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Wars and rumors of war

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From 1962 Topps CIVIL War News bubblegum cards.

Bill Bishop (“The Big Sort“) passed on a pre-SCOTUS-decision link from a conservative site arguing that the outgoing president should invoke the Insurrection Act to force the U.S. Supreme Court to restore “election integrity” or else “the greatest democracy the world has ever known would come to an immediate end.”

It is a lengthy litany of rumors, supposition, and talking points presented as “proof” of massive election fraud. As with any good conspiracy theory, what believers lack in quality they make up for in quantity.

See, we face a black-and-white choice, the lawyer writes. If Trump prevails in court, “Democrats, including radical groups such as Antifa, could, and likely would, revolt openly and violently.” On the other hand, if Joe Biden’s election subterfuge is allowed to stand, “Trump supporters could take the streets, and violence doubtless would erupt.” One guess as to which he prefers.

Then came last night’s Supreme Court decision to reject the lawsuit from Texas and 17 other state attorneys general, supported by almost two-thirds of the Republican House caucus, to throw out the presidential votes in four states. But not any down-ballot votes from those states in elections Republicans won, mind you.

“There is no place left on earth for liberty. Come Lord Jesus,” wrote one respondent on Mark Levin’s Twitter feed. Keep an eye on the streets outside your windows.

Meantime, Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.) called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to sanction, if not refuse to seat, the 126 House Republicans who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election, including the minority leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Pascrell cites Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, 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. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Pascrell’s letter gets right to it:

Stated simply, men and women who would act to tear the United States government apart cannot serve as Members of the Congress. These lawsuits seeking to obliterate public confidence in our democratic system by invalidating the clear results of the 2020 presidential election attack the text and spirit of the Constitution, which each Member swears to support and defend, as well as violate the Rules of our House of Representatives, which explicitly forbid Members from committing unbecoming acts that reflect poorly on our chamber.

Consequently, I call on you to exercise the power of your offices to evaluate steps you can take to address these constitutional violations this Congress and, if possible, refuse to seat in the 117th Congress any Members-elect seeking to make Donald Trump an unelected dictator.

Per House rules and Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution, Pelosi could do it. She has that authority. It is tempting. These Republican members have effectively renounced the U.S. Constitution and their oaths anyway — on top of demonstrating lack of seriousness required for their jobs. And it would be fun to reply to their objections with the parental trope, “you should have thought of that before ….”

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