barney

joined 2 years ago
[–] barney@mas.to 1 points 8 months ago
[–] barney@mas.to 2 points 8 months ago (2 children)

@maegul @politics

Not at all. The rest of the 14th Amendment is all self-executing. E.g. if your right to due process has been violated, you can sue, without needing Congress to pass a law that specifically protects you. As the 4-justice SCOTUS minority said, it doesn't make sense to require legislation for just this one section.

Anyway, if the Dem-controlled House had passed a bill declaring Trump ineligible for office, Senate Republicans would have filibustered it. So it's a moot point.

[–] barney@mas.to 47 points 8 months ago (15 children)

@maegul @politics

It's natural that disqualification under 14A should be a federal question, but it's nonsensical that SCOTUS would require Congress to enforce the Constitution. That was not predictable.

What the Dems did do when they had the House was impeach Trump for insurrection. If the Senate had done their job by convicting him, then, in the second phase of impeachment, he would have been barred for office for life. But, led by McConnell, they voted to let him be president again.