How Far Will Trump's Executive Overreach Go?

White House advisor Stephen Miller took to the Sunday morning news shows to answer questions including everything from North Korea's ballistic test to the 9th Circuit ruling putting a stay on Trump's Muslim ban.
Unsurprisingly - Miller was hostile and even dismissive of the various hosts and their questions - and he was especially upset about what he called "judicial supremacy".
"Well, I think that it's been an important reminder to all Americans that we have a judiciary that has taken far too much power and become, in many cases, a supreme branch of government. One unelected judge in Seattle cannot remake laws for the entire country."
Miller then went on to make a frightening declaration about the administration's authoritarian intentions going forward.
"The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned."
Based on what Stephen Miller told John Dickerson - is this feud with the court only the beginning of Trump's executive overreach? And what can the Left do to block or slow down Trump's attempts to consolidate power into the Executive Branch?
Comments

Get your shows aired in red states.

A lot of it depends on how Uncle Vlad wants it to go. I think he would probably like Trump to have complete, unquestioned, unopposed control of the US so that he (Uncle Vlad) has only one set of strings to pull when manipulating the US and its foreign policy. It's a dictator's dream setup.

That is what the Dems would do, and have done in the past .... the Reps are just following the example that the Dem set .... Like with ObamaCare, "You have to pass it so you can see what's in it". ... the Reps are not there yet, but the example has been set by the Dems.

No, this is somethng new. The statement that this administration "will not be questioned" demands an immediate, strong response from both the legislative and judicial branches. It is a declaration of dictatorship.

Picture this if you can.... Putin unknowingly has people close by that absolutely abhor him and want to see him destroyed.
Guys like Stephen Miller will quickly lose their puffed up Trumpmerized bull sht attitudes when one of these russian patriots leaks info that will bring the 2016 election result to a humiliating end.
Our CIA and Comey's FBI will share in the shame. We'll find out what they've been sitting on .....treason has many at the table. Never mind WWIII, civil war will be at our doorstep. The Fascists will refuse to step down. My hope is that NATO will step in and oversee a redo of the election.

Unrelated....Experts point out that the stock market rally is based on the promise that the Fascists will cut the corp tax rate. The thing is, the proposed new lower rate is still higher than the average effective tax rate currently being paid. Chaos, Civil War, 1929, what could possibly go wrong?

Elections have consequences, and every decision is a road of no return.
Although it's nearly impossible to anticipate every turn of fate on any chosen path, it's highly doubtful Al Gore would have lied America into war, especially over oil, or deregulated Wall Street and the investment banking industry, whose unchecked greed almost destroyed the world economy and created the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Rather, it's highly likely he would have set a course -- with the help of an enlightened and scientifically astute Congress -- to reduce carbon emissions and to maneuver the United States as the leader of the world in green energy technologies, generating millions of good-paying jobs, many more than the fossil fuel industry.
Perhaps, fifteen years on, the world would not be rushing headlong toward climate catastrophe and economic collapse, and the United States would still be respected and loved, not hated and feared.
Obama tried to find a way back to a better place. Predictably, he was bogged down by Bush's hopeless quagmire in the Middle East, an intransigent Republican Congress, a right-wing Supreme Court that handed our government over to greedy billionaires, a monopolized press that sensationalizes the shallow and the trivial for profit, and an internet that buries simple truths under an avalanche of lies, fear, hate, and anger.
Bernie pointed to the harsh realities of a system totally corrupted by money and the difficult path that would return us to the original democratic republic of our Founders, one that was designed to further the people's interests, not the special interests.
Despite the rough and tumble of the Democratic primary, Hillary was still the next best choice, an intelligent and compassionate woman who was uniquely qualified and tough enough to handle the hardest job on the planet. Given the stark choice and looming disasters that lay ahead, the people wisely chose Hillary over Trump. Unfortunately, a severely warped system -- subverted by predatory billionaires and vicious liars who falsely smeared her reputation -- led to a rigged election that denied the people their will.
In fact, every investigation of Hillary has come to naught. Far from being the evil mastermind criminal and heartless murderer that the conspiracy-theory right-wing is wont to portray, her actual record is that of someone who fought long and hard for the poor, the disadvantaged, and the middle class. Despite an exemplary record as a people's champion, her malicious political enemies, steeped in blind hatred and unholy lies internalized as gospel truth, destroyed the illustrious career of this truly remarkable women, culminating with the vicious chant, "lock her up!" For what exactly?
Some on the principled left were understandably disillusioned because she acted like ... what? ... a politician? She took money for giving speeches as a civilian -- something every former politician from both sides of the aisle has done since the founding of this nation. She said things in private meetings that she wouldn't say in public forums. Where is that one super human on planet Earth who reveals all of his or her thoughts to everybody everywhere all of the time? Please step forward. Anybody?
Operatives in her campaign who were playing hardball during the primary stepped over the line and were fired. BFD! "I'm shocked ... shocked! ... that there's gambling in this casino!" Name one campaign in history, including Bernie's, that was consistently squeaky clean. "Politics ain't beanbag."
Why was Trump a better choice?! His entire life is a nonfictional, open book of lies, crimes, underhanded self-dealing, scandal, and outrage, which is far out of proportion to whatever fictional accusations Hillary has had to face down. Why is he not being raked over the same coals?
So here we are, in the dark, stumbling down a treacherous path straight toward fascism, led by a crude, small-minded, overbearing bully. Why is it normal that a shameless authoritarian and his kowtowed henchmen never hesitate to look straight into the camera and repeatedly lie directly to the faces of the American people with absolutely no conscience whatsoever?
Where is the outrage from Republicans? What if Al Gore, Obama, Hillary, or Bernie displayed even a tiny fraction of the incredibly crude behavior that Trump parades in front of the world every single day?
The hypocrisy is blinding, and this journey will not end well.

Good comments all around. My copy of Greg Palast's film just arrived in the mail. $19.95 from Cinema Libre Studio, 120 S Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502.
Thom- I agree with the sentiment in one comment about about trying to air your program in red states. I am amazed at how the NYTimes is missing the boat on the voter purge story. The Russian issue seems to have taken front and center stage. The spokespeople like Conway, Miller, and others is, frankly, pretty breathtaking. Somehow I think the Russian issue and firing of Flynn may be a small but significant turning point for those of us that hope that the truth will come out on so many issues from "interstate crosscheck" to Russian hacking to Trump's taxes and many more. I for one appreciate your column so much and have tried to get others in Maine to sign up for your program. I am considering purchasing 20 copies of the Palast film and seeing who should get copies that need to know about this part of the overthrow of Hillary Clinton. I read on Greg's website that his film opens in LA and soon may be in select theaters nationwide. Anyway- thanks Thom for all you do.

you are just another person who hates Obama because he's black. I'm Canadian and even I know that the ACA is a Republican plan, previously known as Romneycare. They even took out the public option. God forbid that every American can see a doctor when they're sick like they can in every other Western democratic country on earth. Trump supporters are absolutely despicable. Deplarable does not even touch how low they are. I don't wan to see into the heart of a Klansman, but Trump cultists would literally rather have their kids die from easily preventable illness than have health care that came from a black president. You are sick, no pun intended.

Andrew, you are another clueless lib. As the left loves to point out, the original idea behind the ACA (i.e. individual mandate for health ins) was floated through the Heritage Foundation. But the left leaves out the most important facts. The Heritage Foundation ran the numbers and quickly found out that it would not work. Thus they abandoned the idea. I guess the democrat wizards of smart thought that they could make it work.
"They even took out the public option" Really? Are you that ignorant of history? The democrats removed the public option, remember? The democrats had all the power in 2009-2010. Obama could not even unite his own party behind the public option. So please, get your facts straight before you look more foolish that you already are.
K2
The US version of democracy will get its real test if/when the senate majority
leader changes the filibuster rule.
That allows a conservative supreme court judge, and that court will again become
a weapon for the right.
ct