We’re back! Both on today’s BradCast and even in L.A., after fleeing the state last month to avoid weeks of construction on the roof of the apartment housing our home studio. To no one’s surprise, the work is taking longer than we were told, so please pardon our efforts this week to work around it as best as possible after taking last week off to both avoid it and to enjoy the last days of Summer 2023 before the 2024 fight for Democracy (represented this year by Democrats) and Autocracy (represented by a lawless Republican party) begins in earnest.
Among our stories today…
- Enrique Tarrio, former head of the far-right Proud Boys gang was sentenced to 22 year in federal prison on Tuesday following his conviction for Seditious Conspiracy for his role in the January 6th, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection. It’s the longest sentence for any of the MAGA insurrectionists to date. Also, of note, Tarrio wasn’t even in Washington D.C. that day. Point taken: One didn’t need to be personally smashing windows and storming the Capitol to be held to serious account for what happened that day. Got it. Hopefully other jurors in other upcoming related cases will get it as well.
- The federal Courts are still holding. Mostly. For now. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel found that Alabama Republicans blatantly defied an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to add another Black-majority district to their U.S. House map. The SCOTUS order to do so — after finding the state violated both the U.S. Constitution and Voting Rights Act with their racially gerrymandered districts — came in Allen v. Milligan [PDF] in early June. Alabama didn’t care. In an unprecedented move, they gave the finger to the Court and drew up a new map with the very same deficiencies featuring just one Black-majority district out of seven, in a state where some 27% of residents are Black. The federal court panel has now assigned a Special Master to draw U.S. House districts for the state, after a lawless Gov. Kay Ivey joined with lawless legislators in the gerrymandered statehouse to defy SCOTUS, the Rule of Law and the U.S. Constitution. Alabama is now appealing the ruling to the same U.S. Supreme Court Justices who rejected their arguments barely three months ago.
- The story is similar in authoritarian Governor and Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis‘ lawless state of Florida this weekend. In this case, a state court judge on Saturday ordered the state legislature to draw a new U.S. House map restoring a Black-majority district in Northern Florida that DeSantis had personally ordered state lawmakers to break into pieces and divvy up its Black voters into White Republican districts. The weekend’s court order would seem to be good news. However, the State will now appeal the ruling directly to its Supreme Court where DeSantis has hand-picked a majority of the Justices. As we have long been warning, the fight between Democracy and Autocracy (or Fascism, as one of our longtime listeners insists), continues into 2024.
- Next, I finally catch up with a bunch of news on a growing story — some of which we’ve been discussing over the past two years — that I’ve otherwise been trying to get to for weeks, but for all of the various indictments, hurricanes, wildfires, debates, etc. continually sidetracking me. The news has to do with the continuing feeling I have that Donald Trump will ultimately not be on the ballot come next November. As noted, that’s not a prediction or an inside scoop. It’s simply a feeling for now, but one that I can’t shake as an increasingly swelling body of evidence seems to support its possibility.
Today, that evidence includes polling last month finding nearly two-thirds of Americans say they will either “definitely” (53%) or “probably” (11%) not support Trump in 2024. Might such numbers begin to grab the notice of Republican Primary voters? (So far, the answer is largely no. But we’ve got a long way to go — and a lot of criminal trials — before the GOP’s nominating convention next July.) There are already a number of high profile Republicans calling on Trump to drop out of the race or noting that he very well may be Constitutionally disqualified entirely from the ballot.
It is that part of this story today — disqualification from the ballot via Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for his role in the January 6 Insurrection — that we focus on today. Namely, the far-right, Federalist Society legal scholars who recently issued a 126-page law review paper [PDF] finding Trump to be Constitutionally ineligible for the ballot — “cannot be president — cannot run for president, cannot become president, cannot hold office” — due to his roll in the January 6 insurrection.
And now, there is a host of state Secretaries of State — both Republican and Democratic — around the country who are currently or soon to be grappling with the decision as to whether Trump is even eligible to be on their state ballots in 2024.
Among those Secretary of State’s discussed today, after they recently offered various opinions on the matter: New Hampshire’s David Scanlan (R); Ohio’s Frank LaRose (R); Arizona’s Adrian Fontes (D), New Mexico’s Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D); Maine’s Shenna Bellows (D) and Michigan’s Jocelyn Benson (D). (Benson gets credit for the first part of today’s headline. REO Speedwagon gets credit for the alternate hed.)
I welcome your feelings on this matter as well. Feel free to drop me an email or a note in comments and perhaps I’ll share it on air in the days ahead.
- Finally, Desi Doyen is back as well, of course, with our latest Green News Report, catching up with a bunch of stuff we missed while we were out, and as the Summer of Climate Disasters turns to…well, most likely the Autumn of Climate Disasters…
(Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” always welcome too!)
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Gerrymandering in the news, the courts, and the legislatures.
Hmmm …
Brad, the rational takeaway should be that the Federalist Society is suspiciously hyping an illegal idea to remove Trump from the ballot (before he is legally found guilty of insurrection), so he doesn’t win the nomination and cause a blue wave in the general. Why amplify their disinformation campaign?
Remember that Republicans have terrible policies and use dishonest tactics. We briefly worked together when we had mutual enemies, but we are not friends. Their comeuppance is near, and we (the left) should throwing extra gas on that fire.
We want a democracy where it’s the voters and laws who effectively “disqualify” a candidate. Anything less is a slippery slope.
Excellent thoughts, Alex. Your political analysis may be correct, as to the results of disqualification of Trump. It absolutely would give Republicans a better chance next year, both for winning the White House and other offices on those coat tails.
But as to the notion that this is some sort of trick by the Federalist Society. Look, I loathe them as much as anyone, including their dishonest tactics. In fact, they may have exactly the ambitions you describe.
But the fact is that Constitutional Scholars (honest or dishonest ones) are not needed to understand Sec. 3 of the 14th Amendment. It’s directive is quite clear. You may not like what it says. Or you may find it politically troubling. But it says what it says, and pretty clearly so.
Under Sec. 3 of the 14th Amendment, Trump is disqualified from the ballot. For good or ill. As a supporter of the Constitution, I must support the Constitution. (Even as I would have no quarrel with your efforts to Amend it as you see fit!) 🙂