Jump to content

The Left attempts to nullify an election before it even takes place


Borg warner
 Share

Recommended Posts

Those who claim to be the greatest defenders of "Democracy" are in truth, democracy's gravest threat. 
 
Sandbagging the Supreme Court
The left’s legal assault on Trump is a threat to the institution—and that’s by design.

By Kimberley A. Strassel The Wall Street Journal  Dec. 21, 2023

Meet the biggest and baddest new power broker in the 2024 presidential contest: an unelected and unenthusiastic U.S. Supreme Court. If this thought sits a bit uneasily, blame the lawfaring leftists who engineered the sandbagging of the nation’s top jurists.

Less than a month from the Iowa caucuses, the high court faces the prospect of deciding whether Colorado—and other states—can scrub Donald Trump from the ballot on grounds that the leading candidate for the Republican nomination engaged in “insurrection.” It’s also being asked to rule on whether special counsel Jack Smith can prosecute Joe Biden’s top rival for acts related to the riots of Jan. 6, 2021.

That isn’t all. The justices may be asked to settle further unprecedented questions flowing from an array of legal campaigns against Mr. Trump, including a court-imposed gag order in the Jan. 6 case; Mr. Smith’s separate prosecution involving alleged mishandling of classified documents; immunity in a New York defamation suit; and the Georgia state election-interference case. The black robes are already on the hook to pronounce on the Justice Department’s fanciful use of a financial statute that bars “corruptly” obstructing an official proceeding to convict Jan. 6 rioters.

The Supreme Court has had to issue consequential election decisions, most famously in Bush v. Gore (2000). That decision was a consequence of a tight election, the unexpected mess that was Florida’s hanging-chad ballot system, and partisan state judges attempting to rig the counting in Al Gore’s favor.

No one before Election Day planned for the 2000 outcome to land with the U.S. Supreme Court. Today’s pileup of election-related suits, by contrast, was always destined to end up there. Embittered by electoral losses, unwilling to trust the will of voters, the left now routinely turns to extraordinary legal action in hopes of pressing the courts to impose its political objectives by judicial fiat. Every party to these high-stakes, highly speculative cases knew exactly where this would end. And not one cares a whit for the consequences for the high court.

Take the Colorado Supreme Court majority, and its laughable claim in its decision this week that it didn’t “lightly” reach its finding of Trump-as-insurrectionist and was “mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions” and “solemn” about it. The opinion was in fact so wild—glossing over basic questions of due process, federalism and the Constitution—that three liberal justices strongly rejected it. The majority knew it would be left to the U.S. Supreme Court to clean up their mess.

Mr. Smith likewise knew the minute he filed his indictments against Mr. Trump—the first criminal charges ever against a former president, filed on untested and uncharted claims in the runup to an election—that it would be the Supreme Court ultimately holding the bag. Win or lose, his name will be in the history books. The Justice Department surely considered that dusting off the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to seek 20-year sentences for rioters would provoke a legal challenge. But worth a shot, right? Remember this strategy the next time the left screeches about the court’s “shadow docket.”

There was a day when the professional class—in particular prosecutors and lower-court judges—cared about institutions at least as much as about winning. Not this crew. What makes their actions more deplorable is the cynical view that harming the high court is an added benefit, not a cost. They come amid a vicious campaign to vilify the court as partisan and corrupt. If the justices rule against Mr. Trump in these suits, the left accomplishes an immediate political goal. If they rule in Mr. Trump’s favor, the left smears the justices and ramps up its campaign to pack the court.

The Supreme Court may have no choice but to hear and decide these cases. But there are better and worse outcomes. The biggest question now is whether the three liberal justices understand the grave risks of this lawfaring agenda—not just to the immediate moment, but to the future health of the nation. Do they sign up for the campaign with opinions that justify novel legal theories and the judicial usurpation of elections—in the process inviting more special counsels, more rogue court decisions, more litigation? Or do they recognize this game for what it is, acknowledge the sound legal reasons for why no one has attempted such reckless prosecutions and lawsuits before, and send a message it needs to stop?

The best outcome would be a string of 9-0 Supreme Court decisions that put a decisive end to the current upheaval and discourage a repeat. There’s a much easier way—for all involved—to settle the nation’s political disputes. It’s called an election. Let’s have one, and live with the results.

Write to kim@wsj.com.
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep.  Bongino stated the left will continue to do whatever until someone stops them.  The GOP doesn't seem interested.  The porous border is the big issue.  Hanging needs to be brought back for treason but no politician will ever vote for that.  Meanwhile, the AG will raid homes and put people in jail if they think you are a danger.  It shouldn't even go to SCOTUS.  They don't see the immediacy either.  There will come a time when the left controls that court too.

Imagine how better your life would be with a secured border and very limited govt.   A better life is not their goal.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, El Spicoli said:

Yep.  Bongino stated the left will continue to do whatever until someone stops them.  The GOP doesn't seem interested.  The porous border is the big issue.  Hanging needs to be brought back for treason but no politician will ever vote for that.  Meanwhile, the AG will raid homes and put people in jail if they think you are a danger.  It shouldn't even go to SCOTUS.  They don't see the immediacy either.  There will come a time when the left controls that court too.

Imagine how better your life would be with a secured border and very limited govt.   A better life is not their goal.

We should know by now that the left would kill our children if we'd let them.  Do something or they'll just keep on demonizing you and everything you stand for.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Please Donate To TBS

    Please donate to TBS.
    Your support is needed and it is greatly appreciated.
×
×
  • Create New...