Maineās top election official has removed former President Donald Trump from the stateās 2024 ballot, in a surprise decision based on the 14th Amendmentās āinsurrectionist ban.ā
Going to get down voted for this, but I honestly think Minnesota has the right of it. The GOP is a private entity and can run whoever they want in their primaries.
14A has nothing to say about how parties select their candidates, and if they want to select someone who isnāt qualified thatās their problem.
Also, if Trump fails to win the GOP nomination, someone really needs to seed the idea that they should all do write in votes for Trump instead of whoever the GOP would nominate instead. Show the GOP they shouldnāt back down and show the Dems they canāt stop the Trump Train. Also, you know, splitting the GOP vote to make an easier Dem win, but sshhh about that last part.
The risk is what the GOP is threatening to do in Colorado. If Trump isnāt allowed on the public voting infrastructure, theyāll just caucus instead.
In which case, itās likely that independents wonāt be allowed to participate.
So for primaries, itās likely to have the opposite effect, more likely for a Trump candidacy, by stirring up the base and locking out potential moderate voters.
For general election, Maine and Colorado donāt practically matter, they were never going to go to trump anyway. So for these two states, itās ammunition for a persecution complex without good result. For it to be a good strategic win, it would have to be some states that Trump actually has a chance of winning.
The risk is what the GOP is threatening to do in Colorado. If Trump isnāt allowed on the public voting infrastructure, theyāll just caucus instead.
They have every right to. Again, because a primary isnāt an election for office, itās a private entity (in this case the GOP) being allowed to borrow public infrastructure to help them decide who they want to back for the actual election.
Same reason super delegates for the Dems werenāt illegal, even if they were in bad faith.
If the state ruled Trump canāt be on the primary ballot because heās ineligible to be president, then he canāt be on the main ballot because heās ineligible to be president. That means no Republican will be on the ballot, and thatās really bad for the Republicans.
Trump missing from the ballot in Colorado and Maine would not make a difference, they donāt vote Republican in the general election anyway.
Youād need this to happen in a vaguely competitive state. Judging from the progress of various attempts, that doesnāt seem likely, unless the supreme Court declared it nationally, but I donāt see that happening even if they let Colorado and Maine stand.
So you have got a bunch of Trump die hards inspired to āfight like hellā in the face of what they describe as an injustice, all to block him in a state he wasnāt going to win anyway.
Now if you pulled this off in some place like Georgia, Florida, Texas, then sure, that would be quite the blow and may persuade the GOP voters to really around some other candidate that would be more tolerable. But Colorado and Maine arenāt going to really help general election results.
Going to get down voted for this, but I honestly think Minnesota has the right of it. The GOP is a private entity and can run whoever they want in their primaries.
14A has nothing to say about how parties select their candidates, and if they want to select someone who isnāt qualified thatās their problem.
Also, if Trump fails to win the GOP nomination, someone really needs to seed the idea that they should all do write in votes for Trump instead of whoever the GOP would nominate instead. Show the GOP they shouldnāt back down and show the Dems they canāt stop the Trump Train. Also, you know, splitting the GOP vote to make an easier Dem win, but sshhh about that last part.
Primaries use public voting infrastructure, at least in my state, so I can see the argument that courts can decide who is a legal primary candidate.
The risk is what the GOP is threatening to do in Colorado. If Trump isnāt allowed on the public voting infrastructure, theyāll just caucus instead.
In which case, itās likely that independents wonāt be allowed to participate.
So for primaries, itās likely to have the opposite effect, more likely for a Trump candidacy, by stirring up the base and locking out potential moderate voters.
For general election, Maine and Colorado donāt practically matter, they were never going to go to trump anyway. So for these two states, itās ammunition for a persecution complex without good result. For it to be a good strategic win, it would have to be some states that Trump actually has a chance of winning.
They have every right to. Again, because a primary isnāt an election for office, itās a private entity (in this case the GOP) being allowed to borrow public infrastructure to help them decide who they want to back for the actual election.
Same reason super delegates for the Dems werenāt illegal, even if they were in bad faith.
Itās perfectly in their rights, but not what an effort seeking to prevent a Trump candidacy should want.
If the state ruled Trump canāt be on the primary ballot because heās ineligible to be president, then he canāt be on the main ballot because heās ineligible to be president. That means no Republican will be on the ballot, and thatās really bad for the Republicans.
Trump missing from the ballot in Colorado and Maine would not make a difference, they donāt vote Republican in the general election anyway.
Youād need this to happen in a vaguely competitive state. Judging from the progress of various attempts, that doesnāt seem likely, unless the supreme Court declared it nationally, but I donāt see that happening even if they let Colorado and Maine stand.
So you have got a bunch of Trump die hards inspired to āfight like hellā in the face of what they describe as an injustice, all to block him in a state he wasnāt going to win anyway.
Now if you pulled this off in some place like Georgia, Florida, Texas, then sure, that would be quite the blow and may persuade the GOP voters to really around some other candidate that would be more tolerable. But Colorado and Maine arenāt going to really help general election results.