Wednesday Open Thread

10 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

1. The Pitchfork Ruling. Timothy Snyder

   Must Read. Extremely well written.

   Donald Trump cannot be a candidate for any state or federal office in the United States of America.  Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution makes this plain.  No office-holding insurrectionist can return to office.  The language is clear, and the facts of his case are not in dispute.

   The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled to this effect, and the United States Supreme Court is now called upon to review its finding (in Anderson vs. Griswold).  In my last post, I addressed arguments against the Constitution that I heard or read in the Midwest over the holidays.  In this essay, I address the anti-Constitutional discourse that appears in the media: that the Constitution should be displaced by the fears of people who appear on television. 

   This form of opposition to the Constitution poses as expertise.  It takes the form of advice to the Court: find some way to allow Trump to be on the ballot, because otherwise people will be upset.  Because we are used to hearing endless conversations about politics on television, where everyone seems to be a political advisor, it can seem normal to reduce sections of the Constitution to talking points.  But we must pause and consider.

   In fact, rejecting the legal order in favor of what seems to be politically safe at a given moment is just about the most dangerous move that can be made.  It amounts to advocating that we shift from constitutional government to an insurrectionary regime.  Indeed, it amounts to participating in that shift, while not taking responsibility for doing so.  Let me try to spell this out.

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   1. Ran across this over the holidays: 

      

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   2. Our corrupt SCOTUS, which has been executing a slow coup ever since Gore v Bush ( Citizens United, eviscerating the voting right act, allowing gerrymandering) will either 1) put it’s finger in the wind and decide Trump cannot win and eliminate him , or 2) make up law to say he can run because he hasn’t been convicted of insurrection 

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2. God help us if the cult of Trump turns into a religion. They are already at the end of the extreme spectrum.

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   1. That ship already sailed, Gilpin Guy. Don't you remember at the RNC meeting a couple of years back when they literally had a golden calf-type statue of Trump in front of which people could pose and take selfies?

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   2. I think it's called the American Taliban.

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3. CO-4 update from Axios aggregation: 

   "Colorado House Minority Leader Mike Lynch is running for the congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Ken Buck,"  Cite is to Denver Post, but Colorado Politics also says "Mike Lynch's entry into the primary brings to 11 the number of Republicans running in the district."

   Not sure this will be a winning sentiment.  Why is he running?

   "For the same reason I ever got into this business is that I was sick of idiots freaking representing me in the different levels," Lynch said in an interview with Colorado Politics before declaring his candidacy. "That's kind of a core thing of why I even do any of this."

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   1. lol

      Not what anyone would call articulate, is he?

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4. Had to manually refresh cache this morning.

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5. This story might be best for the morning, but it's a small stick of dynamite about Hiedi's latest plan to take Colorado back to its 2004-ish red hue, or maybe even farther back. Polsters should read it. The former University of Colorado Regent is teaming up with one of the namesakes of a University of Colorado business building to establish a new tighty-righty messaging network, and according to this story they hope to work with Anschutz news outlets to spread the word. I read "The Blueprint" some time ago, but I'm not sure this latest red scheme is what the blue architects had in mind!

   https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2024/01/common-sense-institute-chairman-among-wealthy-conservatives-backing-heidi-ganahls-plan-to-retake-colorado/58780/

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