just another example of the blithering ignorance we have going on when it comes to the Constitution.

The order is worthless. The President has no standing or authority to enforce this order, it is neither legal, nor is it the law.

A lot of eighth graders who are taking Constitution this year can provide this information. The fact that most of the media ignores it and reports it tells you they're trying to create a sensation and make money off of it.

Sometimes I wonder if he actually knows the constitution and does these things to see if he can get away with it because other people in his administration are criminally ignorant of it, or whether he is as blitheringly ignorant of it as most of the rest of this country is.

41 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Dead on arrival (Original Post) lees1975 Yesterday OP
The Democratic Party should loudly advertise this. Jim__ Yesterday #1
+1 leftstreet Yesterday #4
My impression is that the Democratic Party is publicizing the order as a threat to our electoral system, which is fine Martin68 21 hrs ago #27
He and the hacks on malaise Yesterday #2
He knows nothing about the Constitution, and clearly doesn't care. yellow dahlia Yesterday #3
Yes! BeneteauBum 22 hrs ago #20
Which is why they STOP teaching Civics in public Schools THEY WANT A DUMB, STUPID ELECTORATE. usaf-vet 21 hrs ago #24
Yes, but he is an evil genis in marketing & theatrics... OhioBack2Blue 5 hrs ago #41
His Executive Order on the NCAA is displacedvermoter Yesterday #5
He thinks Constitution can be cured with a high-fiber diet Jerry2144 Yesterday #6
I had no idea a Big Mac was high in fiber..... AZ8theist 23 hrs ago #9
Who was it a while back that referred to the Constitution as " quaint?" BattleRow 23 hrs ago #7
I don't know, who was it? ShazzieB 23 hrs ago #13
I'm having no luck,either.Im not even sure it was djt.. BattleRow 22 hrs ago #22
I believe that someone in the Shrub Administration displacedvermoter 16 hrs ago #34
John Yoo, Shrub Deputy Assistant AG displacedvermoter 16 hrs ago #37
It was Alberto Gonzalez, Shrub's Attorney General displacedvermoter 16 hrs ago #35
Thank you for the info and clarification. BattleRow 15 hrs ago #38
shrub has a lot to answer for, displacedvermoter 13 hrs ago #39
Most of what he "knows" about anything is wrong. Harker 23 hrs ago #8
So can our next President James48 23 hrs ago #10
How about Nasruddin 23 hrs ago #12
DJ doesn't know jack about anything. He's a lazy loudmouth motherfucker psychopath. littlemissmartypants 23 hrs ago #11
It's ignorance blue-wave 23 hrs ago #14
Yes, they are. lees1975 22 hrs ago #15
saw a similar report about a 'memo' that the reporter said 'authorized' Trump to do something or the other bigtree 22 hrs ago #16
Trump does not have to enforce the laws? pfitz59 22 hrs ago #19
Well...as with everything Orange Piggy does..it is really yes and no.... Ol Janx Spirit 22 hrs ago #17
Key word in the clause, "Congress." lees1975 22 hrs ago #21
Well, that's part of the problem here. They clearly learned a few things from... Ol Janx Spirit 21 hrs ago #25
Nice try Krasnov, you mofoking traitor! OMGWTF 22 hrs ago #18
Was hoping your headline referred to his trip to Walter Reed crazylikafox 22 hrs ago #23
I think it's just "who's gonna stop me?" Nt spooky3 21 hrs ago #26
Trump may have accidentally torpedoed his own bid to seize voter rolls: analyst LetMyPeopleVote 20 hrs ago #28
I eagerly pulled up this thread, thinking it was a report from Walter Reed. Bluetus 20 hrs ago #29
My thought too! GreenWave 20 hrs ago #30
Oh damn. Susan Calvin 19 hrs ago #31
Darn. Your headline got my hopes up. love_katz 18 hrs ago #32
My apologies to those of you who got excited at the title of the post and associated it with his trip to Walter Reed. lees1975 17 hrs ago #33
I so hoped this thread was about something else Maru Kitteh 16 hrs ago #36
Damn AKwannabe 10 hrs ago #40

Jim__

(15,231 posts)
1. The Democratic Party should loudly advertise this.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 12:01 PM
Yesterday

It's not a close call. Presidential executive orders only apply to federal agencies under the Executive Branch. The public needs to have a clear understanding of this fact.

Martin68

(27,767 posts)
27. My impression is that the Democratic Party is publicizing the order as a threat to our electoral system, which is fine
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 03:31 PM
21 hrs ago

by me.

yellow dahlia

(5,952 posts)
3. He knows nothing about the Constitution, and clearly doesn't care.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 12:29 PM
Yesterday

Meanwhile, the whole country could benefit from a civics lesson.

usaf-vet

(7,817 posts)
24. Which is why they STOP teaching Civics in public Schools THEY WANT A DUMB, STUPID ELECTORATE.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 02:56 PM
21 hrs ago

And now they are stopping to teach electorate. WHY..... so that at some point they will use the fact that you can't sign your name on legal documents. For INSTANT, they are comparing your voting application(to acquire the right to vote) to your signature on the day of voting. And bingo, if they don't match, you can't vote.

ASK FOR A PROVIGAL BALLOT!!!!
ASK FOR A PROVIGAL BALLOT!!!!
ASK FOR A PROVIGAL BALLOT!!!!
ASK FOR A PROVIGAL BALLOT!!!!
ASK FOR A PROVIGAL BALLOT!!!!

OhioBack2Blue

(114 posts)
41. Yes, but he is an evil genis in marketing & theatrics...
Sun Apr 5, 2026, 07:07 AM
5 hrs ago

....and both can play a critical role in getting and keeping power! I hope the Dems are paying attention!

displacedvermoter

(4,564 posts)
5. His Executive Order on the NCAA is
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 12:47 PM
Yesterday

Last edited Sat Apr 4, 2026, 08:18 PM - Edit history (1)

worthless from what I can tell, but they seem to keep on coming. I believe he counts each these EOs as an achievement -- "a promise made, a promise kept-- and his idiots accept that.

And the media covering this all, I fear, are lazy and stupid as a whole.

Jerry2144

(3,278 posts)
6. He thinks Constitution can be cured with a high-fiber diet
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 12:47 PM
Yesterday

and a bunch of laxatives. It works for him - too well hence the diapers

ShazzieB

(22,624 posts)
13. I don't know, who was it?
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:48 PM
23 hrs ago

.Did Trump say that? I'd love to know, and Google isn't helping right now.

displacedvermoter

(4,564 posts)
34. I believe that someone in the Shrub Administration
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 08:27 PM
16 hrs ago

called the Geneva Convention "quaint", I believe it was the same Asst AG who told a judge that theoretically the President could sanction the crushing of a child's testicles if the object was to get a terrorist -- the child's parent supposedly -- to give information up. All part of the whole Abu Ghraib torture scandal. An earlier round of war crimes.

I think that is what you are thinking of.

displacedvermoter

(4,564 posts)
37. John Yoo, Shrub Deputy Assistant AG
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 08:48 PM
16 hrs ago

Office of Legal Counsel. Author of the Torture Memos, contended Geneva Convention could be ignored by Executive Order.

displacedvermoter

(4,564 posts)
35. It was Alberto Gonzalez, Shrub's Attorney General
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 08:34 PM
16 hrs ago

who called the Geneva Convention "quaint" and "outdated" in 2005 Congressional Testimony.

BattleRow

(2,459 posts)
38. Thank you for the info and clarification.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 09:43 PM
15 hrs ago

I seemed to recall,dimly,it was from the Shrub era.
I guess we've gone from a"quaint "Geneva Convention to a "concept "of a Constitution.

James48

(5,224 posts)
10. So can our next President
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:24 PM
23 hrs ago

Please issue an Executive Order implementing Universally available Medicare for all, deducted by taxes on all earnings without limits to source or caps. If you earned it, you pay a flat rate tax on it for medical care.

No copays, no deductibles.

Medicare rate of 6% of earned income, or 6% of all cap gains, and you can have 3% back if you have your own employer health plan. Also tax “borrowed stock shares” that are used for gain without counting as income. Close the loophole.

You don’t have to have it, but you can if you choose and pay the full 6%. If you decide to keep your employer insurance, you get 3% of that 6% back towards your health care insurance bill.

Nasruddin

(1,264 posts)
12. How about
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:32 PM
23 hrs ago

. an executive order setting up proportional voting for all federal offices
. an executive order setting term limits for federal judges
. an executive order extending the ssa deduction proportionally to all income levels
. an executive order flattening the capital gains tax rules
The sky's the limit!

littlemissmartypants

(33,778 posts)
11. DJ doesn't know jack about anything. He's a lazy loudmouth motherfucker psychopath.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:29 PM
23 hrs ago
Characteristics of Psychopaths

1. Aggressive, callous, and cunning
2. Complete absence of conscience and empathy
3. Very adept at manipulating others
4. Willingness to engage in immoral, criminal conduct
5. Willingness to take what they want and do as they please, regardless of who is hurt or wronged
6. Deceptive ability to appear outwardly benevolent
7. Deceptive ability to behave in superficially charming ways to hide purely selfish motives
8. Willingness to use intimidation and violence to control others in order to satisfy their own needs
9. Willingness to intentionally violate the basic inherent human rights of others
10. Complete absence of any sense of guilt or remorse for the harm their actions have caused to others
11. Rationalization of their own immoral behavior
12. Will attempt to lay blame upon someone else for their own conduct
13. Denial, will deny their own wrongdoing outright
14. Utter contemptuousness toward the feelings and desires of their fellow beings
15. Pathological lying, will say anything without any concern for truth to advance their own hidden agendas
16. Ablity to feign [fake] normal human emotions and empathy
17. Distorted sense of the consequences of their actions
18. Total failure to accept any responsibility for their own socially irresponsible ways
19. Strong bellef that they will never be brought to justice for their criminal behavior

blue-wave

(5,174 posts)
14. It's ignorance
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:49 PM
23 hrs ago

that is intentionally planned. The media is complicit in the "dumbing-down" of America. They don't want people to know that citizens have rights as enshrined in the constitution. It is easier to control us and take total control that way. This is also the reason for the attacks on public education. Are they still teaching the Constitution in schools today?

lees1975

(7,055 posts)
15. Yes, they are.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:56 PM
22 hrs ago

I think most states teach it at both the eighth and twelfth grade level. It's been about 20 years since I taught it at the 12th grade level, back then it was pretty comprehensive. It was always a pleasure to let students know that the class would be the most relevant and useful one they'd had in school, and if they didn't pay attention, then my generation, the baby boomers, who outnumber them, would vote for politicians who would rob them blind and give it to us. That got some attention.

I think there needs to be a lot more than there is now.

bigtree

(94,301 posts)
16. saw a similar report about a 'memo' that the reporter said 'authorized' Trump to do something or the other
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 01:59 PM
22 hrs ago

...as if it's a given that an administration that's claimed all sorts of illegal authority, and been repeatedly reprimanded by the courts on abuses of authority, can be trusted to authorize themselves on anything.

'I Didn't Ask That': Neil Gorsuch Doesn't Let Up On Attorney About President's Duty To Execute Laws


Ol Janx Spirit

(1,024 posts)
17. Well...as with everything Orange Piggy does..it is really yes and no....
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 02:28 PM
22 hrs ago

Much of the order just directs agencies to enforce existing law--so nothing unconstitutional about that.

The parts directing the USPS--which has an odd status as an independent establishment within the executive branch--to involve themselves in how mail-in ballots are sent through the mail system could conceivably be ruled as something the executive branch has in their purview. You can easily see the current SCOTUS going along with that as not being part of actual election administration but as part of a federal responsibility that states must adhere to. States may be able to sidestep this by using another carrier--UPS, FedEx, etc.--but those guys do not necessarily deliver to every address like the USPS which is mandated to provide mail services to all Americans.

Likewise, I can see the current SCOTUS going along with requiring states that do use the USPS to provide a list of eligible voters in order to allow the federal government to "ensure the faithful execution of Federal law." Sure, conservatives used to be all about state's rights, but now they are all into the unitary executive's power...when a republican is in office at least.

The relevant clause of the Constitution merely states:
"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators."

And it is not like there was a well-established postal service at the time. It was only later in the same Article that the Constitution granted Congress the ability to "establish Post Offices and post Roads". The SCOTUS "originalists" may easily argue that the Constitution did not contemplate mail-in ballots.

I can, unfortunately, see the SCOTUS saying that this EO does not actually infringe upon times, places, or manner, since it does not tell states they can't use mail-in ballots but only seeks to govern their delivery through a federal agency.

As with too many things we once thought were certain, this is likely not as much of a slam-dunk rejection as we would like for it to be. The simple wording of the Constitution seems to lend itself to all sorts of judicial shenanigans.

And clearly, this EO was written by the lawyers regardless of his signature. He could not tell you what even half of it means. But that also means it is probably not as far-fetched as we would like....

And you'll notice that he has stopped talking about privatizing the USPS. I wonder why?

You can read the order here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/ensuring-citizenship-verification-and-integrity-in-federal-elections/

And more about Article I, Section 4, Clause 1, here:
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S4-C1-2/ALDE_00013577/

I wholeheartedly agree that it SHOULD be DOA, but it does not take a ton of squinting to see how the SCOTUS could validate much of this blatantly undemocratic order that is cleverly disguised by legalese as just another function of the federal government to "protect" Americans while not actually altering the time, places, or manner of state elections.

lees1975

(7,055 posts)
21. Key word in the clause, "Congress."
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 02:43 PM
22 hrs ago

Which basically means that this executive order is moot. This is Trump's way of trying to rally his own base by testing their populist beliefs against truth and of trying to justify the fit he threw when Pennsylvania persisted in counting mail-in ballots after the polls closed, eventually piling up enough votes to give the Presidency to Biden.

Tell someone who brings this up how many times Trump has voted by mail. You''ll get a dull stare or a denial.

Ol Janx Spirit

(1,024 posts)
25. Well, that's part of the problem here. They clearly learned a few things from...
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 03:20 PM
21 hrs ago

...the March, 2025 EO that was struck down.
( https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/preserving-and-protecting-the-integrity-of-american-elections/ )

That order sought to directly alter both the manner and times of state's elections. This was clearly unconstitutional.

This new order is written in a way that dances around the edge of that. It does not direct states to alter their elections per se at all, but to adhere to an envelope standard for mail-in ballots and to provide information to the federal government.

As I said, I can see a world in which the SCOTUS rules that these things to do not infringe on the "Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections" as outlined in the Constitution.

I believe the March, 2025 order was certainly his "way of trying to rally his own base by testing their populist beliefs against truth and of trying to justify the fit he threw when Pennsylvania persisted in counting mail-in ballots after the polls closed"--as that EO was in-part directly aimed at the counting of ballots after the polls closed--but I think this one goes much broader than that grudge.

They've had a whole year to think about this one after knowing that the first one was likely to be struck down....

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,999 posts)
28. Trump may have accidentally torpedoed his own bid to seize voter rolls: analyst
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 03:53 PM
20 hrs ago

I am still pissed that Texas gave trump all of Texas' voter information. The trump DOJ has sued 20+ states trying to get these records and so far has not won any of these lawsuits. In these lawsuits, the DOJ never really states why they really need these records. trump's voting by mail executive order is clearly the reason for these lawsuits.

Trump acknowledged in his executive order that he "directs DHS to create a nationwide voter registration database.”

Trump may have accidentally  torpedoed his own bid to seize voter rolls: analyst

www.rawstory.com/trump-voting...

Evie (@evie55.bsky.social) 2026-04-03T20:06:48.463Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-voting-2676662305/

President Donald Trump's executive order demanding states put new procedures in place for mail-in voting and turn over information about who is voting by mail is almost certain to be struck down in court, Jim Saksa wrote for Democracy Docket on Friday — but that's not the only way it could derail Trump's ambitions.

That's because this order could also undermine one of the main arguments Trump's Justice Department has used in court to defend the lawsuits filed against dozens of states to seize their voting rolls.

"In those lawsuits, the DOJ has claimed it needs millions of voters’ private sensitive data in order to ensure the states are complying with federal laws that require states to take steps to ensure accurate rolls," said the report. "But outside of court, DOJ officials like Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have undermined that claim by boasting that the state voter records they’ve already obtained have been used to verify citizenship status using the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program."

After judges began ruling against the lawsuits on these grounds, DOJ officials backpedaled somewhat and said there was no plan to help the Department of Homeland Security build a national database of voters.

Trump, however, may have blown that excuse by outright acknowledging in his executive order that he "directs DHS to create a nationwide voter registration database," noted the report.

"Along with Dhillon’s statements and Trump’s orders, the DOJ’s courtroom attestations have been impeached repeatedly," wrote Saksa. For example, "last week, CBS reported that DOJ and DHS were working to formalize a data-sharing agreement for the voter rolls. And on the same day Tucker was assuring a federal judge that the DOJ wouldn’t share state records with DHS, Eric Neff, acting chief of the DOJ’s Voting Rights Section, admitted to another judge in Rhode Island that they, in fact, would."

trump's DOJ/DHS really want a nationwide voter database with a ton of confidential information. This database would be used to enforce trump's voter id executive order. It will be fun seeing trump's executive order being cited in these lawsuits.

love_katz

(3,263 posts)
32. Darn. Your headline got my hopes up.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 06:34 PM
18 hrs ago

That you were announcing that Agolf $hitler is finally dead!
Sigh. Darn, darn, darn.

lees1975

(7,055 posts)
33. My apologies to those of you who got excited at the title of the post and associated it with his trip to Walter Reed.
Sat Apr 4, 2026, 07:37 PM
17 hrs ago

I wasn't aware of what was going on at the time.

But I'm glad to note that I'm not the only one who has those kinds of thoughts.

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