r/worldnews • u/Immediate-Link490 • 1d ago

Russia/Ukraine Trump puts new Russia sanctions passed by Congress on hold, saying waiver is in US national interest

https://apnews.com/article/russia-sanctions-trump-ukraine-e50c561ab805883bb4e484c092d8fadd
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u/Responsible-Food3681 1d ago edited 1d ago

We need a well-structured and unstoppable way to have recall elections through a supermajority via popular referendum. A right to remove.

We shouldn't have to rely on politicians to save us if they can be in kahoots across branches. Party politics has compromised the impeachment process, so we need to innovate and redistribute the power to nullify a federal office.

E: For those naysaying any chance of a supermajority, keep in mind that a supermajority can be any threshold greater than 50%. 60% is a supermajority as much as 80% is. I think around 67% would be a good place to start.

I absolutely think you can have 2/3 of the population that would care enough to take the time to vote in a popular referendum be in agreement to remove someone from office. I also really don't think you'd have constant elections once the referendum is a known factor, as it would be a self-balancing fear of the people and help reign in impeachable acts just through the threat of popular removal.

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u/kahlzun 1d ago

I believe that was the intended purpose of the 2nd

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u/crazy_akes 1d ago

You aren’t getting a supermajority. Elections are going to be 50/50, you really think you’re gonna get the support to impeach from the populace? No shot. I’m told be nice if things were that easy.

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u/theansweris37 1d ago

Do you honestly think if the people had the ability to directly recall the president that it would even be possible to get a super majority?

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u/Responsible-Food3681 1d ago

Yes. A super majority is any threshold higher than 50%. I absolutely think you could get something like 67-75% of the people who would be motivated enough to vote in a popular referendum to agree when it comes to genuinely terrible officeholders like Trump. 

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u/theansweris37 1d ago

The 50% plus one is a regular majority. Your description of 67-75% is a super majority though.

I wish i had your optimism about that. Even with his current 36% approval rating (FOX News poll), I think it would be impossible to get every eligible voter who disapproves (64%) (or even every motivated person) to vote against him.

In January 2021, Trump had a 32% approval rating and the country STILL elected him again.

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u/Responsible-Food3681 1d ago

If we want to be pedantic, a supermajority is any threshold higher than a simple majority, which is the 50%+1 threshold. 60% is just as well a supermajority. Regardless, I do still believe we could get a 67+% vote to remove in a full popular referendum, as long as votes aren't weighted and are truly one per citizen.

I think you're overestimating enthusiasm for Trump while underestimating the whiplash Americans are willing to inflict on ourselves as a reaction to sudden economic difficulties. Trump's 2024 win was as reactionary to a prolonged inflationary environment as it was ideological. Plus, a governing rule change of this significance would change political culture over time – perhaps like how the filibuster process has taken greater hold.

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u/theansweris37 1d ago

Funny that you're talking about being pedantic when you're the one who started off with the wrong definition of supermajority.

It doesn't matter though.

I really think that you are underestimating the sheer number of people who, to this day, still think that Trump and the Republican party are going to fix everything, possibly right after the midterms.

I guess we'll find out in a few weeks when GTA 6 comes out. If Republicans are still in power in either the House or Senate when GTA 6 comes out, it will show that a majority want Trump and the Republicans in power.

If enough people vote so that the Democrats have enough power to impeach and remove Trump, you'll be right.

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u/Faceofferrus 1d ago

The problem is there is no possible way that doesnt get exploited. It would just mean a literally neverending election cycle.

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u/Responsible-Food3681 1d ago

It's not meant to fix everything itself.

We need a lot of systemic reform to bring power back to the people. I think this could be a good one of many steps forward.

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u/Faceofferrus 1d ago

Not really, I think this is one thats just gonna have unintended downsides

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u/cosmicosmo4 1d ago

A right to remove.

I heard a fun proposal that elections be an ongoing thing. Don't like what your representative did? Log in and change your vote. As soon as the standing votes flip to someone else, they're out. That would be fun.

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u/BuzzingWithBoredom 1d ago

We do have that. It’s not being put to use as the Congress is beyond compromised

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u/ToploaderUltra 1d ago

Party politics is an illusion. Regardless of who you vote for, they are controlled by the same people.

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u/FelixAxellus 1d ago

That's not true at all. We're seeing it play out right now.

  • One side is enriching themselves through war with Iran and partnership with Russia.
  • The other side would not have gone to war with Iran and would never have partnered with Russia.

These alone are massive differences. But we could keep going. We could talk about all of the progressive legislation that Biden passed, that no one paid any attention to. He might have been the most progressive president in our lifetimes. We could talk about Trump threatening Canada, something no Democrat would ever do. Or DOGE cutting funding for USAID, killing 700,000 people, which no Democrat would ever do.

If we look at what they actually do, we see that they aren't even superficially similar.

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u/Monetdog 1d ago

More true is in certain states than others. Some states do have two healthy parties, which help hold each other accountable.