You can’t fix a system that’s doing exactly what it was designed to do.
Yesterday, I wrote about how the Constitution is dead, ICE is rogue, and Trump is openly defying the courts. A lot of folks nodded along—until I said Biden helped lay the groundwork.
Cue the pearl-clutching.
So let me be crystal clear:
I am not a Democrat. I am a leftist.
I vote blue because in a two-party hostage situation, you pick the one that shoots slower.
But let’s not pretend the Democratic Party has clean hands.
Every modern president—Republican and Democrat—has chipped away at the Constitution in the name of “national security,” “executive efficiency,” or “public safety.” Especially after 9/11. Especially under Obama. Especially under Biden.
Trump didn’t break the system. He inherited it. Weaponized it. And now it’s aimed squarely at us.
So here’s the inconvenient truth:
If you’re just waking up to America’s slide into autocracy, you’re already 20 years late.
The Long Road to Autocracy
American democracy didn’t collapse. It was dismantled—piece by piece, president by president.
Every administration since Reagan expanded the powers of the presidency. Every one of them left behind weapons that a future autocrat could wield.
And now he is.
Executive Orders by President (Reagan–Biden)
Executive Overreach, President by President
Reagan
Promoted the Unitary Executive Theory through the DOJ—arguing the president controls the entire executive branch, including independent oversight. Helped normalize covert wars and executive secrecy [1].
George H.W. Bush
Launched the Panama invasion without Congress. Escalated executive war powers and normalized "police actions" abroad [2].
Clinton
Signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act in 1996—limiting habeas corpus and expanding preemptive detention powers, long before 9/11 [3].
George W. Bush
Built the modern surveillance state: Patriot Act, AUMF, torture memos, Guantánamo, and global drone strikes. Permanently altered U.S. law in the name of security [4] [5].
How We Got Here
Here’s the timeline of bipartisan erosion of rights and safeguards—from theory to tyranny:
1987
Reagan’s DOJ pushes the Unitary Executive Theory, laying the legal foundation for unchecked executive control [1].
1996
Clinton signs the AEDPA, undermining habeas rights and due process—especially for immigrants and prisoners [3].
2001
Bush passes the Patriot Act, launches warrantless surveillance, and legalizes indefinite detention post-9/11 [4] [5].
2011
Obama signs NDAA allowing indefinite detention of Americans. Expands drone strike list and sets “kill list” policy [6].
2018
Trump’s family separation policy shocks the world. Courts push back. He ignores them. No one enforces the law.
2022–2024
Biden preserves Trump-era surveillance and deportation tools. Expands ICE’s digital tracking footprint and biometric data collection [8] [9].
March 15, 2025
Trump invokes the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans and Salvadorans without trial. ICE flights depart within hours.
April 7–10, 2025
SCOTUS orders halted deportations and the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Trump defies the rulings. Nothing happens.
April 16, 2025
Federal judge finds probable cause for criminal contempt against the Trump administration. DOJ must decide whether to prosecute—or let the judge appoint his own [10].
Post-9/11: When Democrats Got in on the Authoritarian Game
Let’s be clear: Bush built the national security state.
But Democrats fortified it.
They had a chance to roll it back after 2008. Instead, they doubled down.
Obama inherited the most powerful surveillance apparatus in human history—and he made it even stronger.
Surveillance Nation: Built by Bush, Expanded by Obama
Total Information Awareness
Originally a Bush program to collect and centralize data on everyone. Obama rebranded and quietly expanded it through the NSA Prism program [6].
Patriot Act Reauthorizations
Democrats didn’t repeal the Patriot Act—they renewed it. Again and again. With only modest reforms [6].
Kill List & Drone Assassinations
Obama maintained a "kill list" and personally signed off on drone strikes—including the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, without trial [6].
Espionage Act Crackdown
More whistleblowers were prosecuted under Obama than under every other president combined—sending a chilling message to anyone who exposed government wrongdoing [7].
Fusion Centers
Post-9/11 “fusion centers” proliferated under Obama—secretive coordination hubs linking local police, federal agents, and private surveillance contractors [6].
NSA FISA Court Orders (2009–2015)
“Good Guy” Authoritarianism Is Still Authoritarianism
The liberal fantasy has always been that the right people would use authoritarian tools “responsibly.”
But here’s the truth: authoritarian tools don’t stay in good hands.
The Patriot Act, FISA courts, drone kill lists, and militarized police didn’t get dismantled when Democrats were in power. They got expanded.
Obama didn’t close Guantánamo.
Biden didn’t dismantle ICE’s surveillance architecture.
Clinton laid the groundwork for pre-9/11 detention laws.
Each president normalized the abnormal—eroding guardrails bit by bit, even while claiming to defend democracy.
🕵️♂️ Surveillance State by President: Abuse Edition
Reagan
Greenlit warrantless NSA spying on Americans through Project MINARET and ECHELON. Gave intel agencies freer rein post-Church Committee oversight rollbacks.
George H.W. Bush
Former CIA director turned president, he normalized clandestine surveillance infrastructure. Quietly expanded COMINT and foreign intelligence targets.
Clinton
Introduced “Clipper Chip” proposal—government backdoor into all encryption. Sparked privacy panic. Enforced mass incarceration policies that encouraged surveillance of Black communities.
George W. Bush
Unleashed the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretapping via STELLARWIND. NSA tapped phones, tracked metadata, and stored it all—without warrants [11].
Obama
Expanded PRISM, XKEYSCORE, and upstream collection. Prosecuted whistleblowers under the Espionage Act. Used “national security” to justify spying on journalists [12] [13].
Trump
Used FISA tools to go after political enemies. ICE ran surveillance programs in cities with no oversight. Secretly expanded Palantir contracts for predictive policing [14].
Biden
Kept Trump’s digital tracking tools intact. Expanded ICE’s access to facial recognition databases and DHS fusion centers. Failed to reform FISA [15].
Democrats still love to cosplay as protectors of democracy.
But when push comes to shove, liberals side with capital—not the people-every time.
They’ll protect markets over rights, banks over bodies, and “stability” over justice.
And when the fascists finally show up with the gameplan?
They’ll find the whole machine ready to go.
They Had the Tools. They Just Didn’t Care.
Presidents didn’t accidentally build a soft dictatorship. They chose to.
Each had a chance to scale back the national security state. Rein in lawless agencies. Limit executive overreach.
They didn’t.
Because power is addictive, and the surveillance state is bipartisan crack.
The Legal Mechanisms They Could’ve Killed (But Didn’t)
Emergency Powers
Still active. Over 120 statutes let the president bypass normal laws—including seizing property and suspending civil liberties—without Congress ever voting on it [10].
FISA Courts
Secret rubber-stamp courts that approve government spying on Americans. Approval rate: over 99%. Used for political surveillance under Bush, Obama, and Trump [11].
AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force)
Still active from 2001. Gave the president permanent war powers with no geographic or temporal limits. Used for bombings in over 20 countries [12].
Patriot Act
Allows bulk data collection, indefinite detention, and gag orders. Democrats have talked about reforming it for two decades. No one has. Biden even defended it [13].
NDAA Detention Clause
Allows the U.S. military to detain anyone—including citizens—without trial, indefinitely. Obama signed it. Congress renews it yearly with barely a whimper [14].
They didn’t dismantle these tools.
They left them loaded—and now Trump is pulling the trigger.
So What Now?
- The Constitution is a corpse.
- The courts are ignored.
- The agencies are rogue.
- And the autocrat is just getting started.
Let’s stop pretending the system is going to save us. It won’t. It can’t. It was never built to.
Raise Hell
Don’t wait for permission. Protest, disrupt, and force the issue into headlines. Public pressure still matters.
Sue Like Hell
Legal challenges may not stop the train—but they can slow it down. Every delay counts.
Protect the Vulnerable
Organize mutual aid. Support targeted communities. Protect whistleblowers. Get your people safe.
Leak Everything
If you see something, blow the damn whistle. Silence is complicity. Get the receipts out there.
Control the Narrative
Don’t let propaganda win. Tell the truth, share real sources, and call out bullshit fast and loud.
Build Coalitions
Leftists, liberals, libertarians—hell, even pissed-off moderates. Find common cause. Unity is leverage.
We don’t need to wait for permission to fight back.
We need courage.
And clarity.
And fire.
Because no one is coming to save us.
It’s us. Or no one.
Author Note
Much of the information used to write this article ended data collection with the Biden presidency. The surveillance state has likely strengthened since the 2nd inauguaration of Donald J. Trump on January 20, 2025.
Sources
[1] The Unitary Executive Theory – U.S. DOJ
[2] Operation Just Cause - U.S. Invades Panama
[3] Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) – Cornell Law
[4] What the Patriot Act Does – Lawfare
[5] The Patriot Act Has Damaged National Security – ACLU
[6] Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Law
[7] Obama and the Espionage Act
[8] Trump’s Emergency Powers, Biden’s Continuation
[9] Biden and Title 42 – Georgetown Law
[10] Judge Finds Trump Officials May Be Held in Contempt (Note: This was still a live / developing article at the time of publishing, link might break)
[11] Bush Secretly Lets NSA Spy on U.S. – NYT
[12] The Privacy Lesson of 9/11: Mass Surveillance is Not the Way Forward
[13] How the Obama administration laid the groundwork for Trump’s coming crackdown on the press
[14] ICE, IRS Explored Using Hacking Tools, New Documents Show – VICE
[15] U.S. Senate and Biden Administration Shamefully Renew and Expand FISA Section 702, Ushering in a Two Year Expansion of Unconstitutional Mass Surveillance – EFF
[16] The Clipper Chip Controversy – Electronic Privacy Information Center
[17] AI and The Admnistration of Justice in the United States of America: Predictive Policing & Predictive Justice – CRS Report
[18] Project MINARET – U.S. National Archives
[19] ECHELON Surveillance System – Federation of American Scientists
[20] NSA and Verizon Metadata Orders – NYT
[21] Judge Says Trump Officials Could Face Contempt Charges – Reuters
[22] Judge Warns DOJ Could Be Bypassed in Contempt Case – NBC News
Leave a comment