The hypocrisy of the Republicans is on full, technicolor display today after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump could not be on the ballot in the state because of the insurrection he incited January 6th, 2021. This is the same party that once claimed to be the ‘law and order’ party and who have worked very hard (thanks Mitch McConnell) to stack the courts with conservative judges who are ‘originalists’, i.e. they try to interpret the Constitution in a manner they believed the Founding Fathers intended.
Most of the Republicans are taking the stance that the voters should decide rather than the court whether Trump should be president. The fact is, Trump was directly or indirectly responsible for the Jan 6th coup attempt in this country. Section 3 of the fourteenth amendment states, “prohibits anyone who has previously taken an oath of office from holding public office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States. This includes Senators, Representatives, and other public officials. The section was adopted after the Civil War to protect American democracy from those who sought to destroy it. Congress can remove the disqualification by a two-thirds vote.1
Michael Luttig, one of the pre-eminent conservative Constitutional law experts, has called the judges’ ruling ‘unassailable’! He was joined in that assessment by Lawrence Tribe, a constitutional law expert and Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. They agree the Colorado Supreme Court got it absolutely correct. However, it is apparent that the Republicans who clamor for conservative originalist judges only like them when they agree with their verdicts.
According to what the Republicans are arguing, if Trump sold the missing binder of classified intelligence on Russia to Vladimir Putin, they would still want the voters to decide if he could be president, even though that would clearly go against the oath he took to uphold the constitution and protect the United States A crime is a crime and the constitution is the constitution – unless Donald Trump is involved and then its like we’re in a whole new universe where the normal rules don’t apply!
The Republicans are constantly talking about how the Biden administration is weaponizing the Justice Department and yet, the Republicans are weaponizing the House of Representatives to interfere with every single judicial action against Trump. The Republicans are acting like a bunch of spoiled children who like to play a game as long as they win. Once they lose, they immediately start accusing others of cheating or they want to change the rules! They are no more than spoiled brats! Except now, the stakes are much higher than on the playground.
I’m sure the Republicans have forgotten about Bush v. Gore when they brought a huge amount of legal resources to bear to have the courts weigh in on the 2000 election. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately handed the election to Bush, despite Gore winning the popular vote, in a decision that is still controversial to this day. And just a fun fact – U.S. Supreme Court Justices John Roberts, Brett Cavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett all worked in some capacity for the Bush campaign to secure that decision.
The victory in Colorado might be a temporary victory because given the seemingly corrupt nature and bias of the current U.S. Supreme Court (see paragraph above), the decision could well be overturned. Should that be the case, it will be clearer than ever the U.S. Supreme Court is bought and paid for by the likes of the Heritage Foundation and a bunch of wealthy, conservative businessmen. The Republicans will have achieved one of their ultimate goals and that is to control the judicial system. It would be a very sad day for this country and an ominous foreshadowing of things to come.
Sometimes Trump seems like the mafia boss, John Gotti, known as the ‘Teflon Don’ because despite numerous charges brought against him over the years, he continuously got off – until he didn’t. He was ultimately brought down when Gotti’s underboss, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, began working with the FBI which led to Gotti’s conviction and sentencing him to life in prison where he died.
No matter what Trump does, it just seems like he is never held to account. The day will come. Many of Trump’s insiders have been cooperating with the DOJ. Who will be Trump’s “Sammy the Bull”? Mark Meadows? Who knows? Let’s all just hope Trump is stopped before he can inflict irreparable damage on this country – and the world!
- section 3 of the 14th amendment – Search (bing.com)
