Posted on 11/20/2017 8:31:35 AM PST by Kaslin
Ben Shapiro is one of a number of conservative journalists recently bent on assuring us we're at liberty to disregard due process of law in formulating our verdict on Roy Moore. We have his permission, he tells us, because we're deciding on political issues whose disposition won't result in sending anyone to jail. But this misunderstands what due process is and strips us of much needed protections.
Protections? you may ask. Wherefore do we need protections if the state is not involved in our decision to, say, condemn someone we feel has been proven to our satisfaction to be a child-molester? Simple. We need the institutional model of due process as a reminder to shield us from brow-beating rhetoric like Shapiro's that would structure our choices for us and insult our morality and intelligence if we don't acquiesce to its forced conclusions.
There are many reasons due process is relevant to our responses to the allegations against Roy Moore. But first, contrary to popular portrayals, let it be said that due process is not a "concept." It is an umbrella term referencing a constitutionally derived bundle of rights and time-proven procedural requirements that shape any governmental process of judgment that may deprive an individual of life, liberty, or property. It is a threshold matter, not one factor in a series, as depicted in Shapiro's list of arguments. This means it predetermines what fairness will look like and binds equally all parties to a dispute to its prescribed standards.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
This article is absolutely wrong and Shapiro is 100% right. Elections are political (not legal) events.
I love Ben’s stuff on youtube, but I very strongly disagree with him on this one. The article nails it.
JJudy should be made welfare fraud Czar.
“This article is absolutely wrong and Shapiro is 100% right. Elections are political (not legal) events.”
What makes you think he was talking about elections?
Shapiro is a sharp, witty guy but he often comes down on the wrong side of things politically. I don’t know if he does that in order to draw clicks or create fake outrage like a lot of pundits do...
Shapiro must be playing cowboy on the weekends, at a dude ranch somewhere, because like so many at National Review and The Weekly Standard, he sits tall in the saddle, lecturing us from a very high horse.
Mr. Shapiro: If you were Judge Moore, and you were completely innocent of these last-minute, pre-election accusations, how would you act differently than he has?
Mr. Shapiro: If Judge Moore withdrew, or were replaced, and it turned out that he is in fact completely innocent of these last-minute, pre-election accusations, how would you undo the damage done to the political process by your pompous rush-to-judgment?
24 Reply − Avatar Sean R. PWL Webmaster 6 hours ago Shapiro was quick to mock those questioning the yearbook signature... and more and more it's looking like fraud. I wonder if yet another one of his predictions/analysis falling flat will hit his credibility.
9 Reply − Avatar chuckinva PWL Webmaster 3 hours ago Ben Shapiro belongs to the Bill Kristol tribe of fair whether conservatives that are reviled by the election of such a course man as Donald J. Trump. There sensibilities are indeed insulted by a man that simply want America to be restored to greatness through the people reclaiming ownership as it was intended in our founding document. The Shapiros, Krauthammer and Kristols of the "conservative movement" are all prigs that are really globalist.
I take pride in what George Bush called nativism. I am a native of America and although I am willing to share America, I am not willing to throw her borders open for invasion by every Tom, Dick, or Harry that wants our stuff without wanting to become fellow Americans. To be an American is as much a mindset as it is living within it's borders.
I don't know whether Roy Moore is guilty or not, but I am suspicious of the timing of the allegations and the fact that the Republican Elitists like Shapiro and Kristol no like his brand of conservatism. 7
Reply − Avatar Larry Charles chuckinva 2 hours ago I'd put 100 upvotes on this if I could. 1 Reply
You do not need proof in politics. You just need to weather the accusations than win and it all goes away after a while. This is why most candidates withdraw. The accusations, although not proven destroy a candidates life. They would rather withdraw then fight. Moore is fighting it and it is taking a toll on the establishment, especially since he can and probably will win.
They pulled this on Trump and he told them to piss off.
(This article is absolutely wrong and Shapiro is 100% right. Elections are political (not legal) events.)
That may be right, but legal protections are a very useful framework to understand what is fair in order to conclude as to the veracity of an accusation in the heat of a political campaign. If for political purposes we decide that the accused are guilty before they are proved to do so “just because there is no jail time as a consequence of this conclusion”, means that all it takes to get rid of qualified candidates is a few accusations. Sorry, but the concept of real fairness is extremely important, even if outside of the legal theater.
I have a hard time with Ben Shapiro. I like a lot of what he does, and on certain topics at certain times, he shows a lot of bravery and intellectual honesty. But other times he really seems to fold and unnecessarily, even viciously, attack people on the right.
Shapiro is not our friend. He is the same NeverTrump scumbag he always was. I tweeted him asking him to go to Alabama to campaign for Jones. I asked him to bring some NRO pieces of shit with him and take a picture with their arms locked and Doug Jones taking a knee in front of them.
Shapiro is an ass and this just proves it.
So you wouldn’t mind then if someone at work accused you of something. No legal action taken so no harm, except for the job you lost. Have I got that correct? Just curious.
Shapiro like a lot of Jewish conservitives hates anyone who takes Christianity seriously.
Hope it works out for him. Dems are really vicious.
Should any accusation couched on a legal matter be able to be levied in a political one without the due process of the legal? NFW.
Mr. Shapiro is zinging the wrong way down a one way street and he will hit a head on collision and then will start his selfish newfound indignation crap.
Judge Jeanine and now Laura Ingraham have joined the weak skivvy bunch saying the accuser is credible in their view, nevermind the forgery this ‘credible’ accuser foisted upon us.
Of course elections are political and not legal events. But the concept of not judging a person on unproven allegations, even when the accusations start climbing in number, is a non-judicial justice and is due to all in a civilized culture. Geez. Put yourself in the accused shoes.
Again, Shapiro is correct.
There is no court process going on, here. Everything is happening in the court of public opinion, where no one is under oath with the penalty of perjury hanging over them.
The voters of Alabama will decide on whom they believe and vote accordingly; there is no other choice.
Agreed...she has an uncanny ability to sniff it out (i.e. she knows math and statistics). My young son asked me why would anyone want to watch her, I told him that is because most people have NO CLUE as what the law is in this country. Tune and and it is quite obvious!
From the article: "we're deciding on political issues"
The article clearly states we're talking about political issues. Elections are clearly a type of political issue.
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