Below is my column in the Hill on efforts to bar or limit voting in the primary and general presidential elections. What is so striking is how these distinctly anti-democratic actions are being taken in the name of democracy.
Here is the column:
Across news sites, Democrats are warning of the imminent death of democracy. Hillary Clinton has warned that a Trump victory would be the end of democracy. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is warning of “executions.” Even actors like Robert DeNiro are predicting that this may be our very last democratic election.
Yet these harbingers of tyranny are increasingly pursuing the very course that will make their predictions come true. The Democratic Party is actively seeking to deny voters choices in this election, supposedly to save democracy.
Henry Ford once promised customers any color so long as it is black. Democrats are adopting the same approach to the election: You can have any candidate on the ballot, as long as it’s Joe Biden.
This week, the Executive Committee of the Florida Democratic Democracy told voters that they would not be allowed to vote against Biden. Even though he has opponents in the primary, the party leadership has ordered that only Biden will appear on the primary ballot.
And if you want to register your discontent with Biden with a write-in vote, forget about it. Under Florida law, if the party approves only one name, there will be no primary ballots at all. The party just called the election for Biden before a single vote has been cast.
This is not unprecedented. It happened with Barack Obama in 2012 and, on the Republican side, with George W. Bush in 2004. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now.
As Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) noted, “Americans would expect the absence of democracy in Tehran, not Tallahassee. Our mission as Democrats is to defeat authoritarians, not become them.”
In Iran, the mullahs routinely bar opposition candidates from ballots as “Guardians” of the ballots.
There is good reason for the Biden White House to want the election called before it is held. A CNN poll found that two out of three Democrats believe that the party should nominate someone else. A Wall Street Journal poll that found 73 percent of voters say Biden is “too old to run for president.”
The party leadership is solving that problem by depriving Democratic voters of a choice.
In other states, Democratic politicians and lawyers are pursuing a different strategy: “You can have any candidate, as long as it isn’t Trump.”
They are seeking to bar Trump from ballots under a novel theory about the 14th Amendment. In states from Colorado to Michigan, Democratic operatives are arguing that Trump must be taken off the ballots because he gave “aid and comfort” to an “insurrection or rebellion.” Other Democrats have called for more than 120 other Republicans to be stripped from the ballots under the same claim tied to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
This effort is being supported by academics such as Laurence Tribe, who previously called for Trump to be charged with the attempted murder of former Vice President Mike Pence.
In a recent filing supporting this effort, figures as prominent as media lawyer Floyd Abrams and Berkeley Dean Erwin Chemerinsky have told the Colorado Supreme Court that preventing voters from being able to cast their votes for Trump is just a way of “fostering democracy.” So long as courts believe that a candidate’s speech is “capable of triggering disqualification,” that speech is unprotected in their view.
I have long criticized this theory as legally and historically unfounded. It is also an extremely dangerous theory that would allow majorities in different states to ban opposing candidates in tit-for-tat actions.
So far, these efforts around the country have met with defeat in court after court, but the effort continues, and with the support of many in the media.
Some national polls show Trump as the most popular candidate for the 2024 election, while a few show Biden slightly ahead. Yet, despite 74 million voters supporting Trump in the last election, these Democrats are insisting that voters should not be allowed to vote for him, in the name of democracy.
In fairness to Democratic partisans like Clinton and Maddow, they could well be right. The 2024 election could well prove the end to democracy — if these efforts succeeded in purging ballots of opposing candidates.
It is all part of an electoral variation on the Vietnam War claim that it is sometimes necessary to destroy a village in order to save it.
Democrats claim to be right and to have the best of motivations, which is why they feel justified in saving democracy by denying it to the voters. After all, it is all about motivation where any means are justified. They are trying to save democracy by limiting it.
Thus, it is an assault on democracy for Republican lawyers to challenge elections based on alleged problems with voting machines, but it is protecting democracy for former Clinton general counsel (and founder of the “Democracy Docket”) Marc Elias to claim that a machine could flip the results in favor of the GOP.
In Tehran, a popular joke emerged after the “Guardian Council” approved only one candidate, Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, to appear on a ballot. Democracy, the joke went, was safe, because the Guardians would allow Raisi to run against six other spellings of his own name.
The American election guardians in Florida did one better. They have arranged for there to be no ballot at all. Who needs the pretense of a primary when you can simply dictate the result?
Yet, rest assured, you may be able to cast a vote for an approved slate of candidates of healthy choices. Consider it a type of “Big Gulp” election, where you are protected against your own bad choices like a sugary drink at 7-11.
Actor Seth Rogen has pledged to “vote for whoever is the Democrat. That’s all I need to know.” If these efforts are successful, many voters could be left with that single liberating choice.
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.
One step to protect democracy would be to eliminate FBI arrest powers. How many times have we seen or heard of 20 or so agents and CNN storming the arrest of someone who could safely be arrested by a Boy Scout? Leave our Stasi to investigation only and let the US Marshals or local police do actual arrests if warranted. Keep it professional.
Second step, eliminate lying to the American Stasi as a crime. Too often they have used that law to manufacture process crimes against people who think they are cooperating or being helpful and who couldn’t be charged with anything else.
Third, prosecute agents who manufacture crimes directly or by proxy.
The American Founders intended for a severely restricted-vote republic.
Turnout was 11.6% in 1789 and vote criteria were male, European, 21, 50 lbs. Sterling or 50 acres.
The Constitution provides for vote restrictions by States.
One man, one vote “democracy” is the communist “dictatorship of the proletariat,” the “dictatorship of the hired help,” per Karl Marx’s motto: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
The Constitution precludes voting for communism, or central planning, control of the means of production (unconstitutional regulation), redistribution of wealth and social engineering.
There is no point to allowing communists to vote since what they want cannot be voted for.
The whole American system is rotten and corrupted.
The Founders would be disgusted because their thesis was Freedom and Self-Reliance – it’s merit that matters.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value.”
– Alexander Hamilton
________________________
“The true reason (says Blackstone) of requiring any qualification, with regard to property in voters, is to exclude such persons, as are in so mean a situation, that they are esteemed to have no will of their own.”
“If it were probable that every man would give his vote freely, and without influence of any kind, then, upon the true theory and genuine principles of liberty, every member of the community, however poor, should have a vote… But since that can hardly be expected, in persons of indigent fortunes, or such as are under the immediate dominion of others, all popular states have been obliged to establish certain qualifications, whereby, some who are suspected to have no will of their own, are excluded from voting; in order to set other individuals, whose wills may be supposed independent, more thoroughly upon a level with each other.”
– Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 1775
____________________________________________________
“[We gave you] a [severely restricted-vote] republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin, 1787
Jonathan: There is another problem with your column. It’s not the Dems who are involved in “ballot cleansing”. Yesterday, DJT revealed what he tried to do in the 2020 election and what he wants to do in 2024. He said: “So the most important part of what’s coming up is to guard the vote. And you should go into Detroit and you should go into Philadelphia and you should go into some of these places, Atlanta…”. DJT didn’t explain what he meant by “go into” or “guard the vote”. But it’s pretty clear. He wants to suppress the vote in Democratic strongholds. The RNC wants to recruit thousands of poll watchers to interfere with right of voters to choose the candidates of their choice. We saw what happened in Fulton county when DJT tried to “guard the vote” by intimidating elections workers there.
Throughout the country DJT and the GOP are engaged in a massive voter suppression effort–particularly in Black districts. In Georgia the GOP controlled legislature wants to dismantle a multi-racial district currently held by a Democrat. In July, House Republicans introduced a bill, the “American Confidence in Elections Act”. ACE would, among other things, prohibit federal agencies from engaging in voter registration, impose stricter voter ID requirements, banning same day registration and voting by mail. In the states the GOP has introduced at least 185 voter suppression bills.
DJT knows that in a free and fair election next year he will probably lose. That’s why he and the GOP are making every effort to suppress the vote. It’s his only chance of winning. That strategy is what will “end Democracy” as we know it! That’s the part you missed in your column.
Hey Dennis, been hunting with Jen Psaki lately?
How about the Whatsapp from James Gilliar? Care to comment?
But it’s pretty clear. He wants to suppress the vote in Democratic strongholds,</i
You are quite the mind reader.
Gaurd=watch over.
No mind reading required, Just a 3rd grade vocabulary.
Those cities and more, violated many laws in conducting the 2020 elections. Ballot collection boxes, ballott harvesting, no signature verification, or like Arizona, 70,000 ballot signatures were verified in 2 minutes. 7 people validating signatures validated 100% of all the ballots the examined.
Blue run cities, and specifially some unique polling sites ignored laws en mass.
Yes those places need the vote guarded.
It tells you everything you need to know about Professor Turley that he deliberately neglects to mention the growing number of Republicans & conservatives who are also warning that a Trump victory would be the end of democracy.
Trump chief of staff, General John Kelly: Trump is “a person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”
Bill Barr: “Trump’s willingness to destroy the party if he does not get his way is not based on principle. Unless the rest of the party goes along with him, he will burn the whole house down. His egoism makes him unable to think of a political party as anything but an extension of himself — a cult of personality.”
Federal Judge Michael Luttig believes Trump is a clear & present threat to American democracy. The list goes on & on.
And let’s not forget Georgia Republicans censuring Governor Kemp & Brad Raffensperger for the unspeakable crime of certifying Biden’s victory in their state after numerous recounts & Arizona Republicans censuring Governor Ducey for certifying Biden’s victory in their state. And of course, Texas Republicans proclaiming “We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.”
Yet surprise, surprise, ProfessorTurley is laser focused on Hillary Clinton, Robert DeNiro & Seth Rogen. It’s fun to observe how utterly predictable JT has become in his unabashedly partisan musings.
LOL. The real danger is that the left always projects, so if they do not cheat they will lose (see 2020) and then democracy will be lost again.
No one buys that 81,000,000 US citizens voted for Biden – no one.
There was a Movie titled “shaFt”: now the Democrats have a movement called Shaft! Shaft their own voters, even though their nominee is sure to win regardless of minor players wishing to throw the hat in the ring. Kennedy is prime example!
The Democrat party makes one to wonder how they ever achieved anything of worth and convinced anyone they will represent them. They in a singular sense only represent mayhem, discontent, dishonesty, and a whole lot of nonsense in all their platforms. They honor dishonest and disloyal individuals, Grand Wizards of the KKK, and then say he was an honorable man, but those Republicans are mean racists, a President that was so self-absorbed he ran for president 4 times when all the previous Presidents chose to follow the President Washington’s lead of 2 terms, causing an amendment to the Constitution. The party since President Carter has been a draconian one-sided fraternity of tyrants full of scandals and misdeeds. Again, how did they ever achieve convincing half the population that they are the saviors of Democracy; (sure they are????) is my eternal question?
Jonathan: Your column is a mishmash. From Hillary Clinton, Robert DeNiro, Rachel Maddow to Floyd Abrams and Erwin Chermerinsky and Marc Elias. Why not mention George Clooney, Miles Cyrus, Jennifer Lawrence, Lawrence Tribe or Michael Luttig–or even the conservative Koch group that also oppose DJT’s candidacy? You could fill a lot of columns naming all those who won’t vote for DJT in 2024.
The crux of your column is that the Dem party in Florida is limiting voter choice by having only Pres. Biden the 2024 primary ballot. There is nothing illegal about that. That’s what Michael Morley, who teaches election law at Florida State University, points out in the WP article you cite. Each party gets to decide who will be on the primary ballot.
What you don’t mention is the GOP has often been guilty of engaging in the same practice. In 2020 the GOP cancelled primaries in several states to cut off any challengers to DJT’s nomination (e.g. Rep. Joe Walsh). In 1984 South Carolina the GOP did not hold presidential primaries. SC GOP Chair Drew McKissick said at the time: “As a general rule, when either party has an incumbent president in the White House [Ronald Reagan], there’s no rationale to hold a primary”. So there is nothing remarkable in what the Dem party is doing in Florida.
The gravamen of your argument is that the Dems strategy in 2024 is “You can have any candidate, as long as it isn’t Trump”. You call the legal challenges to DJT’s candidacy a “dangerous theory” and could “prove to be the end democracy”. Not quite. Democracy won’t end if DJT is not on the ballot in some states.
In New Mexico a judge ruled a local commissioner, Couy Griffin, the founder of “Cowboys for Trump”, should be removed from office because he participated in the J6 attack on the Capitol–that he engaged in “insurrection” within the meaning of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That didn’t end Democracy in New Mexico. If Griffin could be removed from office why should DJT be on the ballot–the guy who led the “insurrection”? “Democracy” means upholding the rule of law. What DJT has is in mind is not “Democracy” but authoritarian rule by one man–a dictatorship that would eschew any semblance of a “Democracy”!
Chatgpt is getting stupider and stupider.
Jonathan couldn’t also list the 65,000,000 or so FJB voters in 2020, either, so what?
What an idiot says: “What DJT has is in mind is not “Democracy” but authoritarian rule by one man–a dictatorship that would eschew any semblance of a “Democracy”!” Seriously, STFU. We get it that fear of not having kiddie porn in FL in elementary schools or tranny bathhouses in high schools or no wars or free speech or citizens ability to defend themselves or free association or cheap energy or parental guidance or self-reliability or personal responsibility, all mean the end of democracy and a dictatorship to morons like you, but you are wrong.
Now go run along and murder some innocents in gaza or israel or ukraine or Russia or yemen or in your girls’ wombs, go raise interest rates because of profligate spending and crony-finance, go shut down more academic debate and scientific oversight, go do whatever it is you want for now, but realize that when you can no longer do those things in 2025 that is neither a dictatorship or a bad thing for society, it is just a bad thing for a bunch of entrenched, entitled, midwits who need the teat of the state to provide for them. EABD, losers, may you all rot even before you go to hell.
Each and every one of us are free to prefer whatever candidate we wish.
We are NOT free to weaponize government to thwart others from voting for the candidate of their choice.
Implimenting measures that impeded fraud – that probit dead, people, fake people, or just inserted ballots from being counted are NOT election interferance or “threats to democracy.
Depriving people of the ability to vote for a candidate other than one others approve, or to vote at all – that is election interferance,
That is “voter supression”.
Everything that is legal is not moral.
Turley’s column is completely correct – Democrats efforts – in FL and elsewhere to manipulate who is on the ballot are immoral and anti-democratic.
Regardless, Democrats are trying to use the power of the State to remove Republicans from Republican primaries – I thought you said Primaries were the business of the parties ?
Aparently your principles vary with whose oxe is being gored.
That said I agree with you – Primaries should be left entirely to the political parties.
They should not be regulated by the state or paid for by the state.
The state must control the general election.
I would note that if you get the state out of primaries – you also eliminate the need for voter registration.
You allow anyone to vote who can provide proof of residence and eligibility on election day.
A government ID with an address in the precinct is sufficient.
But this would dis empower the political parties.
For each of the past three presidential elections – Democrats have been gaming their own primaries.
The big deal about the wikileaks email dump – was the revalation that the DNC, the clinton campaign and the fawning media were all in bed together trying to F@#K Sanders over and coronate Hillary.
The same happened in 2020 When it was clear that Democrats did not have a winning candidate – and their only happe was a demented geriatiric who was not up to a campaign. They cleared the field for him – as they had for Hillary,
Campaigned out of the basement,. and weaponized government power to rig the election.
Now Democrats are terrified that Biden might do baddly enough in a primary that he could be forced to get out, and that would leave them stuck with Harris.
If you are going to make up Turley’s arguments – why do we have Turley.
No Turley’s argument is NOT that democrats are telling republicans they can have any candidate but Trump.
His argument is that Democrats are headed down a very dangerous road.
Worse still they are doing exactly what they accuse republicans of and disenfranchising voters – including their own.
Turley is pointing out their hypocracy.
It is democrats who rant stupidly and incorrectly about “voter supression” – and now are doing worse than that.
You cite obscure republican examples.
Where did Joe Walsh poll at even 1% of the GOP vote ?
Few of us support allowing anyone to get on to the ballot.
As a rule all states have some threshold that must be met for a candidate to get on the general election – and that is appropriate.
I tend to agree with you that primaries should be determined by the political parites. But that also means no government funding.
No government involvement in primaries.
It also means that we are each free to judge political parites by the way they conduct their primaries.
Republicans and democrats should be able to preclude any 1%er like Joe Walsh from getting on the primary ballot.
But they should be excoriated when there are candidates that can come close to or exceed the party favorite who can not get on the primary ballot.
Finally – your argument that Democrats can run their primaries as they please – also applies to republicans – so why are Democrats trying to keep Trump off Republican primary ballots ?
You keep concocting people you want to remove from the ballot.
Turley keeps calling the 14th amendment argument “novel” – it is Garbage – at every level.
Svalaz refered me to the Federalist society debate on the issue – because Prof. Baude agreed to play the devils advocate and defend (ish) usng the 14th amendment to remove people.
But even Baud had to cede the claim that this is constitutional is incredibly weak.
J6 does not qualify as an “insurrection” by any definition constitutional or otherwise that is not so broad as to end up including almost any protest against government.
If J6 is an “insurrection” – then impeachment is an “insurrection” and all congressmen voting to impeach any president constitutes insurrection.
J6 was a protest seeking to persuade congress to reject the 2020 election. It was NOT a war against the United States. It was not even a conflict with the US government. It was about credible claims of election fraud.
Regardless, any definition of insurrection that is broad enough to include J6 includes all kinds of other activities – the BLM protests, Certainly the protests are the Federal Court in Portland. The protests in front of the Whitehouse in May 2020 – or pretty much anytime.
That is your first problem.
Next – the 14th amendment is NOT self executing. As a rule constitutional delegations of rights are self executing. Constitutional delegations of powers are not. As a clear example the 18th amendment required the Volstead Act to take actual effect.
While the first amendment does NOT.
Further Congress did pass such legislation – which remained in effect until the 50’s but is no longer part of the federal code.
Therefore the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment is inoperative today.
Next the plain text is “shall hold an office” – that means that the 14th amendment is not operative util the person is about to hold office.
This is also consistent with immediate post civil war history where confederates were elected and in SOME cases Congress decided not to seat them. It is also consistent with the rest of the 14th amendment where congress can remove the disability. It does that immediately prior to the person TAKING office – not prior to the election.
Next – and slightly more controversial – though accepted by the Colorado Biden Federal Judge – the 14th amendment text referes to a SPECIFIC oath of office – there are two in the constitution. The one for the president is unique and does not match the language in the 14th amendment. The CO Federal judge and many other legal scholars have concluded that the specific language of the 14th amendment does not apply to the president. That reading is enhanced because the 14th amendment lists specific offices that are barred – President is not among those. Finally there is a history of constitutional interpretation that the president does NOT hold office.
Next as has both been argued and has proven to the true repeatedly – no judge – not even a supreme court justice is going to bar a person from running for office or being elected or holding office using the 14th amendment.
For precisely the same reason that Trump could not get any traction trying to challenge the election. MAYBE you can get somewhere with minor offices and small numbers of voters, and reasonably concrete proof of small numbers of specific ballots that were lost or should have been rejected. Or clear proof of ballots NOT provided by a real person.
Next specific to Trump – Congress impeached Trump over J6 and failed to remove him. Congress has already spoken on the issue of Trump’s ability to hold office. They determined that he still can.
Regardless, the federalist debate conclusion was that if the 14th amendment remains operative at all – Congress must act, that not only is the 14th amendment not “self executing” – the power to bar candidates from the ballot was NOT given in the 14th amendment to the states or federal courts. To the extent the 14th amendment convesys any power to determine eligability – it conveys that to congress.
It is arguable that congress could delegate that power – by legislation – but it has not.
This is all a stupid and futile excercise on the part of democrats.
It makes you look bad. And it is something you will lose.
If this goes to the supreme court – they are going to through it out – kicking the bucket to congress as a “political question”
They are not going to decide to remove anyone from the ballot, and they are not going to allow lower courts to do so.
“Therefore the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment is inoperative today.”
Dead wrong. Go read 18 USC 2383, which is alive and well. It requires a conviction. End of discussion.
To quote you, dead wrong. That is not an implementation of the 14th amendment. It’s a completely separate provision, which applies only to “offices under the United States”, i.e. offices that Congress itself created, and therefore has the power to impose eligibility requirements. Under that provision someone convicted of insurrection is still eligible for Congress, because that’s not an “office under the USA”; which is good, because if the clause had purported to make insurrectionists ineligible for Congress it would be unconstitutional.
(If the insurrectionist had previously taken an oath not to then the 14th would make them ineligible.)
“It is arguable that congress could delegate that power – by legislation – but it has not.”
You are a LIAR and completely ignorant of the law.
18 USC 2383
Your New Mexico Judge will be overruled on appeal.
Absolutely we have had a few batschiff judges conclude that J6 was an insurrection – that should terrify you.
Because any defition that concludes J6 was an insurrection – would include supreme court protests, the BLM riots, and a whole lot more.
J6 was in arguably an ELECTION challenge – it was a challenge to the confirmation of a specific person as president – not to the legitimacy of government itself.
I would further note that the “aide and comfort” section spcifically – adn propbably the entire eligability clause generally only apply to going to WAR against the US government. For multiple reasons – mirroring th e Treason clause, and because enemies CAN NOT be broadly defined – enemies can only be those litterally at war with the US – or speaking favorably about Russia or China would constitution “aide and comfort”.
Regardless, you need not agree with me, but you can not avoid the problem that if you try to read any of the 14th amendment broadly – you end up including massive amounts of conduct you did not intent to.
We have been over this repeatedly.
The powers of govenrment, the required elements of a crime must all be read NARROWLY – or you end up with something that is all encompassing and we are all criminals, insurrectionists, ….
This is the reason that SCOTUS constantly tosses laws or portions of them as unconstitutionally vague.
Any law or constitutional provision that can be read to broadly infringes on rights is must be read narrowly – or if it can not, the law is unconstitutionally vague.
Fundimentally that is not a republican or conservative position – that is the result of logic.
You end up with an incoherent self contradictory mess that voids everyones rights and makes all of us criminals, if you do not read govenrment powers narrowly and individual rights broadly.
The ‘Alter Ego” of the Democratic Party on full display.
“… Across news sites, Democrats are warning of the imminent death of democracy. …”
[Alter Ego Meaning: The Dems intend to Kill It (Democracy).]
“… Hillary Clinton has warned that a Trump victory would be the end of democracy. …”
[Alter Ego Meaning: Hillary usher in be the end of democracy.]
“… MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is warning of “executions.” …”
[Alter Ego Meaning: Rachel Maddow will announce Who will be executed.]
“… Even actors like Robert DeNiro are predicting that this may be our very last democratic election. …”
[Alter Ego Meaning: Robert DeNiro that this will not be a democratic election, it’s the very last needed.]
“… The Executive Committee of the Florida Democratic Democracy told voters that they would not be allowed to vote against Biden. …”
[Alter Ego Meaning: (The FDD) I know I want Me, So you know You want me too]
Alas the Deep-STATE has risen to the surface, THE STATE is now in action and on display.
The STATE is not going to let go. The Charade Parade of Potemkin Presidents will continue uninterrupted in the D.C. Village and across the Globe.
The Sleeper must awaken – That’s YOU!
“What is so striking is how these distinctly anti-democratic actions are being taken in the name of democracy.”
****************************************
From the Ministry of Truth:
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’
’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Amen. That is all.
Democrats want to make biden the only candidate on the ballot so that they can have control over who the nominee will be after they tell joe he actually lost and must return to delaware. Then obama can choose whose name goes on the ballot.
Then there is the Whatsapp message, turned over to the FBI, in which Gilliar tells Bobulinski “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face, I know u know that but they are paranoid”.
Would any of you Biden apologists like to explain this “innuendo, suspicion, allegation” evidence?
Kinda substantiates Bobulinski’s claim that Joe was involved, doesn’t it? Remember, Gilliar is the one who penned the email, staking out “10% held by H for the Big Guy”.
How about you, Svelass, since you struck out swinging last time. Want another shot?
We do not have a democracy. We have a republic.
If we can keep it…………..
@Frank
Yes, and it’s crucial to keep saying it, but the dems are referring to their own party, whom they consider to be the only legitimate people in government, and their vision the only legitimate form of it. ‘Our’ democracy is ‘their’ rule and governance. They have become a regime, and only the regime shall triumph. They are not even speaking to the rest of us anymore. They are so confident in their chicanery they simply do not care.
I mean let’s be honest: they are slowly but surely with varying degrees of success taking back the House by proxy. There is no low to which they won’t stoop, and I have to imagine at some point that will include actual subjugation. The thing that scares me is that so many think that is perfectly fine.
James,
“There is no low to which they won’t stoop, and I have to imagine at some point that will include actual subjugation. The thing that scares me is that so many think that is perfectly fine.”
Well said and point on.
As we have seen numerous Democrats calling for everything from taking children from their parents for being a Trump supporter, or not wanting to get a COVID shot, to re-education camps, to even one actress on the View calling for outright murder. Of course they gave her a pass but watching the video, she was not joking.
@Upstate
Really, all I needed to see was Nancy tearing up the speech or filling the gallery with Mexican children. to understand what a farce the modern left is, and it is largely her fault. The modern dems are something that defies words, and they are very much a part of something bigger. Most do not even stop to think how that might impact their future lives, and alas, that includes a lot of conservatives who just assume they’ll get by somehow. They are equally idiotic. We need to. Wake. Up. Right. Now. Right now while the law is still something more than a quaint notion. We are mostly of a similar mind following Professor Turley; we are not the majority. 😐 Put the spite aside, folks, and hold your nose and vote against if you cannot vote for, but VOTE. There are no sidelines anymore, and I’ll take a contested election, no matter how bitter, over bullets and artillery flying, thanks. I do not think enough understand the reality or gravity of that, even among conservatives. Wake up. This is right around the corner if we don’t, and the fact that you are ‘off the grid’ ain’t going to save you in that eventuality. no matter how many fire hesitant blankets you have purchased. Forgive my drama, but this is where we are headed.
They have become a regime, and only the regime shall triumph.
James, I would say the Democratic party has aligned themselves with the Regime. There are Republicans aligned with the Regime, but the entire Democratic party is all in for the Regime.
OLLY,
There are some Republicans whom I could see align themselves with the Democrat Regime to maintain their power.
A pox on both their houses.
Pop culture reference, the movie Star Trek The Undiscovered Country, neocon Federalists conspiring with Klingons to prevent peace.
A pox on both their houses.
Absolutely Upstate!
Upstate, I watched this interview from Tucker Carlson with Marjorie Taylor Greene and it pulls the curtain back on how deeply establishment Republicans have aligned with Democratic party to maintain the illusion of democracy. She’s one of the so called “extremists” in the Republican party and yet her conservative views are panned by her own party.
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1730360809522401522
It may have already been discussed, since I havent read the comments by posters other than you, UF, and a few others, but did you see the scandal in Florida re: the FL GOP? FL GOP Chair, Husband Of Moms For Liberty Founder, Three-Way Partner relationship.
This is why I always detested Republicans. They say one thing, then do another. Just like Democrats. They are 2 sides of the same coin.
This is why I always detested Republicans. They say one thing, then do another. Just like Democrats. They are 2 sides of the same coin.
I hadn’t seen that report. MTG would give your statement 👍👍
The story needs to be clarified. There may have been a three-way partnership going on, but the media is after her because she was pushing to get inappropriate books removed from grade school. I don’t think she did anything wrong, but her support of DeSantis and his education bill put a big target on her back.
I was born a Democrat but very quickly voted Independent and then shifted parties when there was someone I wished to support locally. Woman’s Lib was a leftist movement, at least where I lived, and I thought their politics would hurt women and families in the long run. I think it did.
I wouldn’t jump so far so fast, but we are in agreement, both parties suck.
Democrats / Left Wing Marxists continue their attacks on democracy by serving as our self-anointed authoritarian leaders
Now comes their flagrant overreach in Virginia with dictating who can hold long established holiday public events in the birthplace of America
The Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula is shocked and alarmed at LoveLight Placemaking’s decision to cancel a menorah lighting scheduled for the Second Sundays Art and Music Festival on Dec 10 in Williamsburg – claiming it did not want to appear to choose sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict. To be clear, the menorah lighting, which was to be led by a local community rabbi, had nothing to do with Israel or the conflict.
Yet, appallingly, the event organizer claimed that a Chanukah celebration would send a message that the festival was “supporting the killing/bombing of thousands of men, women, and children,” — and even went a step further, by offering to reinstate the event if it was done under a banner calling for a ceasefire.
https://ujcvp.org/ujc-chai-lights/f/statement-on-second-sunday’s-cancellation-of-hanukkah-celebration
Estovir,
Here is another self-anointed authoritarian leader: He’s Got $250 Million to Spend on Communist Revolution
“Fergie Chambers is heir to one of the biggest American family fortunes. He’s also a revolutionary with ‘actual bloodlust’ building a mysterious commune in Massachusetts. His neighbors are scared.”
https://www.thefp.com/p/hes-got-250-million-to-spend-on-communist
I believe that it was Benjamin Franklin who stated: “a Republic if you can keep it.”
No matter your side in the argument think long and hard about that thought.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams
What’s needed is a master gate keeper, “Guardian of Democracy” using AI.
Watch FBI agent Scully deal with an AI smart home malfunction.
The democratic/dictatorial duality with judicial, prosecutorial, and super delegate overrides of emergent burdens.
“Censorship from the left took me by surprise.” –George Carlin 2002. I think of this quote every time I hear the Democrats acting in this manner. Carlin, and many of his generation thought Republicans=bad guys and Democrats=good guys. I wonder how many of the silent majority of Democrat voters think the same thing when they read stories about the modern Democrat Party.
If Biden is “too old to run for president,” so is Trump.
Biden will be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Aug. 2024, but will withdraw from consideration a few weeks later.
Then, you’ll see “the Fix” implemented according to “Paragraph G” in their Call for Convention policies. From here: https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2024-Call-for-Convention.pdf
[quote]G. Filling a Vacancy on the National Ticket: In the event of death, resignation or disability of a nominee of the Party for President or Vice President after the adjournment of the National Convention, the National Chairperson of the Democratic NationalCommittee shall confer with the Democratic leadership of the United States Congress and the Democratic Governors Association and shall report to the Democratic National Committee, which is authorized to fill the vacancy or vacancies.[/quote]
This will be effective: those who would not vote for either Biden or Trump would breath a sigh of relief and eagerly join the Democratic die-hards to elect . . . Newsome(?) . . . who, though faulted, couldn’t be as bad as Trump.
Newsome is unelectable, but enjoy that fantasy. Of course, so is Biden.
[quote]Newsome is unelectable, but enjoy that fantasy. Of course, so is Biden.[/quote]
The questionmark after Newsome’s name was to indicate my best guess as to who the frontrunner to replace Biden MIGHT be.
I still think he’s the frontrunner to replace Biden, though Gretchen Whittmer may also be in the running. Who knows? Regardless of who the candidate will be, I think my larger point — that the fix is in because Biden is unelectable and because of what the Democrat replacement policy is — stands.
Your point about Newsome being unelectable is, I believe, based partly on the premise that the majority of the electorate see through him and are aware of his disasters.
I watched the DeSantis/Newsome debate, and Newsome is very glib, never at a loss for an answer that may be a lie, a partial lie, misleading or misdirection. The Low Information Voter will be, IMO, unable or unwilling to sort through Newsome’s good, bad and ugly.
For someone (i.e. the low information voter) who is not as well-versed as you are in the POLICY catastrophes Newsome has perpetrated on whoever he’s governed, he could easily be sold as the next coming of Jesus Christ by his allies., viz., the fusion media (VDH’s term for the legacy media), all of academia, all of the entertainment industry, many important corporate boardrooms, the deep state and all Democrats all the time will represent him as having a wealth of experience. And then there’s Big Tech, especially Tic-Tok and the Tic Toc “influencers” (AKA the PRC) who would put out a call to the younger voters, most of whom get “their truth” from Big Tech, not reading Res ipsa loquitur.
If Newsome is the nominee, he would be sold as the Not-Trump/Not-Biden candidate, a young, handsome vibrant someone who will issue in a new era of enlightened leadership. The thrill that once ran up Chris Matthew’s leg will be reborn and will infect millions of voters.
Low information voters who would hold their nose and vote for Trump against Biden, and all those who would sit out the election altogether unable to vote for either, might be well relieved to see a new, young, fresh face elected on the assumption that whatever flaws Newsome possesses, they would be less destructive than those of either Biden or Trump.
LITLOTTF = Living In The Land Of The Totally F. . . oops . . . Intercoursed . . .
Realizing of course that the DNC and RNC are private corporations, ergo they can make their own rules. It does make you wonder whether a State can impose some regulations and I guess they do in the case of open or closed primaries. In the case of the DNC, with the super- delegates being the actual selectors, the DNC primary vote is just an illusion anyways. Makes you wonder whether State law could set rules that would abolish the super-delegate selectors and force an actual primary wherein the delegates are elected by the popular vote.
“private corporations “. I think there’s a chance to apply corporate statutes as means to fight against partisan politics. Sherman anti-trust. Trade practices. Price fixing. Monopolies. Etc one of my biggest complaints is out of state money.
Very, very clearly, the Democrat Party has become totalitarian. They continue to lie about virtually everything, saying the exact opposite of what they mean, projecting their own character onto the Republicans, seeking to censor any voice they disagree with, and corrupting elections. Their candidate is not simply old, he is an incompetent puppet whose running mate is an airhead. The American people have had enough. Throw the elites out.