[muldvarp]

> The idea of C as a portable assembler is not without its problems

The main problem is that C is not a "portable assembler". You mainly argue that it should be, but it simply isn't (and hasn't been for a long time if it ever was).

> The people that work on compilers have significant overlap with the people that work on the standard. They certainly seem to share the same culture.

Isn't that beside the point? If you want C to be a "portable assembler" you have to write a standard that specifies its behavior. The compilers will then follow.