• anon593839@lemmy.worldOP
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    9 days ago

    He’s probably about as safe as anyone can be. A sitting US senator is among the most powerful people in the world.

    Would Trump gladly imprison Van Hollen in a foreign concentration camp? Absolutely.

    We’re not there yet, and acts of resistance, no matter how small, are how we prevent us from getting there in the first place.

    • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      This is on some prior world view that a sitting Senator would receive the full faith and backing of the US Government. That should anything ill befall them, there would a special kind of hell so furious to pay that world would balk.

      How do we think Trump would react if Van Hollen were taken into custody? Would he demand his return? Or would he reward Bukele?

      We can’t live under previous assumptions we know no longer hold.

      • anon593839@lemmy.worldOP
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        9 days ago

        I agree with everything you said. None of us knows what might happen.

        But for everyone out there screaming “Do something!” (Myself included), this is undoubtedly something.

        The alternative is to do nothing in fear of what Trump might do.

        That’s what Trump wants. He has the power that he’s given. To acquiesce is to grant him power.

        That’s what every law firm and university that’s capitulated to Trump has done, so I’ll support Van Hollen’s open defiance any day of the week.

        • Bonesince1997@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          Well said. It’s not like anyone around here is going to be sure to make it known when they are wrong. When he goes and he’s anything less than captured and put in prison, you won’t hear a single peep out of all these people who are so sure today.

    • NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip
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      9 days ago

      trump led a violent insurrection to lynch his vice president and many other horrific things to congress. He experienced no consequences and has since pardoned his army.

      So no, being a politician isn’t protection and pretending it is is just self delusion.

    • GuyFawkes@midwest.social
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      9 days ago

      We’re not there yet

      Maybe that’s only because the opportunity hasn’t presented itself yet? Guess we’ll find out mid-week. But the fact that this is even a possibility should terrify everyone.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      A sitting US senator is among the most powerful people in the world.

      Because the Senator is traditionally operating with the expectation of full federal support and protection.

      We’re not there yet, and acts of resistance, no matter how small, are how we prevent us from getting there in the first place.

      I mean, if Holden’s going down there with a hundred marines and the intent of liberating Garcia by force, maybe. As it stands, the best case scenario is just a photo-op of him pounding on the bars. Hollen has no leverage, unless he’s sitting on some corporate or neighboring civil interest that can titty-twist Bukele on his behalf.