History is unfolding before our very eyes. Less can twenty-four hours ago, Colorado’s Supreme Court has removed Donald Trumps name from the state ballot. That’s right, as of right now, voters cannot vote for Donald Trump. Not in the primaries, not in the general election. This is unprecedented, nothing has ever happened like this in American history. No candidate, no mater how controversial, has ever been removed from any state ballot. This is a shocking twist in what is shaping up to be a contentious 2024 election.
According to the Colorado Supreme Court, they have blocked Donald Trump based off the fourteenth amendment, section three.
“No person shall … hold any office, civil or military, under the United States … who, having previously taken an oath … as an officer of the United States … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Colorado’s supreme Court has pointed to the January 6 fiasco as proof that Donald Trump engaged in ‘insurrection’ and therefore is ineligible to run for President.
A little history might be useful in this area. The fourteenth amendment was actually passed post-Civil War, as part of the Reconstruction Acts. Specifically, the amendment pertains o Confederate states/Confederate leaders. In other words, people like Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee would be barred from becoming President of the Untied States. That’s what the text, ‘engaging in insurrection or rebellion’ refers to. We’re not talking about rabble rousers, the amendment specifically targets former Confederate members.
Obviously Donald Trump is not a Confederate member, based off that fact alone, Mr. Trump cannot be barred from any state ballot based off the Fourteenth Amendment. If Colorado’s Supreme Court wanted to maybe contest Trumps citizenship or something like that, then this would be a legitimate case. What has happened in Colorado is a blatant contortion of the law. Given that Donald Trump isn’t advocating for southern states to secede from the Union, he is immune from this amendment. What makes this decision so shocking is the fact that the Colorado Supreme Court has essentially made up charges. They ought to know better, and I would argue, they absolutely know better.
If the Colorado Supreme Court was correct, and this is a correct interpretation of the amendment, then this causes some serious issues in American politics. Think of the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger was elected for two terms as the Republican governor for California. Mr. Schwarzenegger is an immigrant, he is not a natural citizen of the Untied states, and yet the fourteenth amendment was never brought ups o discreet his candidacy or governorship. The reason was very simple, Schwarzenegger had plenty of critics, he wasn’t disqualified, because the fourteenth amendment DOES NOT APPLY.
I believe this is an issue that transcends conservative and liberal politics. This is one of the most serious cases that I have seen in my entire life. 2023 has been whirlwind year, we’ve already seen a House Speaker ousted, first time in US history. Now we are witnessing establishment politicians try to tell us who can and cannot vote for. This is a gross violation of Americans rights. This is an immoral and illegal decision, and I sincerely hope that the Supreme Court of the United States will overturn this terrible ruling.
