Simple minds for simple solutions explains US anti democracy MAGA

One of the most appalling crowd reactions I have seen recently was of a MAGA rally that responded with cheers to Trump when he proclaimed that he would be a dictator for one day.  I have come to the conclusion that the problem is that those with simplicity-loving minds want direct lines to the simple solutions they seek. They do not welcome clutter like facts, data,  logic, and warnings of unintended consequences. Simple minds for simple solutions explain the USA's anti-democracy MAGA. If the enemy of Trump is the kind of today's democracy, simply replace it with an autocracy/dictatorship pledged to Trump. Simple, right?. That control of the"deep state"  and replacing all branches with loyalists would get Trump's agenda  (whatever that is) done. It is a very simple concept.

Why do I think that?

Many MAGAs I encounter on social media or see and hear/see interviews of "persons on the street', or attendees at Trump rallies on TV and think they must like it simple. For them often slogans, insults,  and memes,  parroting back Trump and MAGA's phrase of the day,  suffice to advocate for their candidate. Repeat it enough and flood the zone with them. We'll eventually get it and agree, they think. Arguments and evidence to the contrary are dismissed as  "ramblings" and are irrelevant or fake or just too complex, attention-diverting,  and confusing.  

Some simplistic thinking is because Americans do not know even the basics of the "blessings of liberty" our democracy brings.s National Survey Finds Just 1 in 3 Americans Would Pass Citizenship Test - Institute for Citizens & Scholars (citizensandscholars.org)  

In Trump's occupancy of the White House ending January 2021, he frequently tried to increase his power but those around him told him he could not because of laws and the Constitution, and he had to back off. (Use of active military to put down street demonstrations, firing and replacing the Justice Department and the FBI with loyalists,  and firing 50K civil servants, replacing them with loyalists using schedule F, for example).  The current practice of democracy gets in his way, so he promises to finish what he started in a second term.  Immediately, he would replace those loyal to the Constitution with "yes people"(Project 2025), including regulatory agencies (delicensing opposition media), and continue his campaign to control Congress with threats of primaries, revenge, and retribution. The Justice Department would threaten and be weaponized against his political opponents  He already thinks he has control of the  Supreme Court dominated by loyalists he appointed .. Once in control of all three branches comes the next step. He has said he wanted to tear up, alter, or gut enforcement of, the Constitution itself.

That control of the"deep state"  and replacing all branches with loyalists would get Trump's agenda  (whatever that is) done. It is a very simple concept. It is also the end of democracy as we have known it. Therefore, simplistic slogans and memes, parroting back Trump and MAGA's lines of the day, suffice to advocate their simple solutions and are the only proof and evidence they need. Arguments and evidence to the contrary are "ramblings" and are irrelevant or fake or just too complex to comprehend..

 Most recent polls peg those and fellow travelers of MAGA at somewhere between 30 and 43 percent of the GOP, depending on the degree of agreement or vested self-interest in business and political job positions. The goal is then for MAGA to rule over everyone else who, they hope, has other things to worry about in their lives than some abstract theory of democracy.  

MAGA is indeed simple, and MAGA is indeed foolish and dangerous. The" tear down democracy" crowd is besotted with it or dismisses it as a joke, Trump being Trump, and he is a martyr dumped on with so many court filings.. If Trump were to get into the Oval Office again, on day one, he could spend all day signing decrees, orders, and appointments to advance his control and power, which would have forever repercussions. It depends on how quickly and effectively he is in the four years we foolishly gave him to consolidate his control over all three branches of government with his promoting the tools of fear and favor.

The only barriers to Trump after day one would be the wide variety of state and federal judges who have sworn to uphold the rule of law, not the rule of a person. MAGA takeover of the GOP House is complete, as those who oppose him simply resign or bow to the threat of primaries in their gerrymandered safe districts. The same fate without the gerrymander opportunity would contaminate the Senate if they got the majority. again. The executive branch is the easiest to dominate using Schedule F and the" ready to go day one Project 2025'. Trump has made it clear he will appoint only loyalists to him to the military brass and advisors who always say "Yes boss", as they take over the voting machines and shut down opposition media via delicensing and put the fear of loss of jobs in the 50 thousand federal civil servants.

This is not a fantasy or an apocalyptic prediction because the same story has been repeated time and again without exception, from Putin to Tito (my hands-on, personal experience) to Orban to Moduro., They got there initially through the consent of the mobs or were viewed as heroes bringing help to the working poor and the end of lawless chaos.. In the long term, as every instance in modern post-World War II history has shown, once that autocrat's power is consolidated, it rarely is reversed. peacefully or by violence.. Control is gained and kept by fear and favor. The autocrat and his minions and their subjects had adjusted, and as time went on, they became even more dedicated to keeping the favor of power and feared the loss of it and their jobs if they did not pledge their allegiance to the "boss", the system of corruption favoring them, controlling the voting process, and what information the populace gets ( no dissension, please), always waiting in the wings. the iron fist of the active military to put down the "street." 

Trump has not ceased touting that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  That is his core rationale to the crowd for taking over the deep state, wanting to call on the active military to seize voting machines, inciting the January 6 militia and rioters,  and becoming a dictator. Those who continue to think simply, who still believe that Trump won the 2020 election, can only be intentionally blind and willfully and conveniently ignorant to keep swallowing that Trump claim.In the past three years, no forensic audits or research funded by the Trump campaign or allies found enough fraud to overturn the 2020 elections, nor did over 60 court cases.  The real fraud is Trump's "Stop the Steal" rhetoric or as his opponents call it "the big lie".Trump has not ceased touting that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  That is his core rationale to the crowd for taking over the deep state, wanting to call on the active military to seize voting machines, inciting the January 6 militia and rioters,  and becoming a dictator.

 Those who continue to think simply, who still believe that Trump won the 2020 election, can only be intentionally blind and willfully and conveniently ignorant to keep swallowing that Trump claim.In the past three years, no forensic audits or research funded by the Trump campaign or allies found enough fraud to overturn the 2020 elections, nor did over 60 court cases.  The real fraud is Trump's "Stop the Steal" rhetoric or as his opponents call it "the big lie".. Trump acknowledges he was told 2020 election lies were false in wide-ranging interview | CNN Politics

Voter data expert hired by Trump campaign says 2020 election was not stolen (yahoo.com)   He debunks the theory that dead people voted and fraud was committed in the mail in ballot system. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/court-filing-tears-apart-maga-s-favorite-jan-6-conspiracy-theory  This debunks a false flag operation surrounding January6 that it was an inside job by law enforcement.  This was revealed in a suit against FOX and Tucker Carlson

Trump whines and claims he is the victim of all of the criminal charges and lawsuits. For those who think Trump is a victim of the legal process, no one in history has ever been treated like this, as he and his loyal advocates and followers turn a blind eye to any evidence or data revealed to them by people under oath. No sitting president has ever tried to stay in office when they lost an election, either. 

The Supreme Court ruled that Trump was not immune from civil suits for his behavior while president. Some of those court cases he whines against re Stormy Daniels, rape, Colorado ballot eligibility,  and his company's fraud are civil. It does not result if found liable in jail (if perjury in trial not committed), but either loss of money or stopping an activity.  The main criminal case ot watch could result in jail time if Trump loses is Jack Smith's federal DOJ case against his part in January 6.  If Trump is elected in Nov. 2024, he could pardon himself if he is found guilty.  However, the Georgia case is a state criminal case, and he could not pardon himself if found guilty. 

 Donald Trump Rally Goers Want Him to Be 'Day One Dictator' (newsweek.com)

Pew Research Poll: 43% of Republican Basically Want Trump as a Dictator - YouTube"

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: What Trump plans for his second term and how he will do it

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-voter-fraud-investigator-proved-there-was-no-fraud-1234939275/

Results of Lawsuits Regarding the 2020 Elections | Campaign Legal Centerl

National Survey Finds Just 1 in 3 Americans Would Pass Citizenship Test - Institute for Citizens & Scholars (citizensandscholars.org)

What's the difference between Biden and dictators? Both throw opponents in jail

 What's the difference between Biden and dictators? Both throw opponents in jail? That is what I got back from some Trump devotees on a private Facebook site when I accused Trump of planning to be a dictator in his second term.  The answer lies in the degree of support, respect, and abiding by the process rules and laws that put anyone in jail or deprive them of jobs and civil rights. It is the rule of law, not the rule of a person who says which laws apply and how they are interpreted. Why do I think that?

.  The criminal process (the only process that"throws Trump in jail" )filed by the Biden Justice Department has not gone to trial yet. Other criminal cases are either state, not federally controlled like Georgia's, and probably will not be concluded until after the November 2024 elections.  Those on January 6 already in jail had all of the due process protections a  democracy affords the accused.  Whether Trump is subject to the 14th Amendment keeping him off ballots as an insurrectionist will be decided by a Trump appointee-dominated US Supreme Court well before the November 2024 elections. The Colorado case that is key was brought by members of the GOP or independents, not Democrats or Biden.

The following has been moved and posted as a separate post on January 1, 2024

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Short and simple: Is Biden or Trump a dictator?

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: If you think Trump was kidding about being a dictator, the joke is on you.

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/what-is-dictator-and-does-trump-fit-it.html

A message to my anti-vaxx friends:

From my Facebook post 12/29/2023 

Update: 1/26/2024  https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/measles/data/global-measles-outbreaks.html

Dear anti-vaxx friends. Let us hope your children do not get measles from their anti-vaxx friends. Children have no choice and are at the mercy of their parents. I grew up anti-vaxx because I am so old, I went through childhood before vaccines against these dangerous childhood diseases had even been invented. I had them all, measles (2 finds), mumps, and chickenpox ), but the sickest I remember was measles, spending weeks in my bedroom when I was about 7 or 8. No TV, then, either. Radio, yes, and paper dolls and coloring books as I recovered. I remembered how sick I was and weak, though so far as I know, no lingering effects. The only vaccination I got was smallpox, and the scar got me through international travel requirements forever. I avoided polio by being on neighborhood lockdown during Oklahoma summers...three hot months without AC in those days. Kids and grandkids (my husband, their father/ grandfather, an MD) got vaccines following the pediatric recommended routines. Now, the anti-vaxx advocates, like Robert Kennedy, can crow that their kids are ok, and don't need them.. Of course, anti-vaxxed kids are safe, because when 95% of the kids they come in contact with these days are vaccinated, and they are protected so long as they do not come in contact with the unvaccinated. Public Health officials in the article before did not mention whether the sick child had vaccinations. No vaccine is 100% effective or without a reaction, but over 95% is at least reducing the odds of infections dramatically. However, if anti vaxxers increase in numbers, I am sorry for their kids who have no say so or control over their parent's foolish decisions, whether influenced by crackpot politicians or misleading media posted by similar theorists.. I also know there are vaccines like anti-flu ones based on egg yolks, to which I am seriously allergic and I cannot take them. I had no problems at all with COVID-19 shots with their non-egg process in manufacturing.. So ask your doctor, but not some online "advocate" of unproved health theories or paranoiacs about modern medicine or you want to make it a protest against big pharma..

Measles Complications | CDC

SKYHINEWS.COM

Officials confirm first case of measles in Colorado resident in 5 years

Officials confirm first case of measles in Colorado resident in 5 years | SkyHiNews.com

 

Strongman Trump v Weakman Biden: Swing voters, be careful what you wish

Biden is holding back on attacking Trump for being a wannabe, stated openly, dictator, thinking he will wait until Trump has appeared to win the GOP nomination without doubt and that Americans are just not tuned into the race itself. The thinking is that if Biden starts being aggressive now,  it will just become background noise.  The price Biden is paying for it is that it just verifies he is too weak a leader to throw a good punch.  Assuming Biden comes out swinging after Iowa, NH, and SC, hopeful;y his campaign advisors are on target.  The longer he waits, the more the American mindset could be made up, and it is too late to change perceptions of Biden's age.  In the meantime, there are those who support Trump because they want a "strong leader".  The problem is that they lose control over how strong..a demagogue, a tough guy, an autocrat, a dictator?  Once they give Trump the White House, it is to late to keep him from being a dictator because he is ready to go on day one and he has made it no secret he will try to use his power of appointment to replace those he thinks are disloyal to him, support the rule of law instead of the rule of Trump,  threaten the insurrection act against demonstrators using the active military, and replace 50K civil servants with loyalists using schedule F.

He next will use his appointees to license broadcast and cable media that dare to oppose him.  Before we know it, we are in Orban's Hungary. He plans to use the FBI to persecute his political opponents, seize voting machines, and threaten primaries (like he now has done to control the House majority)., Most of the country who have no profiles in courage will just keep their mouths shut if they value their jobs in both the public and private sectors. Businesses that fall in line with him will get the benefits of government awards and decisions.  It will happen so quickly America will never know what hit them until it is to late to resist either at the ballot box or on the streets.   The USA becomes Hungary 2.0.  That is how Orban pulled it off without the gulags. Then what?  It will be a country ruled by fear and favor for a while, but unlike Hungary, which is 99% pure Magyar, ours is only 57^White, and not all of those are racialist nationalists. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: CPAC Cheers a white nationalist dictator: is that what the GOP base has become?

 For those who want their president to be a "strong man," I have a few words. I have had firsthand experience. Know you live in fear in a dictatorship that someone will hear a disloyal comment from you and report it, and there will be some repercussions. The least might be you lose a job or a promotion or get primaried, and the worst may be like Navalny, who disappeared in some gulag after revolting against Putin's corruption in amassing his personal fortune.  It is a fearful life, and your tongue is always on guard because that is how "strong men" stay in power, with fear and force,  and you are powerless to change it.  The only votes counted are the 80% constant approval of the Boss, and the rest are to give the impression the autocracy is still a "democracy."  

 We throw around the word "freedom" a lot, but the freedom to express yourself to others, privately, or in media, or in voting, or in lifestyle,  or in protesting, but in a dictatorship, this is not protected by the fine words of any amendment to the Constitution.  All laws are interpreted to support the rule and power of the strong man and all potential institutions of checks and balances are under the control or are comprised of loyalists.  That is what living under an autocracy, a dictatorship, means. You lose those freedoms.  Both communist dictatorships and fascist ones are like that, though the ideology to which all are to conform may come from Marx or Mein Kampf or the fantasies of one mind, the mind of the "boss". 

From my facebook posting  We have never had a president or a candidate for that office like Trump with such extremely disturbed personality traits of narcissism and self-aggrandizement.. His platform is not to make life better for ordinary people, but it is one of retribution and stamping out the vermin, his opponents, all for one purpose, to amass more wealth and power for his own benefit. . He will say what will get others to join in his mission using lies, insulting those who tell him "no" or holding him accountable, with oratory and exhortation of violence and lawlessness. He gives voice to his core followers. He knows his base of support and what they want to hear. His loyal base shares his sentiments of anger, grievance, resentment, and of perceived loss of power, full of hate, revenge, and a singular loyalty to those who look like them.

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: If you think Trump was kidding about being a dictator, the joke is on you.

USATODAY.COM

Donald Trump said he'd be a dictator for one day. His supporters say they're not worried.

"He's like a guy with a laser pointer and the left is a cat," said one vo

If you think Trump was kidding about being a dictator, the joke is on you.

If you think Trump was kidding about being a dictator, the joke is on you. While some want Trump to be a dictator, there are others who just think he is kidding or that some checks and balances will keep him from doing what he is threatening to do. Oh, they say in the interviews of rally attendees below 1) they want a strong leader, and being a dictator is just fine. 2) there are checks and balances to keep him from doing all he tells you will do in his second term, 3)He is joking. For those who think the checks and balances will keep him from doing what he promises in his second term,. the joke is on you. You are fools being fooled. Trump knows now how to get done what he tried to do during his first term and plans to do if he gets back to the White House again. He already promised to replace every position he can with yes men and then use fear of retribution and the FBI to put fear in their future if they tell him no or have a background of being more loyal to the rule of law and the Constitution instead of what he wants doing. He tried it in his first term and failed. He is ready to do it in a second term.. (The fight to stop Schedule F, a cornerstone of Trump's 'retribution' agenda, is underway (nbcnews.com) He is ready to do it on day one of 2025; the plans are already funded and ready to go... on day one. Trump plan to gut civil service triggers pushback | Reuters

Biden can make the contrast that he is about hope and Trump is about with some simple words like Hope v Hate and Help vs. Harm,.Healthy democracy v Havoc and fear. Hope is a word that has worked well for candidates like Obama and Carter (the man from Hope). Chaos, revenge, and oppression are not positive promises for any one trying to cope with the daily demands of life. The challenge question put to those considering still voting for Trump is what good is he going to do for you and your lives? Trump touts word cloud showing ‘revenge,’ ‘dictatorship’ as what voters think his victory would bring (aol.com). Now he is even marketing revenge, a dictatorship of what he offers to daily lives in this word salad posting.

.Biden's word salad he should market is by contrast with Trump offers something positive. Biden succeeded in policies that helped the middle class. His problem: until now the middle class does not feel it. That is beginning to change as consumer confidence is improving, as gas at the pump prices decline. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Why Biden feels frustrated that Biden'economics are not felt at the polls

Biden still has to make the case he will deal with unfinished business that helps ordinary people with their future, not only addressing student loans, border chaos, and leading the free world but also protecting their freedoms that Trump et al, would take away from them. Those include women's choice over their healthcare, the sanctity and ability to vote and have their votes counted, their ability to gather to address grievances, and laws that apply to everyone, not just a few Trump favors.. (That is called "democracy", but we forget what that means to be able to have a voice in our governance. ) He should also say he cannot do it alone. He needs a willing Congress, not one dominated by MAGA. It is not just drawing a contrast of past actions with what Trump promises for the future, but that Biden's past and future plans give hope and promise for the future instead of hate, conflict, and an aristocracy/dictatorship that would destroy hope for a better future or a future that represents MAGA's oppressive and hate-motivated attempt to take away the freedoms and rights you have taken for granted.. until now. "Now" means these freedoms are not forever and would be lost if Trump had his way., using the power he would give himself.

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: What Trump plans for his second term and how he will do it

Trump had failed in his first term to do all that he wanted to give himself more power to get his way, but he was stopped by staff and others who looked to obeying the law and the intent of the Constitution and now knows how to fix it: get rid of those who tell him "no" and make it a virtue to be a "strong man" and get around and tear up the Constitution and make the case he is not bound by law. If Trump had not tried and failed to tear down checks and balances before and failed, and you forgot that, you need to get a shot or realism., He was stopped from using the insurrection act to put down civil demonstrations by Gen. Milley and the military brass who said that violated the constitution. He was stopped from changing civil service status so he could replace thousands of them with loyalists instead of those who tried to follow the law. He was stopped by banning Muslims because the still independent judiciary would have ruled he had violated civil rights. He was criticized openly in the press by calling neo-Nazis in Charlottesville fine people: He engineered the appointment of anti-abortion ideologues to the Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v Wade. His loyal attorney general parted ways when he lied through his teeth that he won the 2020 election due to widespread fraud when even his staff told him he lost. When he disagreed with his Department of Justice policies, he failed to get a loyalist to replace his departed attorney general because he backed down when the acting attorneys in the DOJ staff all threatened to resign.

He does have a head start with his plans to be a strong leader/autocrat/dictator on day one if he gets a second chance at the Oval Office. His Supreme Court is already in his hands. His GOP House members say yes, boss, for fear they would be primaried while behind his backs, they complain about him. There would be no general to say no to using active military to put down civil unrested. All he has to do is to invoke the insurrection act to threaten or use the active military to put down civil demonstrations to which he objects. (Bring in the water canons and the tanks...that is what they did in Russia and Hong Kong, and it worked)). His DOJ could take over the voting machines everywhere to make sure midterms would go his way. No one federal law would be used to stop him. There would be no attorney general to tell him he is lying about the 2020 election. He already has the Heritage Foundation plan 2025, ready to replace every appointee and civil servants with screened loyalists.

Here are all of the Republican elected officials backing Trump's 2024 campaign (msn.com)

The plan, 2025, is funded and getting ready for day one. Once he replaces his appointees with yes people, he can begin to execute his autocracy. (From a prior posting:  The groundwork is already being laid by the misnamed Heritage Foundation, and money is being raised. Donations have surged to groups linked to conservative Project 2025 (nbcnews.com)  The related groups have issue agendas that would roll back any legislation that hurt their special interest groups or ideology.  Project 2025's issues agenda: Analysis Exposes Trumpian Project 2025 as 'Far-Right Playbook for American Authoritarianism' (commondreams.org)  in which it finds their agenda is to elevate Christian nationalism, gut civil service, reverse progress on racial, eviscerate LGBTQ+ rights, restrict reproductive freedom, roll back climate action, end "woke" military, overhaul public education, and curb human rights?  These are the money backers that would come into power as Trump, on his part, replaces those who are disloyal with his appointments, including replacing 50 thousand civil servants who do not pass the loyalty to Trump and MAGA and get purged and using the FBI and DOJ to go indict opponents, and continue to use fear of retribution to any in the federal government who would oppose him, while using the military to put down public demonstrations who object.)  . He will govern by fear, and he has a history of condoning political violence. He used it on January 6. He has already promised he would use the FBI and the DOJ to threaten to indict and cook up unfounded charges to keep dissidents fearing to speak out. His appointees would delicense media, not loyal to the boss too. Those who don't take him seriously are fools being fooled.

This segment moved to 12/28/23 posting: For those who want their president to be a "strong man," I have a few words. I have had firsthand experience. Know you live in fear in a dictatorship that someone will hear a disloyal comment from you and report it, and there will be some repercussions. The least might be you lose a job or a promotion or get primaried, and the worst may be like Navalny, who disappeared in some gulag after revolting against Putin's corruption in amassing his personal fortune.  It is a fearful life, and your tongue is always on guard because that is how "strong men" stay in power, with fear and force,  and you are powerless to change it.  The only votes counted are the 80% constant approval of the Boss, and the rest are to give the impression the autocracy is still a "democracy."  

 We throw around the word "freedom" a lot, but the freedom to express yourself to others, privately, or in media, or in voting, or in lifestyle,  or in protesting, but in a dictatorship, this is not protected by the fine words of any amendment to the Constitution.  All laws are interpreted to support the rule and power of the strong man and all potential institutions of checks and balances are under the control or are comprised of loyalists.  That is what living under an autocracy, a dictatorship, means. You lose those freedoms.  Both communist dictatorships and fascist ones are like that, though the ideology to which all are to conform may come from Marx or Mein Kampf or the fantasies of one mind, the mind of the "boss". 

From my facebook posting  We have never had a president or a candidate for that office like Trump with such extremely disturbed personality traits of narcissism and self-aggrandizement.. His platform is not to make life better for ordinary people, but it is one of retribution and stamping out the vermin, his opponents, all for one purpose, to amass more wealth and power for his own benefit. . He will say what will get others to join in his mission using lies, insulting those who tell him "no" or holding him accountable, with oratory and exhortation of violence and lawlessness. He gives voice to his core followers. He knows his base of support and what they want to hear. His loyal base shares his sentiments of anger, grievance, resentment, and of perceived loss of power, full of hate, revenge, and a singular loyalty to those who look like them.

USATODAY.COM

Donald Trump said he'd be a dictator for one day. His supporters say they're not worried.

"He's like a guy with a laser pointer and the left is a cat," said one vo

No matter how the US Supreme Court acts, the Colorado Supreme Court ruling will still hurt Trump

 A close friend of mine is in weekly contact with relatives in Germany, and they often discuss American politics. They were excited to learn that Trump was tossed off the ballot and hoped that it was very good news. That caused me to do some more thinking now that Trump has said he will appeal the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to the US Supreme Court.  He will still be on ballots, but there still is an important fallout that hurts him more than anything recently.  Here is why and how I think it is likely to happen that way.  In the meantime,  pending a Supreme Court decision (very unlikely before the January 5 deadline for Colorado statutes requiring primary ballots to be printed), Trump's name will still appear on the ballot, per the weekly newspaper Colorado Politics.  Trump back on Colorado ballot for 2024 election following appeal - feliciamuftic@gmail.com - Gmail (google.com)

(Update" 1/20/2024: The dumbest part of Trump’s Supreme Court Colorado ballot brief (msnbc.com)) Trump declares he did not swear to support the Constitution when he was inaugurated so therefore he is not subject to the 14th Amendment).  If he does win in 2024, what is he going to swear to, and on what bible? A statuette of himself?

 First, I had to explain the process to my friend so she could explain it to her relatives. Second, due to an appeal, it will not be decided by the deadline of January 5 to print ballots in Colorado, so his name will be on the ballot.. Third: the US Supreme Court will find a way to weasel out of ruling against Trump. 

Fourth, regardless that a state Supreme Court unanimously ruled there was enough evidence that there was an insurrection on January 6,  and Truimp was an insurgent, the US Supreme court will say it was not enough. proof.  that will be their weasel. 

 However, the US Supreme Court rules it is a political wake-up call to all but Trump's core supporters.  That Trump claims that he is being persecuted unfairly and raises money from it still becomes a weaker-sounding defense than it did before the Colorado Supreme Court ruling, which at least held a trial. 

 There is a school of thought that Trump can make hay with his persecution complex, whining that this is just another cooked-up libtard conspiracy, but the Colorado suit was brought by Republicans and independents,  not Democrats. Early polling shows more than a majority of voters agree with the Colorado Supreme Court finding. The growing distrust in the US Supreme Court has resulted in the lowest opinion of the court in history. It has been and is viewed by many as being dominated by Trump appointees and losing more credibility due to charges of corruption and anger over Roe v Wade being overturned. 

https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/12/20/edc6d/1

Favorable views of Supreme Court fall to historic low | Pew Research Center

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In the weeds and how to glaze the eyes of my friend's explanation to her German relatives and their eyes, too.

This  Colorado case was one state court's opinion; the US Supreme Court will have the chance to even refuse to hear the case (leaving it up to the Colorado Court's ruling to stand). The case is the first judicial finding that Trump was indeed an insurrectionist and January 6 was indeed an insurrection. Trump was indeed subject to the Constitutional amendment under which the case was filed; he was an officer of the US. The Colorado court's ruling on that subject was unanimous, but there are also other states with cases already pending that will wait to see what happens.  

Looking ahead, Trupmp's expected appeal to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will likely delay a decision on the appeal for months,  though oral arguments could come much sooner than that. The US Supreme Court will probably not refuse to hear the case because of the very importance of the issue and the effect it will have on other similar cases.  This is not a normal case, but given the US Supreme Court has a super majority of Trump appointees on it, and the US Supreme Court rarely overturns a state Supreme Court ruling, anything could happen.  The likely scenario, SCOTUS will find a way to weasel out, using some technical problem with the Colorado law or some "due process" question that Trump was not given a sufficient chance to defend himself enough to prove he was innocent. In short, in time for the Colorado ballot deadline for candidates for the GOP primary election in the spring is January 5, but the appeal will not be decided until long after that and Trump will be on the GOP primary election ballot and not kicked off at this time.

I then went on to explain the issue of "due process".  The US Constitution's 14th Amendment lacks of specific remedy, civil or criminal.  When I finished, my friend's attention track got lost in the weeds, as any normal person, not a lawyer, would.  I only can explain this because I served as the director of a prosecutor's office with lawyers assigned to the unit for seven years early in my career, running a section that had the power to prosecute and charge, and sue under both civil and criminal law. However, after years in public relations and politics, this is indeed politics on steroids. . . Go to:  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Will Trump be kicked off the Colorado ballot? It is more possible than I thought. Update: 12//19/2023

  The reason the Colorado case was successful was that it was a civil case, there was a 5 day trial with sworn witnesses and Trump's lawyers represented him, but it was not like a criminal case that required proof "beyond a reasonable doubt", a jury trial,. In a civil case, without a monetary penalty, a judge can rule that the evidence was enough to show one side's evidence and arguments were better than the other side's. In a criminal trial, like the one being brought forward by Jack Smith, the evidence must be beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant is guilty as decided by a jury. There was no jury trial in Colorado since it was a civil suit..  It was one judge's ruling that indeed, Trump' was an insurrectionist, but he was not an officer of the US, so he was not subject to the 14th Amendment and could stay on his party's primary ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court overturned the issue of whether Trump was not an officer. said he was, and they upheld the unanimous Colorado Supreme Court's decision that Trump had aided, abetted, and inspired Jan 6, which was an insurrection in order to remain in power even though he had lost the election.  For those hung up on definitions: an insurrection is a rebellion against the Consitution and the government of the US. It originated after the 1860's civil war.. The 14th Amendment does not give a direction of whether the evidence needs to be like a civil case or like a criminal case. 

Since this is the first decision invoking that part of the 14th amendment's history and the first time Trump has been found liable for being an insurrectionist (every other case on that issue so far has been just accusatory or an indictment that there was probable cause to hold a trial because there was enough evidence to justify a trial by jury as a criminal case).  This holds true not only for Jack Smith but another case in New York and a big one in Georgia.  It is suspected that Trump, elected in 2024,  would pardon himself if the Smith case found him guilty in a federal case, but the Georgia criminal case is a state case, not a federal case,he could not pardon himself.   That could lead to a ludicrous situation that, if elected in 2024, he could expect prison time during his term in office.  The Georgia case will likely not be decided until after the November 2024 elections.

One of the questions I got on a private FB discussion site came from a Trump supporter asking why the Coloraod government is subverting democracy. Here is my response:

Trent Todd, the question you raised was why is the Colorado government trying to subvert Democracy. That is a "why don't you stop beating your (dog, spouse) question", but I will treat your question seriously. Democrats in Colorado did not start it; Republicans did. They filed the initial suit. The Colorado Secretary of State was asked to take Trump off the ballot, and she questioned if she had the power to do it and filed her case to get an answer. After a 5 day trial with testimony and Trump refused to attend and sent his lawyers instead, the trial judge and the Colorado Supreme Court found he was an insurrectionist who tried to subvert Democracy. The 14th Amendment was written to keep insurrectionists from getting into power again by other means, such as an election, to try their subversion again to attack the provisions of the Constitution and protect the democracy from insurrectionists trying other means to do it. Trump is still on the ballot in Colorado until the US Supreme Court rules. Unlike other states, the Colorado government...justice...held a trial. Other states have other laws and rules that differ from Colorado and some are similar.). Like Al Gore, I understand why a simplistic understanding of democracy that a direct vote of the people is better than the Supreme Court making a ruling. As a Democrat, I think Trump is a known quantity easy to beat given the contrast with Democrats of anti-democracy v democracy and a platform of hate and retribution v. legislation helping citizens with their problems. Trump's own words  make the contrast with his promise to be a dictator for a day defying the rule of law make the contrast.