Here's why the 25th Amendment remedy was never used: "whenever the Vice President and..." as long as Pence is not on board, it's never going anywhere. I think the NYT Op-Ed was a message to Pence, and I think the use of the word "lodestar" was a signal that he would have the backing of the Cabinet.
I tend to agree with those that say the constitutional crisis is not the use of the 25th Amendment, but the FAILURE to use it. The 25th Amendment is the appropriate constitutional method to end the nightmare. The crisis is already here. What we're looking for is the solution.
My greatest concern is that it is already too late. Enough Senators have provided cover for Trump for their own craven reasons, and the Supreme Court is already stacked against rational application of the Constitution, that the constitutional failsafe has been rendered ineffective. The best we can hope for is an absolute Republican rout in November to check Trump's excesses, but, no matter what, there will be pain and scars. My hope is that we survive.
