It won't happen, but it should

 

This was written by New York Times columnist David French, before the Supreme Court considered the issue of whether Donald Trump should be taken off the Presidential ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Any reasonable straightforward reading of the amendment indicates that he should be. But the SCOTUS will find a way to avoid the issue.  To their shame, and our detriment.

I'm going to start with the first four paragraphs of French's piece. Below that, a link to the rest.

Disqualify Trump (or Else)

In the weeks since the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from holding the office of the president, there’s been an enormous amount of commentary noting that the decision is potentially dangerous and destabilizing. Knocking the Republican front-runner off the ballot could lead to further alienation, more anger and potentially even violence.

There’s no doubt that knocking Trump off the ballot would send shock waves through the American body politic, but why would anyone believe that it’s inherently less destabilizing if Trump runs?

We already know what he does when he loses. For him, counting the votes is only the beginning of the battle. If he loses, he’ll challenge the results, conspire to overturn the election and incite political violence.

And if he wins? Then you have an insurrectionist in command of the most powerful military in the world, who is hellbent on seeking vengeance on his political enemies. Does anything at all sound stabilizing about that?

Read the rest.