The Society Outreach division of the Federalist Society, a.k.a. the Supreme Court of the United States, dropped another decision this morning on us that likely will give Americans Who Are Not Insane (i.e. non-Trump supporters) an upset stomach. They came to a unanimous decision, 9-0 across the board, to tell Colorado they cannot disqualify Trump from the ballot.
Let’s get this right out of the way, right off the bat: as Adrastos has said, there is no Deux Ex Machina to drop out of the American System’s clouds to save us. We should have seen it coming from a mile, as Cassandra said here. It’s up to you, Adrastos, Cassandra, your hairdresser who is “probably going to vote for Biden,” me, etc. to stop Trump.
One might think, or even assume, that a country that goes on and on about checks and balances and a divine system would have at least some sort of protection against anyone who brings about a deep threat to the system itself, but alas, it does not. The Ven Diagram of people who still believe in the infallibility of such a system and the people lecturing us in 2015 that it is outlandish to claim the GOP is anti-democratic and surely the system would stop any threat is a circle.
Again, as another pundit put it Thursday night after the SCOTUS decision to take up Trump’s immunity claim, We the People must decide because the system as it stands will not protect us.
The Supreme Court is corrupt and does not care what we think (another hat tip to Adrastos) so we gotta do it on our own, and go out and win the election for Biden. More on that in a second, but a little bit deeper dive into the decision. There was also this:
It's 9-0 that Colorado can't disqualify Trump.
But only five justices hold that the *only* way to enforce Section 3 against federal officeholders/officeseekers is through a statute enacted by Congress. The other four wouldn't (and don't) reach that question.
So 5-4 on breadth.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) March 4, 2024
Phillip Bump at the Washington Post points out that the 9-0 decision is not what it seems on its face:
“Responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States,” the decision read. “The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand. All nine Members of the Court agree with that result.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett emphasized that latter point again in a concurrence.
“All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case,” the Trump appointee wrote. “That is the message Americans should take home.”
But several liberal members of the court added some nuance, arguing that the conservative majority also decided “novel constitutional questions to insulate this Court and petitioner” — that is, Trump — “from future controversy.”
“Today, the majority goes beyond the necessities of this case to limit how Section 3 can bar an oathbreaking insurrectionist from becoming President,” Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson write. “Although we agree that Colorado cannot enforce Section 3, we protest the majority’s effort to use this case to define the limits of federal enforcement of that provision.”
Of course, none of that will matter to many in the mainstream media, especially the DC punditry and journalists. The only thing that will matter is the framing that Trump won a 9-0 Supreme Court decision. GOP politicians and Trump himself will run with this. I predict you will hear Trump bellowing NINE-OH for months at his rallies, no doubt right after he refers to the current president as Obama, and you will also hear Kristin Welker, aka Chuck Todd Part Deuce, on Meet the Press asking Dems questions like “don’t you think that the 9-0 decision should give you pause that maybe you are overreaching with Trump, that the election should be about the issues and not Trump’s alleged activities?”
So, Biden and his campaign should be prepared for that inevitability. As should we. This is not the time for decorum, we need to help Biden by speaking up as well. If any friends or family bring up NINE-OH, have a plan in place. Not talking about starting WWIII in your social life, but think persuasion. Don’t let lies and disinformation exist and fester, but approach it with the knowledge that we need all the votes right now. Today is yet another reminder of that. Because the stakes are high.
The last word goes to Tribe Called Quest.
No surprise but still not good.