;)
The Conversation -- January 6, 2024
Presidential Race 2024
... it was a remarkable speech which spoke directly to the moment and it was delivered with amazing passion and conviction and integrity.... And it was the kind of speech, I think, that will galvanize and mobilize millions and millions of people across the country to get in this fight. -- Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on President Biden's speech yesterday ~~~
~~~ Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday delivered a ferocious condemnation of Donald J. Trump, his likely 2024 opponent, warning in searing language that the former president had directed an insurrection and would aim to undo the nation's bedrock democracy if he returned to power. On the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Mr. Trump's supporters, Mr. Biden framed the coming election as a choice between a candidate devoted to upholding America's centuries-old ideals and a chaos agent willing to discard them for his personal benefit.... In an intensely personal address that at one point nearly led Mr. Biden to curse Mr. Trump by name, the president compared his rival to foreign autocrats who rule by fiat and lies. He said Mr. Trump had failed the basic test of American leaders, to trust the people to choose their elected officials and abide by their decisions.... The 31-minute speech was Mr. Biden's first public campaign event since he announced in April that he would seek re-election and was, in tone and content, arguably his most forceful public denunciation of Mr. Trump since the two men became political rivals in 2019." The CBS News story, also linked yesterday, is here. ~~~
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether ... Donald J. Trump is eligible for Colorado's Republican primary ballot, thrusting the justices into a pivotal role that could alter the course of this year's presidential election. The sweep of the court's ruling is likely to be broad. It will probably resolve not only whether Mr. Trump may appear on the Colorado primary ballot after the state's top court declared that he had engaged in insurrection in his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, but it will most likely also determine his eligibility to run in the general election and to hold office at all.... The case will be argued on Feb. 8, and the court will probably decide it quickly.... Mr. Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene after Colorado's top court disqualified him from the ballot last month. That decision is on hold while the justices consider the matter. Jena Griswold, Colorado's secretary of state, pressed the Supreme Court to act fast." The Hill's story, also linked yesterday, is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: While I firmly agree that Trump is an insurrectionist, I do think it's not totally unreasonable to leave that determination up to the individual states. States determine what candidates for public office must do to qualify for inclusion on their ballots -- number of signatures required, filing fees paid*, forms properly & timely completed, etc. They also determine whether a candidate has met some Constitutional requirements: is s/he old enough to be president, senator or member of the House, was a presidential candidate a natural-born citizen? So cannot states also decide, within reason, whether or not a candidate is disqualified under Article II, Section 3? ~~~
~~~ * I'm sure I just read that some court once ruled that Texas' filing fee for presidential candidates was too high -- $8,000+ -- to be a reasonable requirement for ballot access, but I can't find the story. Whether or not I'm right about that, it seems obvious that if states make "unreasonable" demands or determinations, a court can veto or amend such unfair restrictions. For instance, Missouri's secretary of state has threatened to kick Joe Biden off that state's ballot in retaliation for Trump's removal from the Colorado & Maine ballots. Unreasonable. ~~~
~~~ Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: The House Select Committee concluded that on January 6, 2021, Donald Trump "'summoned tens of thousands of supporters to Washington for Jan. 6,' the day Congress was slated to certify the election results, and 'instructed them to march to the Capitol' so that they could '"take back' their country."' He even sent a message on Twitter attacking his vice president, Mike Pence, knowing full well that 'a violent attack on the Capitol was underway.'... Trump sought and actively tried to subvert constitutional government and overturn the results of the presidential election ... through the threat of brute force, carried out by an actual mob. Looked at this way, the case for disqualifying Trump through the 14th Amendment is straightforward.... There was ... a legal consensus at the time of the amendment's drafting and ratification that an individual 'engaged in insurrection whenever they knowingly incited, assisted or otherwise participated in an insurrection.'... What unites Trump with the former secessionists under the disqualification clause is that like them, he ... rejected the bedrock principle of democratic life, the peaceful transfer of power." ~~~
~~~ Payback Time, O'Kavanaugh. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Addressing the Supreme Court's looming 14th Amendment decisions on whether Donald Trump can be disqualified from state ballots for engaging in insurrection, [Trump lawyer Alina] Habba decided it would be a good time to remind people of just how much Trump has done for Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.... 'You know, people like Kavanaugh who the president fought for, who the president went through hell to get into place, he'll step up.'... She has since done some cleanup work, trying to assure audiences that she wasn't suggesting that Kavanaugh owed Trump loyalty.... [Habbas' comment] adds to a volume of evidence that indicates that Trump does indeed expect loyalty from judges and justices -- along with plenty of others in positions where that shouldn't be a consideration.... Trump said of Kavanaugh in an interview for a 2021 book..., 'Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldn't even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him.'" (Also linked yesterday.) The Hill's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sounds like a mob moll warning Bart he's in for a couple of broken legs if he doesn't "step up." ~~~
~~~ Akhilleus is wondering, in today's Comments, if Trump, who had his pick of "all the best people," would choose to put on the highest court in the land a "totally disgraced" fellow whom nobody "would have," Here's a lawyer so bad no law firm would hire him, yet Trump "saved him" and put him in a position to make decisions about all of our lives.
Trump's Advice on Shooting of School Children: "Get Over It." Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump reacted to the shooting at the high school in Perry, Iowa, during a commit-to-caucus event in Sioux Center on Friday evening.... 'It's horrible to see that happening,' said Trump. 'It's just horrible. So surprising to see it here. But we have to get over it.' The shooting at Perry High School left a sixth-grader dead and injured five others, according to law enforcement." MB: How could people say Trump is a narcissist who doesn't care about anyone but himself?
OMG. A Most Profane Campaign Ad. Kayla Gallagher of the Messenger: "'God Made Trump,' a new nearly three minute ad from ... Donald Trump's campaign claims. 'And on June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said "I need a caretaker," so God gave us Trump,' the narrator says in the same style that the Book of Genesis in The Bible is written, while a video of Earth from space flashes to a photo of a young Trump. The ad, which has a run-time of two minutes and 44 seconds and was shared on Trump's social media network Truth Social, alleges that God created the former president for the purpose of leading the nation." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: Trump "just posted a satirical version of Paul Harvey's famous 'So God Made a Farmer' video in which HE is the subject. And yes, it's just as creepy and a messianic bit of messaging that will cause many to cringe but others to fall to their knees in supplication. The former president ... included [the video among] a slew of 'joking but not joking' and over-the-top political videos...." Includes the full text of the video's voiceover. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Won't at least some MAGA Christianists be appalled by this exercise in blasphemy?
Mary Papenfuss of the Messenger:"Staunch Donald Trump foe Republican Liz Cheney warned at an appearance at Dartmouth University Friday that the next vote Americans cast for the former president could be their last. The former Wyoming congresswoman told the New Hampshire college crowd that Trump will not relinquish power at the end of his term if he again wins the White House. 'He won't leave office,' Cheney declared. 'He already tried not to leave office once. So I think there's a lot of living in a fantasy world that's going on with Republicans telling themselves, "Look, we'll vote for him, it won't be so bad." It may well be the last real vote you ever get to cast. It will be that bad,' she said. What's even more frightening this time, Cheney warned, Trump would be surrounded by enabling supporters in the House. His biggest enabler could be current House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., she added. 'I think we need to be concerned about a Mike Johnson speakership, particularly in an instance where there's a contested election,' Cheney said." ~~~
~~~ Lisa Kashinsky of Politico: "Liz Cheney is adding her voice to the movement to bar Donald Trump from the ballot, saying Friday that there's 'no question' his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, fall under the so-called insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment."
The Short Memory of the American Voter. Washington Post Editors: "The third anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob comes amid troubling indicators about public opinion on that event. A Post-University of Maryland poll published this week shows a sizable share of Americans accept lies about the 2020 election and the insurrection that followed on Jan. 6, 2021. Only 62 percent say Joe Biden's victory was legitimate, down from 69 percent two years ago, and far lower than after the contested 2000 election.... Disproportionate numbers of Republicans hold [these views], showing just how corrosive Mr. Trump's repeated lies, amplified by a right-wing media echo chamber, have been.... The truth must be told. Mr. Biden won the 2020 election, fair and square, and no credible evidence has emerged of widespread voter fraud."
Next by @AP : "Julia Child and Jeffrey Dahmer are two famous cooks with different approaches to ingredients." -- Stuart Stevens (Thanks to RAS.)
Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis: Two leaders, two traditions; both making the South's 'peculiar institution' a rallying cry. -- James Fallows ~~~
~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Both-Siderism, Extremist Version. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "The Associated Press kicked up a firestorm of criticism on Thursday with a headline that appeared to give equal weight to both President Joe Biden and ... Donald Trump's 'interpretations' of what happened on January 6th, 2021. The story in question was headlined, 'One attack, two interpretations: Biden and Trump both make the Jan. 6 riot a political rallying cry,' and was written by national political reporter Will Weissert. The article begins with a breakdown of how both Trump and Biden will mark the third anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump supporters." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Today's New York Times article on Biden's & Trump's "Clashing Over Jan. 6" is just as egregious an exercise is both-siderisms as is the AP's, IMO. The Times gives equal weight to Biden's and Trump's criticisms of one another, though wa-a-y down the page, the writers do acknowledge a few of Trump's "false statements" and his propensity for "projecting" his own faults onto his foes. These NYT & AP stories forebode general election coverage, which now promises to be a he-said/he-said endeavor. "You're a threat to democracy"/"No, you're the threat." And the reader will learn nothing. ~~~
~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "On Thursday, the Biden-Harris campaign blasted out excerpts from a Margaret Sullivan column in The Guardian, upbraiding the media on its tendency to fall into 'performative neutrality,' focusing too much on Biden's presentation and poll numbers and not enough on stressing what a second Trump presidency would mean. Journalists should not fear looking as if they're 'in the tank' for Biden if they zero in on Trump's seditious behavior, Sullivan said; the media should worry less about the horse race than about underscoring that many of Trump's threats are authoritarian. She is right that the media must constantly remind itself not to use old tropes on a new trollop like Trump, particularly since the media is in a confluence of interest with Trump -- as he himself has pointed out.... I am not sure whether pounding away on the facts will work in a country with alternate realities."
~~~ Marie: Dowd concludes, "You do your job, Mr. President, and we'll do ours." As to the latter proposal, there's scant evidence of that today.
Perry Stein & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: Attorney General Merrick "Garland [spoke] ... ahead of a private meeting with law enforcement officials at Justice Department headquarters to discuss violent crime. The attorney general said officials would be discussing how best to 'double down' on efforts to fight the rise in threats against government workers.... Garland said the Justice Department has so far charged 1,250 people and secured 890 convictions in connection with the [Jan. 6, 2021] attack [on the U.S. Capitol], which aimed to stop the peaceful transfer of power from ... Donald Trump to [Joe] Biden." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Alanna Richer & Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "... hundreds of people ... have been convicted in the massive prosecution of the Jan 6, 2021, riot in the three years since the stunned nation watched the U.S. Capitol attack unfold on live TV.... And the hunt for suspects is far from over.... Authorities are still working to identify more than 80 people wanted for acts of violence at the Capitol.... And they continue to regularly make new arrests, even as some Jan. 6 defendants are being released from prison after completing their sentences.... One of the biggest remaining mysteries surrounding the riot is the identity of the person who placed two pipe bombs outside the offices of the Republican and Democratic national committees the day before the Capitol attack. Last year, authorities increased the reward to up to $500,000 for information leading to the person's arrest. It remains unclear whether there was a connection between the pipe bombs and the riot."
Note to January 6 Capitol "Tourists." Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Jan. 6 defendants can be found culpable of 'disorderly' or 'disruptive' conduct inside the Capitol even if they weren't personally violent or destructive. The decision is a victory for the Justice Department in cases against hundreds of defendants charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly and disruptive conduct, one of the staple charges that has been applied to nearly every member of the mob that entered the halls of Congress."
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors pushed back on Friday night against ... Donald J. Trump's attempts to hold them in contempt of court for continuing to file motions while the case accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election is paused.... The prosecutors said that they were nonetheless continuing to 'voluntarily' file motions and turn over discovery materials to Mr. Trump's lawyers, explaining that the steps they were taking 'impose no requirements' on the former president. 'Nothing here requires any action by the defendant,' the prosecutors wrote, 'and he fails to explain how the mere receipt of discovery materials that he is not obligated to review, or the early filing of government pleadings to which he does not yet need to respond, possibly burdens him.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC Thursday night that Trump's motion to find the prosecutors in contempt was a non-starter, though the judge could order the prosecutors to stop helping out Trump's defense lawyers by providing them with copies of discovery materials.
In Other Trumpy Court News. Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "The New York attorney general on Friday asked the judge who had overseen the civil fraud trial of Donald J. Trump to penalize the former president about $370 million, saying the trial had demonstrated that he had gained that amount through unlawful conduct. The sum was well over the $250 million that the attorney general, Letitia James, had estimated in the fall of 2022, when she sued Mr. Trump, accusing him of inflating his net worth to obtain favorable treatment from banks and insurers." An NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
So Unfa-a-a-ir! Matt Dixon of NBC News: "A central Florida venue has canceled an event that was to have featured Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., after it learned the event was intended to commemorate the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The event was set to be hosted by the Republican Party of Osceola County at the Westgate Resorts in Kissimmee. It was originally pitched to Westgate as a small book-signing event featuring Greene, without mention of Jan. 6." When NBC News questioned Greene about the cancellation, she refused to address the matter and "call[ed] the question 'stupid.'"
Isaac Arnsdorf & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Attempts to minimize, excuse or deny the violence of [January 6] began with people returning home from the mob and intensified with family members of rioters.... Their cause became ... amplified by prominent right-wing media figures[, especially Tucker Carlson]. The grass-roots and media pressure then spread from far-right lawmakers such as Reps. Paul A. Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene to take over the Republican mainstream. This changing view of Jan. 6 among Republicans offered Trump a lifeline, paving the way for his political comeback.... Now, on the third anniversary of the nation's first interruption to the peaceful transfer of power since the Civil War era, Republicans' attitudes about Jan. 6 are increasingly unmoored from other Americans, and Trump holds a commanding lead in the race for the party's 2024 presidential nomination." This is a long article, worth a read.
Missy Ryan & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized earlier this week for unspecified reasons but is recuperating, the Pentagon said late Friday, after withholding the information for days. Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said that Austin, who is 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington on Monday 'for complications following a recent elective medical procedure.' Ryder ... said that Austin ... was 'recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today [Friday].'" CNN's report is here.
Christina Jewett & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration has allowed Florida to import millions of dollars worth of medications from Canada at far lower prices than in the United States, overriding fierce decades-long objections from the pharmaceutical industry. The approval, issued in a letter to Florida Friday, is a major policy shift for the United States, and supporters hope it will be a significant step forward in the long and largely unsuccessful effort to rein in drug prices. Individuals in the United States are allowed to buy directly from Canadian pharmacies, but states have long wanted to be able to purchase medicines in bulk for their Medicaid programs, government clinics and prisons from Canadian wholesalers.... But significant hurdles remain. Some drug manufacturers have agreements with Canadian wholesalers not to export their medicines, and the Canadian government has already taken steps to block the export of prescription drugs that are in short supply.... The pharmaceutical industry's major lobbying organization, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, which has sued over previous importation efforts, is expected to file suit to block the Florida plan." A CBS News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "On the eve of a legal battle in New York, Wayne LaPierre told board members on Friday that he would step down as the longtime chief of the National Rifle Association. Mr. LaPierre, 74, has led the organization for more than three decades. But his resignation came as he faced his gravest challenge yet, a corruption trial in Manhattan amid a legal showdown with New York's attorney general, Letitia James. Jury selection has already begun and opening arguments were scheduled for early next week. The announcement, which is effective on Jan. 31, is not part of a deal with the attorney general's office. Andrew Arulanandam, Mr. LaPierre's longtime spokesman, will become the interim chief executive." A Politico report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Oh My. Anemona Hartocollis & Anna Betts of the New York Times: "For weeks, Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, has campaigned on social media against Claudine Gay, who resigned as Harvard's president amid accusations of plagiarizing other scholars and of not taking a strong enough stand against antisemitism on campus. But ... Business Insider, an online publication, posted similar accusations of plagiarism against Mr. Ackman's wife, Neri Oxman, an architect and designer, who holds a Ph.D. in design computation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Business Insider said on Friday that Dr. Oxman 'stole sentences and whole paragraphs from Wikipedia, other scholars and technical documents in her academic writing.'... In response, [Ackman] wrote, he would begin a plagiarism review of all current M.I.T. faculty members; Sally Kornbluth, the president of M.I.T.; and the university's governing body, and would share the results with the public.... He posted later on Friday that he would also review the work of reporters at Business Insider.... Jonathan Bailey, a copyright and plagiarism consultant who also runs the website Plagiarism Today, said he worried about the 'weaponization of plagiarism.'"
What Do You Have to Lose? Your Life. Marc Eccles of Politico: "Nearly 17,000 people may have died after taking hydroxycholoroquine during the first wave of Covid-19, according to a study by French researchers. The anti-malaria drug was prescribed to some patients hospitalized with Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, 'despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits,' the researchers point out in their paper, published in the February issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. Now, researchers have estimated that some 16,990 people in six countries -- France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the U.S. -- may have died as a result.... Hydroxychloroquine ... was also considered something of a 'miracle cure' by ... Donald Trump, who said: 'What do you have to lose? Take it.'" Thanks to RAS for the link.
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Florida. Arek Sarkissian of Politico: "Groups seeking a constitutional amendment protecting abortion on Friday secured enough state-certified signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline to put a referendum on [Florida's] 2024 ballot.... Floridians Protecting Freedom, the main group seeking to place a constitutional amendment protecting abortion on the 2024 ballot, has collected 910,946 state-certified signatures, more than the 891,876 needed by February.... The Florida initiative would protect abortion until about 24 weeks of pregnancy. It would need 60 percent of voter approval to pass if it's on this year's ballot.... If successful..., [the amendment] would ... deliver a blow to Florida Republicans, who have tightened controls over abortion under Gov. Ron DeSantis and made it harder for groups to successfully use ballot initiatives to amend the state Constitution. The GOP is so concerned about the threat that Republican state Attorney General Ashley Moody is mounting an aggressive effort to block the measure in the state high court." Thanks to Bobby Lee for the lead.
Idaho. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a challenge to Idaho's near-total ban on abortions, which the Biden administration said conflicted with a federal statute that allowed for some exceptions. In scheduling arguments for April, the court also temporarily revived the law, which had been partly blocked by a federal trial judge. The court's brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. President Biden criticized the court's action. 'Today's Supreme Court order allows Idaho's extreme abortion ban to go back into effect and denies women critical emergency abortion care required by federal law,' he said in a statement." Emphasis added. MB: Unblocking the law does kind of tell you how the Supreme Misogynists will rule. ~~~
~~~ Here's Biden's statement, via the White House. ~~
~~~ They Really Don't Care. Mark Sherman of the AP: "The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Idaho to enforce its strict abortion ban, even in medical emergencies, while a legal fight continues. The justices said they would hear arguments in April...." MB: Typically, an argument heard in April is decided in June. So that's a minimum of six months when women in urgent need of medical care may die. ~~~
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Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Top U.S. and European diplomats are heading to the Middle East in a new push to avoid escalation after a tense week in which a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut killed a senior Hamas leader and a U.S. strike in Baghdad killed an Iran-linked militia commander. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday arrived in Turkey, the first stop on his Middle East tour, and Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, is visiting Lebanon until Sunday.... The State Department is offering up to $10 million in reward for information 'leading to the disruption of financial mechanisms' of Hamas, the militant group behind the Oct. 7 attack in Israel. It is seeking information on five financiers, a notice said.... In a speech Friday, Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah said 'we cannot stay silent' in response to the killing of a Hamas leader in Beirut while also seeming to suggest an openness to negotiating on border demarcation with Israel -- but only after a cease-fire in Gaza." ~~~
~~~ CNN's live updates for Saturday are here: "Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says it fired a total of 62 rockets at an Israeli observation post along the Israel-Lebanon border on Saturday as an 'initial response' to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut earlier this week.... At least 122 people have been killed during the past 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said Saturday, as Israel's military operations continue. Footage from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital shows staff urgently trying to treat severely wounded victims."
U.K. Victor Mather of the New York Times: "Two neo-Nazi podcasters who called for the execution of Prince Harry were sentenced to prison in London on Thursday. The podcast hosts, Christopher Gibbons, 40, and Tyrone Patten-Walsh, 36, both from London, had been convicted in July on all charges against them. Mr. Gibbons, who was convicted of encouraging acts of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications, was sentenced to eight years in prison. Mr. Patten-Walsh received seven years for encouraging acts of terrorism. A statement from the police described the men's views as 'homophobic, racist, antisemitic, Islamophobic and misogynistic.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
News Ledes
CNN: "Alaska Airlines has temporarily grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft after one of its planes made an emergency landing in Oregon on Friday, officials said -- an incident that a passenger says involved a panel and window blowing out in flight."
New York Times: "Joseph Lelyveld, a former executive editor and foreign correspondent for The New York Times, who won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction for his book 'Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White,' died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 86."
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Reader Comments (18)
There is one theory that fully explains the massive support that Trump continues to get among the Republican voting base: That they’re racist.
Tough to both-sides that one. Republicans are "social conservatives," not racists. Ask anyone whose income depends on not ventilating "social conservatism."
So…wait…According to the Orange Monster, Bart O’Kavanaugh is a washed up loser, a disgrace. No law firm would hire him. So…put him on the Supreme Court???
Speaking of disgraced assholes on the Supreme Court…
On one hand, they’re perfectly happy with allowing individual states to deny healthcare to women, fer ‘ligious reasons, a-course, cuz 10th Amendment, federalism, states’s rights, etc.
So let’s see what kind of pretzel shapes they have to assume to then protect the Fat Fascist by ruling that individual states can’t decide to disqualify a candidate from running for federal office because of a constitutional rule. Gotta get my popcorn for this one!
And speaking of constitutional requirements, shouldn’t a huge number of congressional office holders be kicked off ballots for supporting insurrection as well?
And there’s this…
The Orange Monster demands that the Supremes make a quick ruling to help him out in his quest to become dictator (while also indicating in no uncertain terms that they better rule in his favor), and they say “Yes sir! Right away sir!”
Jack Smith requests a quick ruling on a trial that will determine whether the United States will remain a democratic republic or become an authoritarian dictatorship, and they say “Ehhh…not today.”
On states rights (and responsibilities) and their limits:
The SCOTUS of late (and historically speaking, again) has certainly been giving great sway to the right of states to create law and set policy. In fact, it's almost as if the Court's MAGA contingent has approached states like Texas on bended knee..
But when it comes to interpreting and applying the language of the Constitution itself as the Pretender is now asking them to do for the Fourteenth Amendment, I can't imagine them allowing states to tell them what it means.
If the SCOTUS does not reserve that right to itself, of what possible use is it?
And Rubin weighs in on the Fourteenth:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/05/14th-amendment-supreme-court-disqualification-trump/
@Ken Winkes: Your point is well-taken. I agree with it: the Supremes should define what the Constitution means by "insurrection," they should determine Trump engaged in it, and they should disqualify him from running for every publicly-elected office from Palm Beach dogcatcher-in-chief on up.
Indeed, the immediate purpose of Section 3 was to keep Jefferson Davis out of Washington, D.C., and Davis never physically took up arms against the United States.
But we know that the Supremes won't do as they should. So your argument is self-defeating. The best outcome we can hope for from these Trumpified justices is that, on one excuse or another, they let the states decide.
@Ken Winkes: Thanks for the link to Rubin's column. She does sort of make my point: one way or another, the Supremes will not disqualify Trump.
I'm blaming this on Biden: For the month of December 2023 my
investments increased by the largest amount of any month since I
began investing.
Let's see how trump and the rest of the R's try to bury that info.
Come on Democrats, speak up!
It is not like the Supremes have to worry about the 14th being applied to themselves after they bend over backwards to aid the insurrectionist leader's attempt to get back in power since they have lifetime appointments and no elections to get disqualified from. And their reputation as a court of law can't go much lower with the few people who pay any attention to the rulings they have issued and the corruption they have engaged in. An illegitimate Court with a illegitimate President sounds about right. Though the court better all fall in line like Barto is supposed to do now or they may actually have to find new jobs, if they are lucky. Trump is known to put people's personal information out to his cult members when they stand in the way of his desires.
Forrest,
Silly boy! You know how this works. No one will give Biden credit. The MSM is too concerned that he’s almost 124 years old. The PoT contingent and Fox, if they bring it up at all will say it’s all because of good old right-wing capitalism. And Trump? He’ll take credit for it, saying Wall Street is giddy about him coming back to make America grate again.
On a more serious note, the economy has been doing well for some time now, but you still read stories about the return of the Great Depression, any day now. And THAT will be all Biden’s fault.
There are all sorts of ways the Trump Supremes can slither out of any ruling that will disqualify their benefactor. They likely will make some picayune decision about how there’s no way of being able to tell what “officer” meant to the founders, so best to assume they didn’t mean this clause to apply to the president. Either that or they’ll say Trump has never been convicted of insurrection and they’re not the ones to do that, so he can’t be disqualified.
I can’t read Rubin’s piece (firewalled) but I’m guessing she’s thinking somewhat along those lines.
They’ll find some chink that allows them to slip through and let “the people decide”, harrumph, harumph.
Oh, and Coke can Clarence will never recuse himself.
NBC News
"A tense new Jan. 6 video shows Republican congressmen admonishing rioters trying to enter House chamber
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" one Republican representative told rioters as they attempted to breach the House floor. "I’ve never had people act this way."
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., can be seen speaking with rioters through the broken glass.
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” Nehls says.
“We’re coming in one way or another!” one rioter says.
"I’ve been in law enforcement in Texas for 30 years, and I’ve never had people act this way," Nehls says. "I’m ashamed!""
I don't think Maureen Dowd gets it. For the sake of a really poor pun (men that try Times' soul), she recommends that the Biden campaign, and the press, focus on what Biden has to offer, not what DiJiT has to threaten. It is a false dichotomy, to begin with. The Biden campaign clearly will focus on the Biden upside, but will ensure also that DiJiT's danger is broadcast every day in every way. And all they really have to do is quote him and make sure that his insanity is on display in places and times when even the MAGAiest MAGA can't avoid seeing the display.
30% of this country is locked in their confederate epistemic enclosure. Biden's campaign should try to demoralize those people so they don't vote (they are after all lazy cowards). They will never vote for any non-R. Hypnotic debunking repetition of DiJiT's proven lies may help demoralize them.
Whatever the chances of that may be, no one who has given great thought to the clear and present danger thinks that D's should run a traditional positive campaign, promising good governance, policy improvements, etc. , without also pushing the emotional buttons of the threat DiJiT poses, first and foremost. A good portion of the country is now thinking with its sphincters, overriding the prefrontal cortex.
It is not enough, either, that the campaign does this. The press must analyze and report honestly, and get away from both-sidesism. To do that they need to keep reporting on the degradation of the GOP as no longer a legitimate party. DiJiT is just half the story. Again, all they have to do is quote accurately, these guys are now out and proud fascists and history shows that that stuff really doesn't work. You can stick it in your arm for a while to feel good, but it kills you faster than you expected. Every effing time.
If you haven't watched President Biden's speech, it would be worth your 33 minutes to do so. Marie, thanks for posting it.
Next week's hearing on DiJiT v. us focuses on whether he has immunity for any and all official acts.
Kings have that. (And also for non-official acts)
Prezdets don't.
Why is this a judiciable question?
@ Patrick -- I just want to say how much I appreciate your analyses, insights, sharing of broad experiences, historical knowledge, and so on. Reading your longer post just now, about how Biden's campaign should and hopefully will be run, made me feel better.
What he, Patrick said...^^^^^
Thanks so much for the Biden video. Some meat there.