In 95 days, if he doesn’t get “shellacked”, we will have failed protecting the Constitution of the United States of America. When somebody urging using violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power isn’t automatically barred from holding office, we have broken the rule of law and transformed the nation into one based on the rule of fear.
The chilling reality is that we may fail this test, trivializing the threat that those who lived through the Civil War and enshrined in the 14th Amendment, and “letting the people decide”. It’s is quite simple actually. You mobilize your mob against the Constitution, you don’t get another chance. End of story. The Constitution is the judge, NOT the people.
Professor Timothy Snyder makes it crystal clear in the second half of WBUR’s On Point yesterday (audio stream is below).
He described Section 3 as “Constitutional Self-Defense”. It was intended to be clear and self triggering.
Trump shouldn’t be barred from this ballot or that ballot. He should be barred from the general election which is 537 days away.
Already fear is starting to take hold. Instead of doing what’s right, the question being asked is “will I come to harm if I do what’s right?” THAT IS THE RULE OF FEAR. It’s already here.
You can listen to the legal arguments in the first part of the podcast or read the transcript. The case is clear even with the most eloquent authoritarian legal scholar John Yoo (who you might remember “authored a memo for the Bush administration arguing that U.S and international law did not protect unlawful combatants from “Enhanced Interrogation techniques.”” weighs in.
But buckle in, and listen from about minute 27. We’re this close to losing the biggest social experiment on the planet. It’s sickening.
Trump is following a plan and he’s a master at it.
Will this be the defining year of our lives, where we let democracy slip away?
Don’t let this happen.