this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said that while he didn’t want to do it, he had to remind people of how “severe” the situation is.

A top Republican official in Missouri is threatening to remove President Joe Biden from appearing on the ballot as retaliation for the determination in two other states that Donald Trump doesn't qualify because he "engaged in insurrection."

"What has happened in Colorado & Maine is disgraceful & undermines our republic," Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote on the social media site X on Friday. "While I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden!"

Ashcroft's post came shortly after the Supreme Court agreed to review a decision by Colorado's high court that found Trump could be barred from the state's primary ballot because of his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The current SCOTUS claims to be using the "common meaning of words" as their interpretation mechanism for the Constitution.

Assuming they have any bit of consistency whatsoever, the common meaning of words gives at least prima facie argument against Trump being able to run with zero argument against Biden being able to run.

And lucky us, the current SCOTUS has not really shown loyalty to Trump as a person. Here's hoping that sticks around.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (2 children)

the current SCOTUS has not really shown loyalty to Trump as a person

I'm more worried about future legitimate candidates being excluded. I'm not defending Trump in particular.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

You should actually be more worried that violent insurrection becomes the norm.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Historically, if take away someone's democratic option to express themselves then they become more likely to turn to violence.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Actually, the far right are more likely to turn to violence every time they lose, period. That's always been the way of things. You're conflating the Left's values with the Right. The Right do not care about Democracy. Have you never sat through one of those fascist fucks "we're not a Democracy, we're a Republic" defense of minority tyranny? They care about winning at all costs. They're as likely to turn violent is they lose 90/10 as if they lose because their leader was convicted of a felony or taken off a ballot for legitimate reasons.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If fascist win after having Trump removed from the ballot then it makes it even harder to legitimately argue that a particular candidate should stay on a future ballot.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If fascists take over the US, there will never be another legitimate election whether or not we take the correct legal action prior to that point.

But we're talking Beer Hall Putsch leniency on Trump, and all that does is empower the actual fascists to take more extreme action knowing they will never face consequences. People are terrified that if they don't give in to fascists, fascists won't play fair.

Guess what? Fascists already won't play fair.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

But when the good guys don't play fair they can become fascists.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Sure. Show me proof the good guys aren't playing fair taking an insurrectionist off the Ballot because the Constitution demands it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

See the conclusions of 2 states and the Senate.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Preponderance of evidence. The first state concluded the opposite. And the court system seems the right place to challenge.

Or are you suggesting all 50 states need to unanimously agree or he gets off? Because that goes to being a higher burden of proof instead of a lower one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I'm suggesting the Senate decides on impeachment for insurrection and all 50 states abide by that decision.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why? Congress is only a law enforcement body in exactly one scenario. That's not what congress was made for.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Congress, the Senate and the presidency were made together, each checking and balancing the other.

Of course they are the ones who rule on eligibility.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Congress, the Senate and the presidency were made together, each checking and balancing the other.

The 14th Amendment didn't exist when the country was founded. When the 14th Amendment did exist, its authors recognized the real risk of Congress being complicit in treason. In fact, Trump's initial defense is that "President" isn't an officer and that this only involved Congress.

Are you telling me that the authors of the 14th Amendment thought "if the traitors manage to get a majority in congress, then we don't remove them for treason anymore"?

...it sounds like you're following this idealistic and oversimplified view of government. The dissenting judges in the Colorado case brought up a few reasonable arguments, but the ones you're citing aren't them. Nowhere in the Constitution does Congress get the right to prevent a candidate from running for president. In fact, THAT is intentional because Congress is a political body.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

The 14th Amendment didn't exist when the country was founded.

Yeah. The clue is in the name.

"if the traitors manage to get a majority in congress, then we don't remove them for treason anymore"?

If traitors become the majority, are they still traitors?

Nowhere in the Constitution does Congress get the right to prevent a candidate from running for president.

But the Senate did have that opportunity, and didn't reach majority.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Whose democratic options to express themselves is being taken away?

Statistically it is non-white people, so why is it white people who are turning to violence?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Whose democratic options to express themselves is being taken away?

MAGA voters.

why is it white people who are turning to violence

Because they are MAGA voters?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

How are MAGA voters losing the democratic options to express themselves?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

? Not being able to vote for their preferred candidate.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)
  1. Are you aware the Constitution sets out requirements for eligibility for president? Just because your feelings say you really want a particular person, it doesn't mean you have a constitutional right to vote for them. For example, maybe I really want Arnold Schwarzenegger for president. Just because I prefer Arnold that does not mean he can be president.

  2. Trumpers could vote for Trump in 2020 and they still staged a violent insurrection. So your point is both stupid and moot.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Are you aware the Constitution sets out requirements for eligibility for president?

Yes. Trump was impeached for incitement of insurrection but acquitted in the Senate. That's the constitutional rules being followed.

Just because your feelings say you really don't want a particular person, it doesn't mean you have a constitutional right to exclude them.

Trumpers could vote for Trump in 2020 and they still staged a violent insurrection.

Consider how violent Trumpers could get if they couldn't vote.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

acquitted in the Senate

Factually incorrect, either you don't know what is going on, or you're lying. The Senate failed to remove him as president, that is all. There is an ongoing criminal case during which Trump was indicted this past year. There has been no acquittal, contrary to your claim.

Just because your feelings say you really don't want a particular person, it doesn't mean you have a constitutional right to exclude them.

I agree 100%. I don't want Biden or any of the other GOP candidates either. And yet, none of them have so far staged and supported an insurrection. I only think candidates should be discluded based on law.

I'm logically consistent, which is something you are not capable of understanding.

Consider how violent Trumpers could get if they couldn't vote.

Well, Trumpers are extremely delusional and very stupid. So, they will get very violent, even though Trumpers have the most to lose and least to gain from an actual Civil War 2.

One massive trumper delusion is that they are the only ones with guns. In reality, leftists, anarchists, anti-fascists, and communists have a ridiculous amount of firepower stored.

The big difference is that Trumpers paint a big target on themselves and their homes, flying Trump flags and wearing trump merch. Trumpers are not ready to fight a war against an enemy they can't find. They're like the Redcoats of the American Revolution, they are big loud and meant to intimidate, they are not ready to fight an actual bloody war of attrition against an enemy they cannot see.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

The Senate failed to remove him as president, that is all.

The charges of insurrection were not upheld.

There is an ongoing criminal case

So not yet found guilty.

I agree 100%. I don't want Biden or any of the other GOP candidates either.

It is very wrong that unaccountable corporations are gatekeepers of the presidency.

I only think candidates should be discluded based on law.

Hard agree. This is my whole argument. Insurrection needs to be strongly defined to avoid future manipulation. We cannot (yet) conclude that Trump was involved in insurrection.

I'm logically consistent,

Me too.

Trumpers are extremely delusional and very stupid. So, they will get very violent ...

Agree with this and all you wrote following.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, Republicans don't need Democrats to invent ways for them to be fascist, they're quite capable of finding opportunities on their own

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Let's not make it even easier for them in the future.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It won't. It's a trick we've fallen for. We withhold Justice from the corrupt out of fear they use our justice against us illegitimately. Yet what we miss is that it only works if they have the ammo to do the same without using our justice against us. It's a game to them to wrap their horrors in our good deeds, but they can't actually commit more horrors because we do good.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

We withhold Justice from the corrupt out of fear they use our justice against us illegitimately.

And if we incorrectly apply false justice then it's likely to come back and bite us in the ass.

The case against Trump must be watertight. The Senate and courts in two states don't believe this is the case.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

And if we incorrectly apply false justice then it’s likely to come back and bite us in the ass.

I agree 100%

The case against Trump must be watertight. The Senate and courts in two states don’t believe this is the case.

I'm arguing elsewhere in this thread that we need to be careful to dot our I's and cross our T's in serving justice, but we're talking about the Bad Faith argument here, and not whether the case against Trump was watertight. It doesn't matter if we have a watertight case against Trump, Republicans will try to use this against us. It doesn't matter if we took this action or not, Republicans will try to do things like this against us anyway.

But to your point (which is a real tangent), there's no reason or precedent to apply a criminal burden of proof to a non-criminal statutory requirement, despite the fact some judges seem to want to. The Criminal burden of proof is extremely high because the consequences of criminal conviction are dramatic and possibly horrific, far worse than someone simply being left off a federal ballot. People have already been criminally convicted of collaborating with Trump to commit crimes. By even some civil burdens of proof, Trump has already been found liable for his role in the insurrection attempt.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The Criminal burden of proof is extremely high because the consequences of criminal conviction are dramatic and possibly horrific, far worse than someone simply being left off a federal ballot

If leaving someone of the ballot is made trivial then it will be used by bad people against good people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It won't be the good guys that make it trivial. The bad guys just get off by using real justice against us.

If Trump makes it into the General Election, whether he wins or loses, we are a fallen state whose Constitution is meaningless. And I GUARANTEE the bad people are already using the hell out of that.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

If Trump makes it into the General Election, whether he wins or loses, we are a fallen state

Nah. Hyperbole.

whose Constitution is meaningless.

The 14th ammendment may need rework, but that doesn't burn the entire document

I GUARANTEE the bad people are already using the hell out of that.

Genuinely interested in what these bad people are doing regarding the Constitution. Can you give examples?