In 1860, during the infant stage of the Republican Party, Lincoln had to be written into the ballot in the South because the Republican Party did not even offer ballots in 10 southern states. This is different than what went on with Trump, where many states wanted to leave him off the state ballots, over issues of the 14th Amendment.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court did not agree. But I have my suspicion there will be more ways these states will come up with to foil Trump.
Lincoln’s election, as we know, ended up in a civil war and with his assassination. In Trump’s case, we are witnessing from the left a kind of financial and media assassination before the election.
Mark my words … whatever happens negatively in our country or in the world, whether Trump is elected or not … he will be to blame!
The question of civil war is bandied about in certain news sources (what isn’t bandied about?) Will the red states secede from the blue states? Already there has been one of the largest mass migrations of people leaving blue states. With catch-and-release policies, the cost of settling migrants and high taxes, one can see why.
Already there is talk of boycotts as political activism.
Truckers wanted to boycott New York after Trump was fined a ridiculous $440 million for a non-crime (there were no victims).
We are all distressed now, I believe, as we read the news. The Israel/Hamas war is hard to look at and read about – both sides are suffering badly. Ukraine badly needs money to win and thus is losing at the moment as a relief bill is stuck in Congress. It is sad to see all these lives being lost.
It is disorienting to see Biden going to the border now, three years later, to act like he cares. Or Biden starting to do something about energy, three years later as well. Suddenly he adopts some of Trump’s policies, right before the election! Talk about confusing.
I think the entire country feels this is one of the most important elections in their lifetime. We are in a polarized and nasty mess. It feels like we can’t trust a lot of what we read, and it feels like we can’t trust our Justice and FBI institutions not to be political.
One pundit on a left podcast suggested we get rid of the Supreme Court altogether because they put a delay on the Jack Smith-Trump court case. It seems that the left doesn’t like that the Supreme Court won’t put him in prison right away, rather than research the case and deliberate, as is their job.
It is hard to think that we even think of taking someone off a ballot, that we are fearful our marvelous institutions that support our constitution are now up for grabs as being biased and partisan tools, that the issues of the day are life and death.
I had a hat made: “20/20 for 2024.” What I meant was, to think carefully. Eyes open, minds open. Trump wants to depoliticize our institutions.
There couldn’t be a better time for that.
Randall Harman