The Supreme Court and the Colorado Ballot Case: Only One Way to Rule
I’ve read and re-read Article II, section 1, paragraph 5 and The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 of the Constitution over and over, multiple times, and it seems really clear to me that there is only one way to understand these clauses. You don’t need to be a lawyer to understand this text. It is written that well, in plain English. There is only one legitimate way to rule on this matter.
The Supreme Court must make their ruling based upon what is explicitly written in the Constitution. The Supreme Court must allow States to determine ballot eligibility based upon what is explicitly stated in the Constitution. Trump must be booted off the Colorado ballot if Trump is an insurrectionist or if Trump has “given aid or comfort” to insurrectionists.
Presuming that the court is not willing to define Trump’s status as an insurrectionist and/or collaborator, the court cannot take any other “offramp” that is somehow molded into a legitimate Constitutional argument that makes any type of sense in favor of keeping Trump on the ballot, not for any reason; even if the court thinks they need one to avert some highly speculative and imaginary negative Constitutional incongruity between the power the State and Federal governments might have. If the court does try to take any other offramp, the court risks compromising their own oath to protect and support the Constitution. Taking a procedural route would be just as bad for different reasons (they shouldn’t do it).
There is nothing to infer, nothing to doubt in this judicial review like in other controversial cases that have recently been overturned by the Supreme Court where the Constitution might have inferred a right but does not explicitly state one (i.e., Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, etc.). Ruling on the side of what is plainly written in the Constitution, especially when it is so clearly written, arguably, takes a lot of courage. It may not be popular or politically expedient. It may even be dangerous given all the right-winged crazies and thugs that exist out there but it is the right thing to do. It is the American thing to do.
We need to protect our country from insurrectionists who sway public opinion with falsehoods, exaggerations, fear and frenzied rhetoric. We need to protect our nation from insurrectionists who bring dishonor upon themselves and their autocratic enabling political party. We need to protect our citizens from insurrectionists who constantly blame others for all their problems. We need to protect ourselves from insurrectionists who never take responsibility for their own criminal actions but who are always happy to divide then destroy our Constitutional government for the sake of their own narcissistic, power-hungry appetite.
Without that protection, the Supreme Court will take one step closer to ending our democracy. The Supreme Court takes one step closer to ending our republic. One step closer to abandoning the Constitution, altogether. And if that happens, where would that leave the Supreme Court?
References:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobbs_v._Jackson_Women’s_Health_Organization
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-ballot-eligibility-is-headed-to-the-supreme-court-heres-what-to-know/ar-BB1hUWL1
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/08/politics/norma-anderson-trump-colorado-ballot/index.html
The Polarity Resistance 