Dear MoveOn member,
Now that the Colorado Supreme Court has disqualified Donald Trump from the
2024 ballot, we have an opening to pressure state election officials to
uphold the Constitution and disqualify Trump in their states.^1 But time
is short, with primaries starting in January.
MoveOn has been urging states for months to disqualify Trump from their
ballots under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution—which bars
insurrectionists from holding office—but, as MSNBC described, "It seemed
as if they didn't want to be the first to deem Trump ineligible, even if
the circumstances warranted it."^2
Now that there's a courageous first, we need to redouble our efforts to
convince state election officials to uphold their constitutional duty and
disqualify Trump from their ballot.
Will you start a $5 monthly donation to help us have the
resources to turbocharge our work to disqualify Trump from the ballot and
then keep up the fight for as long as it takes?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
If you think that the U.S. Supreme Court will simply rule on Trump's
behalf, because the court is corrupt and dominated by right-wing activist
justices, consider this:
Trump will indeed appeal this ruling to the Supreme Court.^3 But if we
successfully pressure Clarence Thomas to recuse himself—which the court's
new code of conduct makes clear that he must—it's possible that one or two
conservative justices could join the three liberals to narrowly affirm the
Colorado Supreme Court ruling.^4
As Ian Bassin of the nonpartisan group Protect Democracy explains, "The
U.S. Supreme Court now has a real dilemma on its hands. It has advertised
itself as being a textualist and originalist court, in which the words say
what they mean and were intended to mean when adopted. So if the Court is
just applying the law, then a straight read of the law requires them to
uphold the Colorado decision."^5
John, that means we have a two-pronged task ahead of us: We
need to reach out to secretaries of states—the top elections official in
most state—to encourage them to uphold their constitutional duty and
disqualify Trump, AND we need to put LOADS of pressure on Clarence Thomas
and Chief Justice John Roberts to force Thomas to recuse himself.
Will you help us have the resources to swing into action, go big right now
while we still have the opportunity, and keep up the fight until Trump is
no longer a candidate for office? Please start a monthly donation
today. Please start a $5 monthly donation today.
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in monthly.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
J. Michael Luttig, a conservative former judge who has written at length
on the 14th Amendment, called the Colorado ruling "historic," "masterful,"
and "brilliant." He said, "It will be a test of America's commitment to
its democracy, to its constitution and to the rule of law. Arguably, when
it is decided by the Supreme Court, it will be the single most important
constitutional decision in all of our history."^6
That's how much is at stake, John. And, together, we can
impact the outcome. Join us.
Thanks for all you do.
–Kelsey, Chloe, Chris, Seth, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Trump Is Disqualified From 2024 Ballot, Colorado Court Says in
Explosive Ruling," The New York Times, December 20, 2023
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2. "The problem(s) with Team Trump's reaction to the Colorado ruling,"
MSNBC, December 20, 2023
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3. "Trump disqualified from Colorado's 2024 primary ballot by state
Supreme Court," The Washington Post, December 20, 2023
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4. "Colorado's ruling to disqualify Trump sets up a showdown at supreme
court," The Guardian, December 20, 2023
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5. "Colorado's ineligibility ruling threatens profound disruption in
2024," Politico, December 19, 2023
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6. "Colorado's ruling to disqualify Trump sets up a showdown at supreme
court," The Guardian, December 20, 2023
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Want to support MoveOn's work? Book bans have skyrocketed thanks to
right-wing state laws which have forced teachers to remove books from
their classrooms. In response, MoveOn is launching a "Banned Bookmobile,"
filling it with books that the far right has banned, and driving it around
to hand out those books, for free, in highly trafficked areas that will
attract media attention. To keep the Banned Bookmobile up and running into
2024, we need your help.
Will you start a monthly gift to power our critical work?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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