Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/17/convictions-vs-convict-vermont-gops-no-felons-rule-imperils-trumps-candidacy.html
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I assume if a Black man with a marijuana conviction had wanted to be on Vermont’s GOP ballot, the party would have made an equally sincere effort at waiving their rules and getting him on it.
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All the more shameful that the party leaders are willing to sacrifice their claimed principles to support this guy when Trump didn’t even win the majority of GOP voters in the state’s primary. Haley won Vermont, so it’s not like there’s a popular mandate among Vermont Republicans to support this guy.
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I never tire of posting Wilhoit’s Law:
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
Do not ever expect conservatives to be consistent.
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Going to the wall for Trmup? Against the wall is fine with me. Cigarettes and blindfolds optional
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Does this even matter? So what if the Vermont GOP can’t “support or promote” Trump. They can still nominate him, and I’m sure they will. Even if they don’t, so what? He will still be the GOP nominee in November, and Vermont voters can do what they want with that in November, with or without the “support or promotion” of the state party. This is such a non story.
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There are muted rumblings in Washington State, initialized in a column to the SeattleTimes, that state law (uh…RCW 29A.68.020 sub.3) prevents felons from appearing on the ballot. (keeping well in mind that trump wasn’t going to win in Washington State no matter what) This lead to some back/forth with the authorities who seem to conclude that the state law only meant people running for offices held in the state. There’s really very little reason to conclude that, short of a legal seance. Anyone who declares themselves to a legal “originalist” really ought to have to have a televised seance into the matter. Somehow any ‘originalist’ interpretation always seems to favor the right-wing view. -sigh-
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The Vermont GOP leaders are worried about what will happen if they fail to show sufficient fealty to the Leader. That Vermont Republicans voted for Nikki Haley is bad enough; for the party to treat Trump as the convicted felon that he is would be unforgivable. They are trying to atone for their sins before it is too late.
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Chaos it is, then.
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“We are sticking to our true values. That value just happens to be power at any cost, and if you believe different, you’re just the sort of sucker who’ll vote for us!”
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Indeed “owning the libs,” by being inconsistent is a big selling point with this crowd.
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All together now: Laws for thee…
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Of course, none of this makes much difference, since the Republican nominee isn’t going to win Vermont anyway.
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It may not make any difference whatsoever to the election results, but it’s still somewhat noteworthy that the party leadership in a relatively moderate state like Vermont (where Trump lost the primary) is so willing and quick to abandon their stated principles even in a case like this where standing by their principles would have had no electoral cost. It’s a clear indication, for anyone who was still doubting it, that an old-school moderate Republican Party no longer exists anywhere, even on the local level.
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If they don’t it would be an interesting story about how the GOP is unraveling and can’t get behind their candidate (or that they have chosen on a national level a candidate so unfit that not all of the state GOP organizations can get behind).
As a practical matter I don’t think that story would be likely to change any significant number of minds.
The story “GOP once had some sort of moral center deep down, but here is some of the mounting pile of evidence that if it did once exist it is gone” is a whole lot less interesting because it is so common. Also it isn’t likely to change any significant number of minds either.
Indeed, and given the attitude of the people voting I wonder if they would actually lose any significant number of votes if they came out and said that, or if it would be yet another perverse in-phrase that people claim is either or all at once: positive because it is bold, obviously untrue and therefore ironically supportive, misunderstood, never actually said by “their guy”
Prior to 1992 a democrat was unlikely to win in VT (in fact from 1900 to '92 only 1964 brought a D win). So anyone out there in VT please don’t get complacent, vote and make sure Trump doesn’t carry VT by apathy.
Plus one guy around the corner and down the hill has a giant Trump flag, and I want him to be disappointed come November, and beyond. Yes I have reasons to support Biden past spite for Trump, but the way today is going spite is a bigger motivator, so I’ll go with that ;-(
Good observation even if I really don’t care for the logical conclusion.
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Well the GOP may be unraveling, but they also stage events like they did last week in DC where even Mitch McConnell is supporting Trump. And they do that because Trump’s support among GOP voters is still really, really high. They just can’t quit this guy because they’ve been telling their voters for 40 years that Democrats are dirty evil commies, so they’re stuck with “anything is better than a Democrat, even a fascist dictator wannabe.” That’s why this is a non-story to me. We all know the GOP in Vermont is going to find a way to support and promote Trump in spite of their own policy. And what’s more, doing that isn’t likely to make anyone realize the GOP is corrupt who doesn’t already know the GOP is corrupt.
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“Turned their life around” is code for evangelical Christian. And being rich and/or white has always been the secret password for getting an exemption. I think they’re very consistent with their values, even if they don’t want to admit to these specifics.
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Rules can be change, never fall in love with them.
Watched a video yesterday about Trump and his fitness to command the armed forces, the argument was the code of conduct book for officers and such.
Well, here’s the 2024 printing and it reads “Do What Trump Orders”.
And there’s your rules, different than yesterday. New revised edition. Follow it. Obey.
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