Colorado determines the 14th Amendment does mean something

Don't hold your breath, though...the Supreme Court will probably short-circuit any celebration.

Someone needs his diaper changed….

After another few days, I noticed I became annoyed whenever I would actually have to ask Asshole for something. How quickly the creepy becomes commonplace.

• John Scalzi, Old Man's War

With the Colorado Supreme Court deciding that instigating an insurrection does indeed mean that Donald Trump ran afoul of the 14th Amendment and was thus ineligible to run for President, much rejoicing resulted throughout the Kingdom. This was as it should have been, for the evil jackass who tried to stage a coup on January 6, 2021, has no business running for President again.

Colorado is merely the first state to have the balls to do the right thing.

it’s morning in America. the sun is shining. birds are singing. colors seem brighter. food tastes better.

is it possible to overdose on schadenfreude?

I’m asking because last night, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment makes Little Donny Fuckface ineligible to run for office in 2024, and threw him off the Colorado ballot — because of fucking course they did. booting Trump for trying to overthrow his own government is a no-brainer.

Ain’t it, though?

To quote the Colorado Supremes:

“A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot. …

We do not reach these conclusions lightly. We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”

The Court did place a hold on their decision so that Orange Jesus may appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court, which he undoubtedly will forthwith, posthaste, and with all due speed. That said, it’s refreshing that at least one state has seen fit to do the right thing for the right reason(s). What happens next is anyone’s guest, but given the corrupt, bought, and paid-for nature of the US Supreme Court, it’s entirely possible Trump will get his way.

Ah, the minty fresh taste of schadenfreude…enjoy it while it lasts, eh?

We shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves, considering how corrupt, partisan, and utterly untrustworthy the US Supreme Court has become:

Colorado’s state supreme court briefly got Americans’ hopes up yesterday, ruling that Donald Trump is ineligible to be president because he tried to overthrow the 2020 election, and therefore he can’t be on the state’s primary election ballot. But then everyone remembered who’s actually on the US Supreme Court and said, “Well sure, the 14th Amendment is pretty plain in its meaning, and Trump definitely did an insurrection, but no way those bozos will let the Colorado decision stand.” That’s a pretty difficult thing for an entire nation to say in unison, so it mostly sounded like millions and millions of people saying “Well, shit.”

The Colorado Supreme Court has stayed its decision until January 5th, 2024, the day before the state’s primary ballot must be finalized, to give the Trump campaign time to pursue an appeal before the US Supreme Court.

If the Colorado decision is allowed to stand, it may trigger more states to make similar decisions.

The decision doesn’t just keep Trump off the Colorado primary ballot, but also directs Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold not to count any write-in ballots for Trump either. And probably not any that say “MAGA, FUCKER!” or contain misspelled death threats….

Also too, clearly aware that the case will be going to the US Supreme Court, the decision notes that one guy who’s there now had previously ruled on Colorado’s election laws back when he was a US appeals court judge in 2012:

As then-Judge Gorsuch recognized in Hassan, it is “a state’s legitimate interest in protecting the integrity and practical functioning of the political process” that “permits it to exclude from the ballot candidates who are constitutionally prohibited from assuming office.”

Neener, and let us cite previous case law, neener.

There’s little doubt but that the pack of corrupt greedheads Supremes will look to find some legal, quasi-legal, or maybe barely legal argument to quash the Colorado decision. After all, Orange Jesus did appoint fully 1/3 of the current court, and two others- Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas- are as corrupt and reliably Conservative as Sen. Tommy Tuberville is America’s Dumbest Senator ©.

I may not be an attorney, nor am I a Supreme Court scholar, but I know corrupt and partisan when I see it…and this Supreme Court no longer does nonpartisan law in a nonpartisan manner. It takes care of the rich and well-connected…because those folks take care of several Conservative members of the Court.

The Colorado decision, while no one yet knows if it’s the beginning of a trend, at least signals a willingness to consider interpreting the 14th Amendment as it’s written and not as a cabal of Conservatives see fit to disassemble it and cobble it back together in a manner more favorable to Mango Mussolini.

Or maybe, as one of the dissenting Colorado justices argued, a state Supreme Court can’t rule on a 14th Amendment claim on its own:

Colorado’s chief justice, Brian D. Boatright, advanced that reasoning in his dissent, arguing that disqualification on 14th Amendment grounds has to take place somewhere other than a court. “Unlike qualifications such as age and place of birth,” he wrote, “an application of Section Three requires courts to define complex terms, determine legislative intent from over 150 years ago, and make factual findings foreign to our election code.” […]

The nation’s highest court would have to find something in the language of Section 3 that precludes adjudication by a state court. For example, it might hold that the text, structure and history of the section indicate that only Congress can make the essentially political judgment to execute the provision.

Or perhaps we should just leave it to our current Supreme Court to make shit up, as they did in the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Though they couched the decision in appropriately lofty legalese, the Court made shit up as they went. But, because they’re the SUPREME Court, there was no one left to call them on their bullshit.

America was stuck with their decision…never mind that five of the justices lied at their confirmation hearings when they said that Roe was settled law. Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett all lied…but there’s no accountability for Supreme Court justices once confirmed.

This means that no one should be holding their breath in the hope that the Supremes will rule in accordance with the law. That ship sailed once Mitch McConnell refused to allow Barack Obama to appoint a replacement he had every right to pursue. This opened the door for Trump to appoint three justices who’d promised to overturn Roe v. Wade after stating in their confirmation hearings that Roe was settled law.

The moral of the story? When a Republican makes a promise, get a receipt…and a video.

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