Pelosi warns GOP: Next president could declare national emergency on guns

originally posted by: butcherguy

originally posted by: Teikiatsu

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Teikiatsu

1) Trump would have to permanently claim large swaths of private property for the wall, and

You mean like the government does every time they put in a new highway???

Yes, it's called imminent domain, and it's not a power the President has.

So a city council can declare eminent domain to condemn your house so their buddy can put in a new strip mall , but the POTUS can’t put a fence up along our international border.
You realize that there are walls and fences existing on that border for long stretches already, right?
How the hell did they get built?

Yes, it's called decentralization and local control. Those city council-folks are duly elected by their constituents and granted those powers by city charters. The SCOTUS rules in "Kelo vs. the City of New London" that council-folk had the power to condemn a house for a strip mall. (I disagree with that ruling, by the way.)

The bottom line is, no matter how much we want a wall (me included) there are checks and balances to keep it from happening. The USA was founded on the idea of limited government. Any attempts at power-grabs should be prevented, even if it's the side you agree with.

Personally, I think the GOP should do what my wife (ketsuko) suggests:

Take a nod from the Dems with the 'ACA'

1) The Senate passed a funding bill with what Trump wants
2) The House passed the recent travesty
3) The Senate can gut the House bill and transcribe their bill into it, using the HR number
4) ADD NO MORE AMENDMENTS. That would send it back to the House.
5) The Senate can then put the new bill up for vote and so long as they get a basic majority they can deem it to pass.

Voila, no shutdown and Trump gets his wall. It's kvetchy, but it's legal. That's how the Dems got Obamacrud through. That would require McConnell to give a damn, though