Ding-Dong, the Witch Is Dead: Trump’s Off the Ballot in Colorado

We all got an early Christmas present this week when Colorado’s top court ruled that Donald Trump will not be allowed to be on the ballot in the state’s Republican Primary.

It’s startling news and proves that every once in a while, something happens to renew our faith in American Democracy. Since the last century, there’s been a movement to replace it with an authoritarian form of government. Led by Donald Trump, the tactics used by that dark movement continue today. But with this ruling, perhaps there is a light at the end of the tunnel for America’s Democracy.

The court based their decision on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S Constitution which prohibits people who participate in insurrection against the Constitution when they have sworn an oath to support it.

Lower Federal Courts have already agreed that Trump was part of the January 6th, 2021 attack on the national Capitol. They also agreed that the court has the authority to enforce that part of the Consitution, but they stopped short of applying it to Trump.

Now, Colorado’s highest court has gone where others have feared to tread. They’ve ruled that everyone is equal under the Constitution… even Donald Trump.

Not surprisingly, Trump is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. And, considering that he appointed three of the Justices on that ultra-conservative bench, we shouldn't consider it a done deal.

But it’s a start.

Yet, before we pop the corks on the champagne and shoot off fireworks, I have to tell you I’ve been doing a little light reading for the holiday season. And, it ain’t the story of Charly Brown’s Christmas.

It’s Rachel Maddow’s latest book PREQUEL: An American Fight Against Fascism.

It’s about the rise of Nazi sympathizers among our ordinary neighbors; working men and women just like you and me who bought into Mein Kampf. American Nazis included such luminaries as Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh, as well as a list of U.S. congressmen as long as your arm. They actively sought to stay out of World War II and side with Adolf Hitler. They helped fund a massive propaganda campaign in collusion with the Nazis in Germany and even conspired with high-ranking U.S. military officers to steal arms from U.S. Armories in the hope of starting a government takeover.

Headlines right out of today’s news.

It’s scary enough but what makes it worse is that despite rigorous prosecution by the U.S. Justice Department, these guys all got off scot-free.

Yeah, you read that right. The Supreme Court of the United States overturned the convictions of almost every single one of the conspirators.

Doesn't bode well for the future of Colorado’s ruling, does it?

The good news is, that Maddow’s book has a semi-happy message. The Nazis didn't win. But it leaves us all with the creepy feeling that their beliefs still loom beneath the surface of our daily lives.

So if you’re looking for a last-minute stocking stuffer, I highly recommend that you do not pass go and do not collect your $200 and go straight to wherever you buy your reading and get her book.

It might scare the hell out of you but still gives us hope that there might just be a candle burning for American Democracy.