California Bans Trump The state passes a law to bar him from the primary ballot. ????!!!!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/california-bans-trump-11564614674
Remember all that angst and anger expressed by progressives that President Trump would ignore judicial orders, rig election laws, and maybe even refuse to give up power if he loses in 2020? We’re still waiting for any of that to happen. But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from stretching the Constitution to defeat Mr. Trump.
The latest example came Tuesday from California when Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that would bar Mr. Trump from the state primary ballot unless he discloses his tax returns. That’s right. California Democrats are trying to keep a sitting President from running for re-election in their state.
“These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral duty to do everything in their power to ensure leaders seeking the highest offices meet minimal standards, and to restore public confidence,” Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Even if this means rigging the ballot to defeat an opponent they loathe? Apparently so. We’re on record saying Mr. Trump should release his tax returns, but there’s nothing in the Constitution that says he must. Americans can factor his refusal into their voting calculations, and most Democratic presidential candidates have released their tax returns or promised that they will.
California may be violating the Constitution with this law. Mr. Trump’s lawyers are promising a legal challenge, and they have a strong case that a state can’t add onerous qualifications for ballot access that go beyond the Constitution’s requirements for age, citizenship and residency. That was the basis for the Supreme Court decision barring term limits in Congressional elections.
This is one reason that Jerry Brown, Mr. Newsom’s predecessor, vetoed a similar bill in 2017. “First, it may not be constitutional,” Mr. Brown wrote in a veto statement, and the rest is worth quoting at length:
“Second, it sets a ‘slippery slope’ precedent. Today we require tax returns, but what would be next? Five years of health records? A certified birth certificate? High school report cards? And will these requirements vary depending on which political party is in power? A qualified candidate’s ability to appear on the ballot is fundamental to our democratic system. For that reason, I hesitate to start down a road that well might lead to an ever escalating set of differing state requirements for presidential candidates.”
Don’t be surprised if some Republican on the make in Alabama or Missouri pulls a similar stunt to keep a Democratic candidate off the ballot. The California law applies only to the primary, and the President still could appear on the general election ballot if he wins the Republican nomination.
But the attempt to rig the ballot against Mr. Trump shows the extent to which Democrats have become so unhinged in their hatred that they are willing to violate political norms to oust him. How about trying the old-fashioned method of nominating a candidate who can defeat him at the ballot box?
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