Anonymous voices from the hidden, smoky rooms of the Internet

In response to concern for the "future of the republic": 

"I think it is WAY PAST TIME, by almost 100 years, to understand that the republic, as originally envisioned, IS DEAD. ACTUALLY DEAD. AND HAS BEEN FOR A LONG TIME.

None of us here have ever experienced any functioning version of it. Maybe [redacted, a recently deceased member who was 95 or so], when he was alive, but even that's debatable.

There is a horrific zombie thing shambling around wearing its rotting skin, grasping the increasingly tattered parchments of the glorious founding documents in its withered skeletal hands, wearing the old glory flag as a cape.

And most people can smell the rot, but are in astounding denial about it.

This election isn't even a nail in the coffin, it's more like a rotten jaw falling off, with a voiceover from the Black Knight coming from off stage saying that it's only a flesh wound.

As for what we do about that, fuckallifIknow."

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This is all in reference to my understanding that we have been operating in what I call the "Post Constitutional Order", and have been for quite some time. The PCO (for short) is characterized by a federal government wielding expansive, unenumerated powers justified mostly by theories of power that are alien to the founder's understanding of the thing, and all of modern (ie: since the early 20th century) provenance. Chief among them are abuses of the federal taxation power, notably since the Harris Narcotics act, and twisted interpretations of the commerce clause since the 1941 Wickard v. Filburn.  Needless to say, there is significant societal approval for these powers, so long as they look to be wielded in apparent benevolence. 

One of the problems with studying history is that "it's turtles all the way down", and each onion skin layer you peel back begs for a deeper level to be peeled back to explain the layer in your hand. 

For our purposes, the PCO transitioned from vague aspiration to actionable plan under Woodrow Wilson's administration. I think of Wilson as the architect of the post constitutional order, the Sith master, if you will, and his acolyte, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as the general contractor who did most of the heavy construction. 

While the PCO was indeed primarily a project of the progressivist influence infesting the Democratic Party, the Republicans were entirely complicit in the matter as a junior partner, and always have been. The extraconstitutional powers wielded by government are the engine on the gravy train, and preserving it is the highest priority of both parties. 

And this is why the sleep gas of forgetfulness is being blown at you by all sides, to persuade you to accept the defeat and removal from the board of the one truly disruptive piece to come along in a lifetime.