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THE VIEW FROM HERE - “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
These 55 words from the Declaration of Independence are the core value on which America and the US Constitution are founded. Both the GOP and the Dem parties now find the concept of unalienable rights unacceptable, and in place of the Declaration, each promotes its own form of totalitarian government devoid of individual liberties.
Both the GOP and the DEM no longer rely on facts, values, or the truth, but rather each has its own Narrative. Kellyanne Conway called them “alternative facts. The Dems’ route to their totalitarian state is far more sophisticated and covert than the GOP’s. They have been using Woke DEI to replace individual inalienable rights with Group Rights where Whites and Jews are oppressors without regard to their actual actions and all minorities are the oppressed, again without regard to their behavior. The majority of Dems were sold on Wokeism by the false narrative that it was merely an extension of social justice from the Civil Rights Era. As this article focus on the GOP, please see Left Extremism Begot Right Extremism for an explanation how Pelosi’s Identity Politics aka Wokeism has spurred the GOP authoritarianism.
Unitary Executive Theory, The GOP Road To Totalitarianism
When the Constitution was written, some argued that government needed a robust President who had total control to run the government. The Constitution’s framers rejected this option as is proven by the myriad checks and balances on the President’s power and the extensive discussion in the Federal Papers about the dangers of a President becoming a tyrant like King George. Thus, The Constitution’s Art I gave all legislative power to Congress. No part of the Constitution said that president could amend or supersede legislation which Congress gave to the President to administer. For example, the Senate’s advise and consent (or reject) duty may not be sidelined by Senator Thune’s spurious claim that by winning an election, Trump gained a mandate requiring approval of his choices.
During the Reagan Administration, the GOP claimed the President had the power to modify Congressional enactments to conform to his desires. This notion did not extend to criminal behavior. Nixon’s impeachment was too fresh in everyone’s mind. Thus, the GOP invented the concept of Plausible Deniability when the President’s action strayed into illegal territory, e.g., the Iran Contra Affair. Increasingly, Presidents became accustomed to invading Congress province. With the likes of Chief Justice Roberts, the Unitary Executive Theory has become the usurpation of Congressional authority, often with Congress’s acquiescence. Today the Theory denies Congress and the Courts have the power to constrain a President’s behavior. This attitude is reflected in Trump’s harangues that radical activist judges have no power to constrain his behavior.
For Trump, the role of Congress and the Judiciary is to carry out his wishes, not to object to his policies. The most famous advocates of this totalitarian interpretation of the Unitary Executive are Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune. On July 1, 2024, in Trump vs United States, Chief Justice John Roberts conferred on the Presidency an American type of Führerstaat, by granting him absolute immunity to commit crimes including murder. Hitler did not gain this power until after the Knight of the Long Knives . By what distortion of more than two millennia of western civilization is any leader above the law? Chief Justice Roberts is making Hitler’s Führerstaat with its mass murder of Ernst Röhm and others the legal precedent sanctifying Trump’s criminality. Please see Barbarians Inside the Gates and The End of Inalienable Rights.
Absolute Immunity Means Absolute Immunity
Chief Justice Roberts could not have been clearer when he granted the President the right to murder when he ruled the President had absolute immunity for his criminal acts. In Trump vs. United States, Chief Justice Roberts ruled: “Neither may the courts adjudicate a criminal prosecution that examines such Presidential actions. Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.” Roberts added: “At least with respect to the President’s exercise of his core constitutional powers, this immunity must be absolute.”
When Hindenburg made Hitler chancellor, other politicians assured him that they could control Hitler. Are Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Alito, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune similarly naive? Trump is already murdering innocent boat people in the Caribbean. In major American cities like Los Angeles, Trump is using the US Marines against Americans whom Trump deems to be the “enemy within.” Secretary Noem claimed her objective was to liberate Angelenos from their socialist and burdensome government. Trump selected Pete Hegseth knowing that Hegseth will show loyalty to Trump and not to the Constitution. Furthermore, Trump is building Homeland Security into his own “domestic” military, similar to Hitler’s Schutzstaffel (Nazi SS), whose loyalty will be to Trump and not to the Constitution. Trump’s right to use the military against US illegals and citizens is the underlying theme in Perdomo vs Noem. Even US Senators may be tackled, thrown to the ground and handcuffed. Is there anyone so naive as to think that Trump will not have ICE and the Marines seize ballot boxes from the November 2026 election in order to declare that the GOP won huge majorities in both the House and the Senate? As of December 15, 2025, Perdomo vs Noem is headed to the Supreme Court after the district court issued a permanent injunction restraining Trump’s domestic use of the military. Nationally, there is an intra-judiciary battle with lower courts rejecting the Unitary Executive Theory after which the Supreme Court authorizes it.
The Supreme Court faces a conundrum. The court wants Trump to assume Congress’ tariff rights, but Trump is an economic moron. Trump’s tariffs are harming the US economy, thereby increasing the Dems’ chances to win a majority in the House and perhaps in the Senate in the November 2026 elections. On the other hand, Chief Justice Roberts may use Perdomo to justify Trump’s ordering the military to confiscate the ballots and declare that the GOP won elections.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [email protected])
